Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others

My right ear became sensitive to the sounds around me 40 days ago; even when people talked to me, it vibrated in my head, and I lost 90% of my hearing. I went to a general doctor, and she said it might be wax or an infection. They flushed my ear with water and gave me Antibiotics drops to use for five days. After three days, my hearing was back to 85%, and sound sensitivities had been reduced as well. Two weeks later, the same thing happened, and I called my family doctor, who said it could be a virus or related to my sinuses and gave me a high dose of cortisone (50mg) for ten days. After three days, my hearing was back again to 85%, and sensitivity to sound also reduced, and now it's been about three weeks. Today, I feel a constant sound like bass in my ear with a headache in the same ear for the whole day, bringing me anxiety about what is wrong with my ear and what I should do about it. I called my doctor, and he said I need to do an MRI this week. Does anyone know if this is related to SSNHL or ETD, or something else so I can be proactive?

I had a Cochlear Implant done 2 years ago this coming March. I have no regrets at all. It's better than the hearing aid in my left ear. You have to do all the homework and go to speech therapy but it's so worth it in the end. I have difficulty in large rooms with lots of people talking. I have come to accept that and I still go but often have a friend fill me in on what I missed the speaker saying. I think most people that I have heard from have the same problems in large rooms or restaurants. I can't hear medical people who wear masks. My daughter takes me and sits in on all my appointments. I am so grateful for that. She tells them that they mask makes it so I can't hear them speak. I have problems hearing on the cell phone so most everyone I know texts me. Making business calls is a big problem as they use speaker phones or headsets.

Hello all, my name is Calvin Modling. My formerly excellent hearing started failing about 7-8 years ago. More so on my right side. I did reloading and shooting pistols many years ago with no hearing protection and I think that might be why. My hearing aid history is…I bought my first pair from the typical rip off hearing aid store when my hearing started to go. These were $7500 and I got them down to $4200 and thought that was a deal. They were junk! Next I got a pair from Costco for $2500 and they were great as I’m on the phone a lot and my phone bluetooths directly to them. That’s worth the price. Also the new TV’s will Bluetooth to them also. I bought another pair when the 3 year warranty ran out and kept these as a spare. I’ve got to have a back up because if you are active like me something will happen that you will have to send them in for repair and that’s why I kept my old ones.
Mayo or Costco is the only place to meet your hearing aid needs.

Hello there—I am Anne and my hearing loss began somewhere near my 60’s. At first, I worked with adult college students tutoring English and I begin asking them to speak up. I thought they were perhaps shy and uncomfortable addressing me. Little did I know, nor did they that my hearing them was the issue. Oh yes, , we unknowingly dealt with it. It wasn’t until I was retired and well into my 60’s that I realized my hearing was an issue for me. At first, I tried hearing aids and did not do well adjusting to having to wear them and turned them back in! I wasn’t going to pay such an outlandish price if the didn’t help me. It took another year before I decided to try again. Well, here I am at 86 and literally hear nothing but perhaps at times, only certain levels of sounds without them in my ears. I have stopped attending church as I only hear the ministers sermon in bits and pieces —the music but no scripture readings. I go back for coffee and it is over whelming the voices coming into my ears from every direction. Holy moly! If I want to feel sorry for myself keep going. It is beyond frustrating. I try to be social with friends but find I’d rather not go to restaurants to visit and have social time. I run on a different track mostly. Phone conversations are hopeless, although I may get bits and pieces being relayed to me. I find I’m nearly a hopeless case. The best thing I have going for me is I can laugh at myself and sometimes it’s pretty funny (not that I don’t get it) but what I think I get. I often remember getting so tickled at my mom and what she thought she heard, not laughing at her (I hope) but laughing with her. Paybacks! Mercy. That’s my experience and I believe I could write a book on the effects of hearing loss in a person’s life. Tough going.

Annie, the blue tooth hearing aids should solve all phone problems. It’s the main reason I have them. Now it works for TV also.
In church the pastor is very loud and clear so no problem there unless a speaker doesn’t speak clearly and strongly and if that’s the case I just hear pieces. In larger class/meeting rooms I have a problem as the sound seems to get lost over distance. Sometimes I use my phone as the receiver/microphone and it bluetooths to my hearing aids and I can hear better.
Just meeting with a few people like at a restaurant table I do fine because the distance is short and their sound volume is usually good.
I’m like you though in that some things I just don’t go to or I get up and walk out because I just can’t hear and put together what they are saying. One of my biggest problem is going through a drive through. These kids like to talk in a very fast higher tone (I call it a chirp) and they use no sylables and just string the words together. My brain don’t decipher that very well. If I have someone in the car with me I’ll ask them what did they say and they will tell me so obviously I’m the problem. Usually I will just repeat the order and say thank you and pull around to the window. Bluetooth or nothing else helps “the chirpers” 😁.
I hope this helps,
Calvin

This was great for me to hear. The large room thing is exactly where I have a problem and also people that mumble through masks AND these kids in the drive throughs. They string all the words together in a real fast manner and “chirp” in a higher tone and they think that’s the way it should be.
The cure for the phone is to get ones like I have from Costco or others that Bluetooth to your cell phone. That alone is worth the $1500 price of the devices. Works on your TV also.

I find my Bluetooth doesn’t work all that well for me on the phone. The other day someone here talked about the IPhone settings with Beta. I turned that on and wow what amazing experience that was. When the phone rings I click on the microphone and everything said is coming across my screen in text! So thanks to the person who told me about this.

I’ll check that out but the Bluetooth is great in my case. That speak to text thing has never worked well in for me….im a Floridian but with this Alabama mumble I have that I describe as somewhere between a southern drawl and and an affliction, the electronics have never been able to decipher it😂😂😂😂. I reckon I’m to electronics like the Navaho Code Talkers were to the enemy in WW2 😁.

I have profound hearing loss. My hearing loss has just gotten worse over the years. I believe some of the damage started while in the service guarding
B-52’s, and K-C135’s. Of course we also had qualification shoots with M-2 carbines, and 45 pistols.
When I left the service I spent the next 34 years in law enforcement. Frequent required qualification shoots continued to take a toll on my ears. When I started my career in law enforcement, range personnel would not let us wear ear protection. They felt we would lose that sense of realism experienced during an actual shooting event. Many officers at that time ended up with serious hearing loss, even worse than mine. Of course now everyone must wear hearing protection. I cannot remember what my first hearing aids cost but they weren’t cheap. The next pair of aids were covered by my health plan through Kaiser. That worked well until we moved to Idaho. Now I am covered by Medicare, and have to pay the entire cost. I purchased my last pair of hearing aids from Costco. They are just now out of warranty. I bought the Phillips brand. The work great. For most of the last three years I had cone of domes, whatever they call them, They didn’t work all that well. Just recently I have had molds made, and that has made a world of difference. A lot of initial inner ear pain but after many adjustments I’m doing much better. Our bedroom TV is too old for a blue tooth connection. However I have another TV in our front room that might work. Not sure how to hook it up. Any clues?

Have you considered a cochlear implant. Medicare will pick up the cost if you qualify.