Can you cope without your hearing aid?

If you are a hearing aid wearer, can you go without them? Do you feel comfortable leaving the house if you haven’t got your aids in?

I have a severe hearing loss in both ears – if I am not wearing my aids and somebody wants to speak to me then they have to be close and have to be talking loudly and straight at me. I don’t feel comfortable talking to people if I don’t have my hearing aids in and I wouldn’t even think about leaving the house without them. It’s OK if I’m at home, my Wife and Daughter would know to shout if they needed to. Outside, it would cause too many problems for me, I would be constantly asking people to repeat themselves.

I wear my hearing aids every waking minute – excluding shower time of course! Can you go without yours?