Mom wraps the hearing aids in tissues and puts them in the drawer, or hides them so the 'thief' won't get them. She says she doesn't want to wear them. She can only barely hear without. You have to shout and be right in front of her so she can lip read. Or write it down in large print. She can read in spite of significant demential.
But how am I supposed to communicate with her? It's crazy-making.
I know that amplification of sounds can require an often difficult adaptation, especially since so many peripheral sounds have been shut out for years w/o hearing aids. For years they've become accustomed to not hearing ambient noise, then suddenly there's all this noise which is sometimes shocking.
I've been through this and finally just said: "I'm not going to yell and ruin my vocal chords. If you don't want to wear your hearing aids, I guess we just won't be able to talk."
We do manage though if I look directly at the good ear. But I'm through compensating b/c someone doesn't want to wear hearing aids. Hopefully won't be like that if I ever need aids.
I'm starting a notebook of things not to do when I get older.