Hearing loss?

[Gardenarian]

Hi - about a month ago I experienced Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss, and have lost all the hearing in my right ear as well as about 30% of the hearing in my left ear. This is idiopathic (no known cause.) There is no chance (barring a miracle) that my hearing will return.

I have no ability to locate things by sound (picture me running around the room like a chicken trying to find the ringing phone.) I have severe tinnitus in my right ear and in addition to having hearing loss in my left I have hyperacusis, which is severe sensitivity to sounds. There is a very narrow range of sound that I can hear and that is not actually painful. I am also experiencing balance problems (I feel like I am on a rocky boat most of the time.)

I may get a hearing aid when my hyperacusis and tinnitus issues improve (doctor says several months) though from what I read most people with lopsided hearing loss don't find hearing aids very helpful.

I took the first week off work (I am a librarian) and am now back to my regular schedule. It is really, really hard. Driving is hard. Walking is hard. Just *being* is pretty difficult at the moment.

I miss a lot of what people are saying. I feel like a freak around my neighbors and friends and have been avoiding everybody. I am exhausted from just trying to keep my balance (and the tinnitus disrupts my sleep.)

I don't feel like myself anymore - I have always been the person who could do 20 things at once and never stood still. Now I have trouble getting one thing right. I also have a chronic pain condition and the stress from the hearing loss seems to increase the pain. There are a number of other major issues in my life right now that I *must* deal with and I am overwhelmed.

I'm trying to stay cheerful and upbeat for my dd's sake.

Has anyone dealt with similar issues? I feel very alone with this.

[fidgiegirl]

I have not personally, though I have a friend with tinnitus and she mentioned that walking/moving helps her. Probably not what you wanted to hear with the balance deal going on.

So, so sorry this has happened. Big hugs.

[CathyA]

((((Hugs)))) to your Gardenarian.
I have pretty bad pulsatile tinnitus. Have you had the appropriate MRIs/CT scans and other tests?
Do they have any idea what's causing this? Have you seen a neuro doc?
Are you on any meds that may have caused this?

[Valley]

I don't have any answers, but I have a lot of sympathy for all that you are going through. Hang in there, hopefully someone will have answers for you. Good luck and God bless you!

[Float On]

((hugs)) I wish I had more to offer.

[Bronxboy]

I'm very sorry. Sounds like a very difficult condition. I had a run of vertigo due to an ear infection about 20 years ago, and even my minor case was quite dismaying. I remember medication (Antivert) being useful.

You shouldn't be afraid to use a walking stick or cane if either would give you more confidence in moving around and keeping your activity level up.

[razz]

One does not realize how important hearing is to our life until there is an impairment. Hugs to you as you go through this.

I finally had to get hearing aids last year and still have times when I simply have to tell people that I cannot hear them due to background noise like the dishwasher's cleaning cycle or other conversations. It is hard to choose to feel left out of group discussions that overlap one another. Be careful of speaking louder due to your hearing loss. Family told me that my voice volume went way down when I got the aids.

Are cochlear implants a possibility for you?

[Mrs. Hermit]

I have Meniere's Syndrome, with tinnitus, sporadic hearing loss, balance issues.....The balance stuff gets better as you learn to use other senses. I use what I see around me to orient. Makes driving in cross-traffic a bit dicey, but it seems to work. If I am at a stoplight, I don't watch the traffic moving around me. I study the steering wheel, for instance. When I need to stand for a long time, I try to keep one hand on a solid surface-like a wall or table. If I am walking around in an unfamiliar place, I stay a judged distance from a wall, or follow a sidewalk crack. I rarely look at people when I am walking. If I have to close my eyes, or tilt my head while standing, I hold on to something. (I hold on to the sink when I gargle!!)

As for the social issues, hiding from people doesn't help in the long run. I have been very open in telling my friends what I am dealing with, and then I give them suggestions on how they can help me. I lipread a lot, so I ask my friends and children to be very aware that they need my attention before they begin to talk, or else I will miss the conversation. Group conversation, especially with additional background noise, is a waste. I try to just stay focused on one or two others in order to keep up with the lip reading. Some groups of friends who are very understanding of what I need, will help me out. When one person stops talking, the other may signal me before they start talking, then the next person waits until they have my attention....We've gotten used to this, with practice.

Most people now communicate with me via text instead of the phone. I am thankful for the ability to text.

Like you, I used to be able to multi-task a lot. Which is a skill that can be helpful when you are dealing with hearing loss. I use my attentive abilities to notice more things now. I am very aware of conversational signals and body language. I can also now tell if a floor is uneven-a useful skill when examining old houses!

As you get more used to the effort/skills needed to cope with your new problems, the tiredness will ease. A sudden transition like this is very difficult, like a grieving process. Be kind to yourself as you figure out how to deal with it. You will figure out a way to deal. But dealing with it will take time.

[Bronxboy]

I finally had to get hearing aids last year and still have times when I simply have to tell people that I cannot hear them due to background noise like the dishwasher's cleaning cycle or other conversations.
I have a hearing loss in my left ear, diagnosed last year, and suspect that I am within a few years of getting hearing aids. A co-worker noticed that I was shying away from calling people on the phone. Right now, I'm doing OK with the swap to my good ear on the phone.

I do tell people I can't talk on the phone, especially a mobile, when in a noisy place.

