Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues Issues of Aging Memory Loss

...at bay.

A couple of months ago the VA decided that I needed hearing aids. So, now I have hearing aids. The strange thing is that I can't tell the difference but am told they are working fine. One thing the hearing aids did help, however, was tinnitus. It cut the noise by at least 50%

Then there is the memory thing. I have come to the conclusion that its not all memory loss but a problem with attention span. The results are the same for both of them. I have found that I can no longer carry multiple subjects at the same time. If, for instance, I am talking about something and somebody brings something up my original subject takes flight. Its not a bad memory is a loss of enough attention. I used to have no problem with 5 or 6 things running at the same time with no problem. No longer...

I have actually and literally had a word on the tip of my tongue and then get mildly interrupted by just about anything and the word takes flight. The frustrating thing about that one is that I actually know that I had the word and THEN lost it.

Same here.
And I was juuuuust about to get cleared for hearing aids by the VA when the Civilian In-house Treatment Initiative shut down, and I got shunted to private sector care. Not sure my CHAMPVA card covers hearing aids in the private sector.

Get your hearing aids "tuned up", my friend, it often takes a couple of return visits before they get it right, and that's the case out in the rest of the world, too. Hearing aid users seldom get the tuneup right the first time.

If your hearing aids don't work change the wax filters...

Mine are near the end of their life and as soon as my house sells I'll be able to afford another pair. Something like $6Gs.

The difference with and without hearing aids is like night and day to me. Nothing like normal hearing...but still like night and day.

I have a weird but similar problem; I think I’d call it “aural focus dysfunction.” So far as I know, my hearing is okay - not great, probably time to be tested, but good enough to follow a conversation.

My problem arises when there are three or more voices overriding each other. It’s as though my brain can’t identify which words go with which sentences, or which speaker.

When I worked, I had a shared office and a lot of meetings,either in the shared officer in meeting rooms. I absolutely could not follow. This, along with some executive-function issues, contributed greatly to my early retirement.

I'm just approaching 70, and my spelling ability has fled the scene. Consonants are fine. It's the vowels that I get confused. But it's not my fault! I can still spell Spanish words perfectly, unless they are Mayan borrow-words. It's the English words that have confusing vowel sounds. I guess this means my executive function and logic are fine, but I no longer remember all the words I had to memorize to spell properly.

I've always had the inability to listen to a single speaker in a crowded room filled with conversations. The only time it matters is when my wife tries talking to me while I'm on the phone. I keep telling her I can't follow either speaker when she does that, but I guess she can't remember that!

I do have scars scattered around my brain, according the MRIs. A few words and names I just can't recall, even though I have so many connections to them I know they exist. I have to Google them when I'm trying to write something with that word. For example, "Natalie Portman". Can't remember her name for more than a few minutes, though I know who she is, remember her films, etc.

Well, we can always hope for this. One of Mose Allison’s later efforts:

The problem you described is, I think, another example of your ability to concentrate. Normally works great for a single subject or person - takes a break if you are trying to do more. I still remember the good old days when I could handle several subjects at once. Between that and speech aphasia ............

My husband nearly died of herpesvirus encephalitis 4 years ago. At 65 he was just barely in door of Medicare (thank god). He was in the hospital for 5 weeks, icu 10 days, 6 days in a comma.

He came out with pretty bad aphasia.
Extensive speech therapy, in which I sat, helped a lot. More importantly I learned from that lovely lady and have done a lot of things at home to help him retrain his brain.

I am beyond grateful. His brain recovered 99% and still going.
Of course he's one of the smartest people I've ever known.
He's a retired CPA. Numbers and reasoning never left him.

Plus his tinnitus seems to have gone away. Go figure.

And I’m so glad he’s doing well.