How does hearing loss change you?

Posted by joangela @joangela, May 11, 2019

For me, hearing loss has always been a part of my life. Those darn hearing tests in elementary school always put me in the category of hearing loss. Now, that I am much older, in my late 50s my hearing loss is profound. It is so bad, even my hearing family, has a real hard time adjusting to it.
How it has really changed me?
I was a small business owner, and a top notch sales person. I was a huge people person and an excellent communicator. It’s all gone.
A major change in my life.
How about you?

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nurseheadakes | @nurseheadakes | May 27, 2019

In reply to @lioness "@mikepa I know exactly where that is on Chester Co. I use to life in Westmoreland..." + (show)

Hi there....hope you like California....now!

nurseheadakes | @nurseheadakes | May 27, 2019

In reply to @lioness "@nurseheadakes Love your title That sounds similar When I lived in Pa we use to vacation..." + (show)

I have lots of titles and hats...as a nurse and first born of seven. This is a state of many people and license plates. We have to get up to GA some day but first thing first! Lots to love indeed!

nurseheadakes | @nurseheadakes | May 27, 2019

In reply to @lioness "@nurseheadakes Thanks for all that information I never heard of TINNITUS music is it on c..." + (show)

Well, you can get some on a CD if you want, but my music is on my iPhone as an app. My hearing aids are Resound hearing aids and their program is on my iPhone 7+. The actual program is found on my cell phone - I have had it for 4 years now and so everything I do with my hearing aids is on the phone. I turn on my hearing aids with the phone. I turn on the four programs with my phone. I switch to either one of the programs depending on where I am like if I am in a restaurant and it's noisy - I put the program for the noise. If I am in a looped church or auditorium, I put the t-coil on and it switches my hearing aids to that program. If I want to tune out my tinnitus - it will switch to the tinnitus program on my iPhone and if I just want the regular program, it changes to the plan program which is the default program. https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids
I also have a Tinnitus App by Resound that is specific for those who have tinnitus and want a variety of different sounds to pick from. This is a free app that I use intermittently when I want something on other than the radio or TV. I usually use it when I walk and think, or when I am writing.
There are more hearing aids/CIs programs that can be found on cell phones now so that you can stream your conversations and hearing right from the phone. I hear my telephone calls right into my ears when I answer my phone calls. I Facetime with my mom all of the time. It makes it much easier to talk to her since I can see her and hear it much better than in person, since she is in WI and I am in FL.

lioness | @lioness | May 27, 2019

In reply to @nurseheadakes "I have lots of titles and hats...as a nurse and first born of seven. This is..." + (show)

@nurseheadakes I thought blueberry retired from nursing did 35 yrs but where I live I still help with my knowledge also on here . After my husband died there was no one back home ,friends but my son,s family here In Happy here ,you make your own happiness.

judysmayo | @judysmayo | May 27, 2019

In reply to @nurseheadakes "The audiologists frown on your taking out your aids because there should be a number of..." + (show)

@nurseheadakes

The audiologists frown on your taking out your aids because there should be a number of hours that your brain needs to have the stimulation of hearing from the sounds around you. If you don't have that stimulation, your brain actually atrophies and this is the research they have found that leads to dementia and alzheimers. A certain amount of hearing and discerning sounds, noises and voices to determine what and where they are coming from is needed to make sure all parts of your cortex/brain are working functionally. Your senses need to be on top of this as well - when you hearing is not all there, the other senses pick up to bridge the deficit. The norm for the day for like me is 7-10 hours of hearing. If I have a migraine, it may be less but then I put on my white noise or tinnitus noise and take a nap which usually goes away with my 'triptan' meds in less than an a half an hour. To keep my ears from getting itchy, I put my hearing aids in a cleaning machine at night, since our ears can collect bacteria and other things from the air. The Global Dry & Store uses a dry block and blue light to clean my hearing aids, extends the batteries life and makes sure the little domes are disinfected. No more itching ears for me. I even have one of them for my traveling.

As to reading with quiet, I have a program for my tinnitus that helps me keep things quiet, since I NEVER have quiet anytime. This tinnitus program on my hearing aids always has a background white noise close to my tinnitus noise that is soothing to listen to and so I have it on most of the time. If not that one, I can put on another tinnitus app that has many other sounds that I can choose from to listen to when I want to at anytime - just like music streaming although its without voices. My app came with the Resound Hearing Aids and it always changes with new sounds. Check out your hearing aids manufacturers and see what they offer - or ask your audiologist for assistance in this issue so that you help your brain stay elastic and functional. It will thank you years down the line.