[Spartana]

I lost most of my hearing in both ears when I was in my late 20's (weapons malfunction while in the military) and have been wearing hearing aids for years. I would HIGHLY recomend getting them for all the reasons Mrs. Hermit & Razz mentioned - they greatly enhance your life. They don't act the same as normal hearing and take awhile to get use to, but eventually your brain catches up to your ears and you really won't notice too much difference. You can also wear just one at a time in your weaker ear. That usually will enhance the sound enough to hear most things. I usually don't wear them if I'm not in a listening situation, and even when wearing them it's difficult for me to understand people (gosh dern low-talkers :-)!) so I'm good at reading lips. I also have to use the closed captioning when watching TV or DVD even with hearing aids. But it is SOOOOO much better with them! I can't express that enough. But they are very expensive (I get them free thru the VA hospital) but worth it. Get them insured too as those little suckers seem to disappear (my dog ate one of mine). Also make sure you find look into the causes for your sudden hearing loss and see if it's isn't caused by some other medical condition that can be easily corrected. Even if you can't regain the lost hearing, it will help you from losing more from normal aging hearing loss. I get retested every few years and have had to have my hearing aids made stronger over time. Good luck and don't let it get you down. You'll eventually work out all the lifestyle changes - as will other's around you - and life can be just as great with limited hearing. The blessing is that when people yell at me I just remove my hearing aids :-)!

[Spartana]

I have a hearing loss in my left ear, diagnosed last year, and suspect that I am within a few years of getting hearing aids. A co-worker noticed that I was shying away from calling people on the phone. Right now, I'm doing OK with the swap to my good ear on the phone.

I do tell people I can't talk on the phone, especially a mobile, when in a noisy place.

Depending on your state (I'm in Calif), you can get a free phone that is made for those with hearing loss. It has not only a loud ringer but a way to make the reciever much louder too. You can also get TDY service for free. Most hearing aids made today have a way to work with a regular phone - cell or landline. Some kind of micro computer chip that automaticly increase the volume of your hearing aid as soon as it recognizes that you are using a phone reciever next to it. Something to look into.

[Bronxboy]

Most hearing aids made today have a way to work with a regular phone - cell or landline. Some kind of micro computer chip that automaticly increase the volume of your hearing aid as soon as it recognizes that you are using a phone reciever next to it. Something to look into.
Thanks! It all seems to be coming soon enough that I try to keep an ear open for the technology.

[CathyA]

I'm getting interested in hearing aids too. I have this horrible pulsatile tinnitus. I went to a specialist and he said that when people say they could hear better if they didn't have the tinnitus........what's actually happening is
they are losing their hearing and the brain needs to hear something, so it hears funky things instead. So I'm hoping if I have hearing aids, this awful pulsatile tinnitus will go away.

How are you doing Gardenarian?

[Spartana]

Thanks! It all seems to be coming soon enough that I try to keep an ear open for the technology.
He He!! Also most hearing aids the volume is adjustable - even the in-the-ear kind. Mine aren't because I have small ears (and ear canals) and they can't fit the needed technology into my hearing aids unless I get the outside the ear kind (which vanity won't allow me to do ...yet!).

[Gardenarian]

Hi all and thanks for your help. I got the nasty flu that's going around (this just is not my year) and so haven't been on board for a while.

You all seem to handle your hearing issues so well! I am really having a hard time. My main problem is what is called recruitment - my brain has not figured out what is going on with my ears and the inside of my head sounds like a freeway at rush hour! I have been given pink noise to listen to and am scheduled to have some ear re-training. The hearing loss I can deal with - in fact I feel best when I put in an earplug in my good ear and have quiet. But noise - and sound - is really painful. I guess this will improve with time.

[krystal]

I once had hearing loss but it came back after some time and meanwhile I was feeling very alone like you.I suffered through the same things, I was feeling very lonely in this.I tell you some things about hearing loss:The common name of sounds you are in is tinnitus. Tinnitus is not a disease. It is just an indication by symptom that something is wrong in your auditory system.
What causes it?: Loud Noise , Prescription Drugs ,Certain Foods ,Hearing Loss ,Allergies,Stress,Ear Conditions.You can avoid it by avoiding its causes that I told you.

[CathyA]

How's it going Gardenarian?

[Gardenarian]

Well, my hearing has not improved at all. What hearing I have in my left ear varies from day to day (no hearing in right ear.) I have a tinnitus masker but I can't hear much at all when I am using it. I have begun hearing retraining therapy but they say it will be over a year before my brain starts to really adjust to the loss. I keep trying to push through this, but all the bruises I have (vertigo and loss of balance) tell me that is not the best method for handling this!

The doctors think that this was possibly caused by my very low blood pressure, which I am now treating with herbs (licorice and ginseng) and exercise.

My mother died and a large section of my house was demolished (a neighbor's dead tree) the same week this occurred, then I got the flu and lost my sense of smell (the doctor said it would return soon but it's been quite a while...) and dh's mom had a heart attack. Dh and I had been in negotiations for a long time to purchase a cabin (that had been foreclosed) and it went through right in the middle of this; of course the cabin needs TONS of work and we are in such physical/emotional/financial turmoil that it feels more like a curse than a blessing.

Which explains my signature line.

Thanks for asking!

[CathyA]

Oh My! Gardenarian! That's just not fair! I'm so sorry you're going through all of this.

I had the flu with a high temp about 23 years ago, and when it was over, I had lost most of my sense of taste and smell. I've got some of it back, but not much. Have you tried taking zinc supplements? That's supposed to help with our sense of smell.
Have you had a brain MRI?
I'm sending you a big hug and lots of good thoughts!!

[lhamo]

Gardnerian, sorry you are having to deal with so much at once.

No suggestions on the hearing loss, but I would say table the cabin until you have time/energy to deal with it. You don't want a blessing to come to feel like a curse.

lhamo