Owing to my bilateral Meniere's I am very deaf and as a result have to rely on subtitles on TV programmes to get any understanding what is being said. But the standard of subtitling of TV programmes here in the UK is useless. Nine times out of ten words come up that have no relevance to the programme or the subtitling stops when it clearly isn't coping with what is being said and disappears off the screen altogether. Is this the same in the US or anywhere else in the world. It is so frustrating. I wrote to the BBC about this and was told to get my TV checked!!! Very understanding. Another thing I find very annoying is when my wife contacts the bank or any other agency where I am the main account holder they insist on talking to me first, even though my wife and then I tell them I can't hear conversation on a phone. They still continue to proceed to ask me all the security questions which I can't hear, so my wife puts the loud speaker on the phone and has to then ask me the question posed by the agency and then I answer her and she passes the answer on that I give. How ridiculous is this? It happens every time. You would think they would have some means of noting that the main account holder is deaf and is unable to discuss matters on the phone. Do other sufferers find this too?
Exactly the same situation for me, Rod, though our U.S. subtitles for TV shows appear to be better than yours! And my wife has to do all of our phone work, and has to go through the same routine you and your wife do, with me authorizing her to talk, her transmitting authentication questions to me and relaying my answers. All very annoying, really, since I have powers of attorney in place for her everywhere that is important. It seems not to matter. I recently acquired something called a CapTel telephone. Not sure what the Scottish equivalent would be. It is a phone with a digital screen, and it translates what is said into words that appear on the screen. It is maybe 90% accurate, which is usually good enough, and sometimes enables me to do some of our necessary phone work. There is a slight delay of a few seconds before the words appear, and I have to warn the person on the other line to be patient. Most are when they realize I am functionally deaf and struggling. Finding ways to cope with our limitations is seemingly a never-ending task. We are loading U-Hauls today for the final stage of our move to our new city, and the chaos brought on an attack necessitating some Valium. Definitely not fun. But so it goes.
It must be so frustrating Rod. I think that Brownrecluse has a big point in that if you have powers of attorney in place it could perhaps make things easier for you with the various organisations. The various financial service companies and utility companies in the uk are very poor in doing what they profess to do and that is providing a proper service to all of its customers including those people who have a disability. I know it would be frustrating for you and no doubt annoying but having a LPOA (lasting power of attorney - financial affairs only) would solve some of your problems. You may already have this, so apologies if that is so. If you don't have one you can complete the process on line yourself saving around £500 in solicitors fees although you do have to pay approximately £120 for the registration.
Sorry to hear the move brought on an attack brownrecluse. How does the Valium help does it make you feel better or does it stop the attack, if you understand what I mean. I did discuss using Valium with my GP and he was not for it at all despite my telling him that others, mainly in the US, were getting good result from it. Are you able to buy it over the counter in the US? Here it is by prescription only. Hope all goes well with the move. Let me know how you got on. jaypr, we have looked into the Power of Attorney route but I think what brownrecluse is saying is despite having a POA in place he still has the same bother as we do, at times, when dealing with officialdom. I will however, be pursuing it. But thanks for your reply, I take it you are in the UK too. I read with interest how you have managed to stay reasonably symptom free by cutting out some foods, drinks etc. I don't think I could survive without my daily intake of alcohol, within reason of course, it's the only thing that makes me forget my problems for a while.
Rod I have recently been diagnosed with cochlear hydrops an atypical menieres. I never knew this could result in deafness. Do you have any hearing? How long did you have menieres before you lost your hearing?
Rod-- Addressing your questions: the Valium is prescription here as well, but rather freely given if you appear to qualify. The worry is addiction, as with all such drugs. Of course, our greatest addictive drug, alcohol, is freely available, as it is in the UK. And I find that helps me too, and so I tend to buy a lot of it over the counter. What the Valium does is dull the balance function even more than it already is, which steadies me, and it also seems to reduce my perception of tinnitus, which is good enough. The bad thing is that it also dulls my cognitive processes, making me on occasion a bit zombie-like. My dosage is 10mg. On bad days, 20mg. Haven't had to go higher yet. Hope this is of some use to you.
Jillybean - I now have very little hearing, it can fluctuate at time but in the main I would say I have lost 90% of my hearing. I didn't start off deaf I had more tinnitus than deafness to start, then my left ear hearing got poor after about a year, resulting in getting a hearing aid, which was of little help. Over the last year I have become bilateral and have lost, as I say 90% of my hearing and very noisy tinnitus. Hearing aids I find do little for me other that make noises noisier. So I tend not to use them unless I have to. I can find peace in my deafness, believe it or not. Brownrecluse - thanks for the explanation regarding the Valium. I wonder what would be the worst - addiction or having the awful unsteadiness? Like you I find alcohol can be a great help at the end of trying days.
Rod, I can understand your frustration. Closed caption is the only way I can watch tv. Some shows are better then others when it comes to CC. I too had to have my husband talk for me to banks and other callers that would call the house and I would have to give the ok for him to talk to me over the phone. Today I have a cap-tel phone that allows me to talk with anyone on the phone since it comes up as CC on the phone screen. Im glad that today I can conduct my own bussines over the phone and not to bother my husband everytime I got a phone call. hang in there, Tracey