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I also took triptans for migraine and I found out it’s ototoxic. It can actually lead to increased hearing loss.

nurseheadakes | @nurseheadakes | May 27, 2019

In reply to @lioness "@nurseheadakes I thought blueberry retired from nursing did 35 yrs but where I live I still..." + (show)

Once a nurse you never really retire because your knowledge to serve and help others is always there - just like Florence Nightingale. Find something you like to do - your passion or what is close to your heart and go with it. It defines you regardless if you are single or married, with family or with friends. Serving others is what this country is defined by and what is gained by all. When you provide others with something, it gives back to you double-fold. Taking care of you and others works well as they have shown in this community. Its a showcase for the world. Its the golden rule that seems to lost its luster these days.

nurseheadakes | @nurseheadakes | May 27, 2019

Most drugs/medications on the market are toxic to our body. So the best way to avoid taking any medication is to prevent the migraines in the first place. That is my number one goal each day. Avoiding situations that cause the headaches, like avoiding loud noises, avoid foods that I am allergic to or that will bring on a migraine, avoid blinking lights or strobe lights, avoid strong sunshine by wearing sunglasses, sleeping enough, avoiding overload of stress, and other markers of migraines. The idea is to have Plan A and Plan B. I have multiple steps to manage my headaches including completing a log of my hours of sleep, migraines, stimuli, vertigo, falls and other like symptoms and treatment. This allows me to keep a strong history of how I manage my health and what works and how my treatments work or don't work. My hearing loss has not gotten worse since being on these drugs because I cautiously use them only on days that the level of pain is on the high end of the pain scale. [1-10] That is why a person needs to understands why there are steps or progressions in treatments to getting full treatments for migraine syndrome. There are physicians that are certified in this program and when discussing this with them - your hearing tests can be included in your care plan. As a side note: your prescriptions for Triptans only give you 9 tablets at a time - you need to use them wisely, thus following your plan with your neurologist is warranted.

lioness | @lioness | May 27, 2019

In reply to @nurseheadakes "Once a nurse you never really retire because your knowledge to serve and help others is..." + (show)

@nurseheadakes I agree with you 100%

JK | @contentandwell | May 27, 2019

In reply to @nurseheadakes "Experience was the driving force for me. I didn't like not hearing enough or like other..." + (show)

@nurseheadakes

Experience was the driving force for me. I didn't like not hearing enough or like other people. True, I was 'disabled' but I wanted to be 'able' to do things on my own as best as I could. (with some help perhaps. Hearing through a device just wasn't enough. I had some residue hearing but it was the understanding what people were saying - was what I couldn't get enough of. THAT is what aggravated me all of the time. People talking too fast, loud sounds, background noises, mustaches that covered up lips, chewing gum, and people looking away from me so I couldn't read their lips, all contributed to me being unable to be a part of any conversation or activity. Because I didn't participate - others thought me aloof or if I answered wrong - I was 'mental' or off my rocker. I never thought much about it other than I thought they were wrong and I was right!
Remembering back to the time when I first discovered that I was hard of hearing, I had to work with the new technology then - analog hearing aids and lip reading. Then it was onto digital hearing aids and HAT (assistive listening devices) like my FM system. Ugh. Then I moved on to my iPhone and the Resound hearing aids that I discovered had the t-coil in it and became a promoter of the Induction Hearing loop. It was in 2006, when I participate in a state conference when I was introduced to what it could do for hearing loss people. I could hear on the cell phone. I could hear in a 'looped' room or auditorium or even in a place of worship. I cried for the first time when I could hear EVERYTHING for the first time in my life when in the 'loop.' It changed my life from that day on.
I was a leader in the HLAA/Chapter/State Board world and took it on as a mantel - that if I could tell anyone and everyone about the loop, I would, and I did. I worked on it at the local level as well as the state level. I even put on a state conference which helped to spread the work both by mouth as well as by social media. It was promoted at the National HLAA level then and continues to this day. I presented my Looping conference at the National HLAA convention the following year. Since I walk and talk as a hard of hearing person, I take every opportunity to empower others to learn about how it is to live as a hard of hearing person. Everyone has some type of speed bump in their life. I have deck of them - hearing loss is only one card that I carry. While I may be disability, that hasn't stopped me from doing whatever I wanted to do in this life. I want more looping so I can hear and others can hear too!
There is too much out there to just sit and sulk....just look at the past history and see what other people who have had difficulties and in their lives - see what discoveries have been done or what mountains have been climbed. Anything can be achieved. Not time for dwelling on the past...that is gone. Today matters because tomorrow is coming. Get going.... !!!!

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@nurseheadakes and @bookysue I am hugely impressed by both of you, by what you have accomplished, and by how strong you both are. You are both very motivating.
JK

bookysue | @bookysue | May 28, 2019

We are all here to support each other. Life is hard as a deefie but we must persevere- let people know of our presence as one with hearing issues. It is daunting a lot of times. Lucky hearing aids are getting better- more powerful- phone tech on the go as Nurse shake attest to- cochlear implants which I am toget next year. . I try to engage people with my process with humor- I learned a lot from all of you- brain processing and hearing factors - I learned some of that as I am information gathering on Cohkear implants ( Cohlear company is the best for iPhone connected apps, Advanced Biotics for music)

I grew up with a severely impaired Migraine sufferer mom- depressive too. After divorcing my dad after 38 years - her migraines went away . Does not work for everyone though. I saw how tough it- dark rooms/ caffeine fixes through 2 liters of sodas pop coke... medicine issues - tough bit to go trough. So many advances nowadays. I am 65 .

Take care a. We are there for each other. This site is so helpful.