Spin off: hearing loss

RondackHiker

This came up in the UO. Who else has hearing loss? If you don't mind sharing, how long have you had it? Did something happen to cause the hearing loss? How does it impact you?

RondackHiker

I damaged my ears in a swimming accident about four years ago.

I have scar tissue in my Eustachian tubes now. When I'm stuffy, my hearing loss is much worse, so it is hard to get a reading on how poorly I hear.

Certain tones hurt a lot, and I have trouble hearing voices, especially if the person speaks quietly, has an accent, has a speech impediment, or there is background noise.

lildevil968

I have hearing loss from my days in the military. I have had it for about 6 years. I suffered the loss during a routine medical mission, we hit an IED on the way back from the mission. I've had ringing in my ears ever since, and lost 20% of my hearing.

My DD also has hearing loss, but hers is significant. She lost all of her hearing in her left ear. When she was 5 months old she contracted Bacterial Meningitis, and the swelling in her brain caused her hearing loss.

alizabethanne

EllaHella:

I have mild hearing loss related to excessive ear infections as a child.  I've had testing and all they can really say is "yes, you have hearing loss but there really isn't anything we can do."  They type of loss I have can't really be corrected with hearing aids. 

I have trouble hearing and processing certain tones and pitches.  I also can't process words if there is a lot of background noise.  I can hear someone talking but can't make out what they are saying.  It is like listening to a soft spoken mumbler. 

This is me as well. I test below average in hearing tests but there is not much that can be done to help it.

When I have work meetings outdoors I have a really hard time hearing a convo, especially when its windy. Its frustrating, but you adapt pretty quick. 

SEWF

Not me, but my husband. They think it was just a birth defect. His hearing has gotten progressively worse, and his hearing may be completely gone in a few years. He has hearing aids (it's amazing what they can do with hearing aids now - bluetooth in the device, volume control, block out ambient noise, feed music through the device itself).

 Apparently he is a good candidate for a cochler implant, but he refuses to get one because "One of my goals in life is to NOT have anyone pokearound my brain". I am supportive, but I'm worried about how everything will work when his hearing is completely gone.

RondackHiker

eddy321:

II have done what I'd consider a good job of hiding the hearing loss.nbsp; I can piece together the sounds I hear with lip and body movements to figure out what's going on.nbsp; It is, however, very embarrassing when I meet someone whose lips don't move in a way I'm used to or whose voice has a pitch I cannot decipher.

Do you ever get less embarrassed? I feel so awkward asking people to repeat themselves more than once. Like yesterday, the server in a cafe had an accent and spoke quietly and ducked her head. I still don't know what she asked me. I asked her to repeat three times and understanding wasn't happening. I worry about looking rude but still feel irritated when I say "sorry, I can't hear you, could you say that again?" and they speak quieter or more quickly.

I feel like it gives me the appearance that I'm not paying attention and am rudely tuning people out.

rachael_c26

I have ... a little bit of hearing loss. Nothing awful. In fact, I didn't really know I even had loss. But I kept going to the doctor because my ears hurt. They randomly get that feeling like they "need to be popped" anywhere from 5 minutes to hours. It can happen more than once a day or I can go weeks without issue.

But regardless, it'd be nice for an answer. I went to an ENT and he "diagnosed" me as having Meniere's disease. I'm still not fully convinced as one of the main symptoms is vertigo which I never have had. It just seemed like he gave me a diagnosis just to give me an answer and its a diagnosis that, from how he explained it to me, there's not a good way to test for it. So I just have to take his word.

Anyway, while there he did a hearing test and in my right ear, I missed two out of five beeps.

The only times I really have a problem hearing is when someone has the volume for something up way loud, it hurts. Or loud noises. Also, my DH is a real bad mumbler. Especially if he's mad. Gah. I can't stand it because I feel so helpless. He doesn't realize he's so quiet then he gets frustrated that I keep asking, "What?"
Also, I can't go under water. It hurts.

C12H22O11

I have mild hearing loss from nearly being struck by lightening in my teens. For a few months afterwards, I had significant loss.  Everyone sounded like they were far away or down in a well.  The percussion of the thunder did a number.

Fast forward to now and the only real difference I notice is that loud noises hurt. I have to wear ear plugs at the movies and in airplanes.  I often have to ask DH to turn down the radio/TV.  I haven't been to audiologist in many years, but the last time I was there, I did have mild loss in a certain dB range. Thank goodness it doesn't seem to be in the range typical for human voice.