Bald with hearing aids???

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

if you think it will make you happy just do it, it will grow back if you don't!

Also isnt it possible to get mini hearing aids that just fit in the ear and not around? Or is this just me getting fiction mixed up with fact?

[Papa Don]

Man, you hair looks fine.  But since you are thinking in the terms of Slyness, Try it.  I also think a bald head with the beard would be an awsome look.  Listen to your heart and good luck

[MLNHD]

Buzzing down, at least, would give you an entirely different look -- a very good one, I think -- and a freedom not attainable with long locks.  Whether slick or buzzed, it puts it out there.  It also elevates to Sly, your attitudes pertaining to both balding pate and hearing aids.

You put your hearing aids in every day, and benefit from them, so you have a pretty intimate relationship with them through experience and use.  Because of that, it's only natural that you would be thinking about them in conjunction with hair (or no-hair) style choices.  This may be a stretch, but hiding mpb may be in a way like hiding the hearing aids -- deal the same with both, and you've made a strong statement about the "new you."  I think you'd look terrific with a short buzz or Sly.

                 

[marty22]

It would look cool shaved.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Like the other guys, I don't think the hearing aids are anything to worry about.  But consider this, although you have a fair amount of hair remaining, it is also obvious that you have MPB.  Whether it progresses rapidly, or slowly, it will progress and as it does the contradiction of MPB and long hair may result is a rather unpleasing overall effect.  Consider also that hearing aids are shrinking all the time.  I remember my Aunt's set when I was little, it was about the size of a pocket novel, perhaps larger, required daily battery changes w/ batteries that could probably start a car they were so large.  So I think it may be a style change you might want to try.  You've got a nice full thick beard, so you could try the shaved dome with the beard, modify the beard into a more trimmed style too.  But, try the shorter hair--most of it  will grow back if you don't like it.  But, hearing aids, that's not a worry at all.  And they too will get smaller.

[blondbaldur]

Hi again, Sly Guys,

I really do appreciate all the responses and the positive and upbeat attitude that I've noticed as I looked through some of the various threads. I wasn't just yanking anyone's chain or trying to "rub" long hair in anyone's face, so to speak, because I really have been thinking seriously about a new look. It is inevitable that I will be bald by nature in the future, God willing. My hair is thinning out up top, so I have a few years left maybe. My main concerns are that it takes thirty minutes to shave it off, two years to grow back long. Also, I talked to my gf and she wasn't too keen on the idea of me shaving. I can't bite the hand that_____me.

And about the hearing aids, I need to just get over it as some of you mentioned. Everyone I know knows I wear them. That's not a worry. I guess it's just with new people that I need to know for business, etc. that might react with an ever-so-slight subliminal judgment of my inadequacy and what wasn't said would be the concern, not what was said.

I think what I will end up doing is hanging on to long hair a little longer, then start going shorter. I will be sly, it is only a matter of time, whether by nature or the razor.

But to reply to specifics:

"When you're out in public now, I'll bet that nobody points to you and says, "Look at the guy with the hearing aids."  And they're not going to start doing that just because you've shaved your head."

-This is funny because I probably wouldn't even be aware of it if someone were to say this on account of not hearing it. That's some kind of irony.

"They told me at the time that the hearing loss was due to nerve deadness (?), and that it couldn't be corrected by hearing aids."

-Nerve deafness can be helped by hearing aids; you need to see an ear doctor maybe instead of an audiologist.

"Also isn't it possible to get mini hearing aids that just fit in the ear and not around?"

-They make mini hearing aids, but they are only useful for small hearing losses.

"This may be a stretch, but hiding mpb may be in a way like hiding the hearing aids -- deal the same with both, and you've made a strong statement about the "new you." "

-I like this statement, and I appreciate your candor.

"You've got a nice full thick beard."

-Thanks. I really enjoy having a beard, and I definitely wouldn't get rid of it even if I did cut/shave my hair. I usually keep it much shorter than in the pictures. A short beard of about 1/4 inch is my favorite length. At least our beards don't thin out ever!

Thanks again, and Happy New Year to all. I am going to keep reading here for inspiration in 2009.

[Razor X]

 My hair is thinning out up top, so I have a few years left maybe.

Not to burst your bubble, but a lot of us thought the same thing, only to find out after the fact, when looking back at old photos, that we didn't have as much time as we'd thought.  The one regret nearly everyone expresses after taking the plunge is not doing so sooner.   If you're starting to thin out on top, consider shaving it off sooner rather than later.  It's a huge relief not to watch your hair disappear little by little.

My main concerns are that it takes thirty minutes to shave it off, two years to grow back long.

You'll have to come to terms with the fact that your long-haired days will be over.  Maybe gradually going shorter with each haircut until you're ready to shave will make the transition easier.   In my opinion, long hair doesn't look good on guys once they're past a certain age.  Not saying that you are old, but that it's something you'll have to face sooner or later anyway,  hair loss not withstanding. 

[marty22]

My Jersey friend Mr X is right. I wish I had had the ability to either shave it off at say 25 or laser it off at that time. I pushed the envelope many many years too long.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

My Jersey friend Mr X is right. I wish I had had the ability to either shave it off at say 25 or laser it off at that time. I pushed the envelope many many years too long.

I have to say that is true in most cases.  I found my old gov't id today in my desk taken the year I went sly--it looks like my hair, in the fashion of a hat pushed too far back--was about the fall off the back .   It's really a shock when you start seeing more scalp than hair getting out of the shower, or seeing "through" the hair when you're brushing and combing the remnants into shape for spray down. 
Recently, when I was working in Texas, the IT guy was helping us get connected to the net, nice guy, smart and friendly, but he had shoulder length hair, and the receding hairline had left two abandoned "islands" up front and he had let that grow long.  I had to really control myself not to tell him to get serious and look at himself. 
It's tough to say goodbye to something that you believe has assisted you dealing w/ personal issues, but to echo the Brothers above, consider life as a journey, and the hair part of your journey is at the end.  I think we all support you, but we all are very much aware from personal experience that having accepted the fact of MPB and shaved, one of the immediate personal reactions is, "Why did I wait so long?"
But, we're all glad you're here, and we hope you get support from what you read and see.  Bald ain't bad, it's good in fact.  O:OGoing bald, on the other hand is the sh_ts!

[blondbaldur]

Back in 2008, I made a few posts here about making the choice to be bald and my apprehensions about it due to wearing hearing aids and having had long hair for quite some time.

Well, I finally decided to shave it all off, and I love it! I don't regret it even a little, and the response from everyone has been overwhelmingly positive!

[SlyMike]

It looks great, I didn't notice the hearing aids at all.

[nuts]

Six years and you finally took the plunge.  Congratulations.   Looks good with the beard and the hearing aid is not noticeable.

[reddog]

Welcome to the sly side. I can see why you get good comments, you look great! When I shaved my head 1.5 years ago, it was supposed to be a one time shave. Still sly and look forward to my shave everyday.

[blondbaldur]

Thanks, guys, for the good words, and it is much appreciated! I actually don't have my hearing aids in in this picture, but technology has gotten to where the type that fits in the ears are sufficient, and that is what I now have.

[Adamski1972]

You look great mate. Welcome to the sky life!