Nerve related hearing loss

@itsmeagain ... Williamssound is the company my large church put in their amplifier system for us hearing impaired and I could hear every word before I only heard 1 in 10 words, hearing aids did not work we tried my hearing doctor and I, so I checked to see if Williamssound carried a personal amplifier they do. The ear bud amplifier I read cannot handle up to severe hearing loss I am med to severe loss. Good luck ...🙏🕊️

@sandymdmvb
@itameagain
Thanks. I’ve located Willimssound (now williamsav) and I’ve made contact. I think this might work for me.

So very happy and prayers for you.🙏🙏🙏😊😊🕊️

@mapi Yes. I was born with (congenital) nerve deafness. It did not become a real problem until I was early 20's. I got by with hearing aids. Then I got Meniere's
disease. Every time I have a bout of that I can loose more of my hearing. I'm trying to learn to sign.

The discussion on hearing loss caused by 'nerve deafness/damage' is worth revisiting. There is a great deal of confusion on what causes hearing loss. The advancement of cochlear implants, which were considered a 'dream of scientists' 35 years ago, is important to understand.

For generations it was assumed that the auditory nerve was the cause of hearing loss, especially that of adult onset. Many people become hard of hearing after having had typical hearing most of their life. The loss of hearing can be progressive or sudden. Regardless, this is usually due to damage to the tiny hair cells in the cochlea, which is in the inner ear. Prior to effective cochlear implantation, it was believed that nothing could fix this.

Today, cochlear implants bypass the damaged cochlea with electrodes that stimulate the auditory nerve, which was not getting the signals it needed to transmit sound to the brain for interpretation. Once that happens, the brain is able to relearn how to interpret that transmitted sound.

There is considerable history here. When CIs were first being deemed successful, the culturally Deaf community opposed them. That opposition got a lot of attention from the news media. It was difficult for the general population to imagine that people with hearing loss didn't want to hear. Deaf culture prefers using manual communication to oral language. It took the much larger hard of hearing population to start challenging that attitude as CI development advanced. We can thank the Hearing Loss Association of America, Inc. (HLAA) for establishing an organization for 'people who do not hear well but are not deaf' in 1979. Thanks to HLAA, which was originally known as Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. (SHHH), advocates the development of cochlear implants and technologies that go beyond hearing instruments continues.

I was diagnosed with progressive sensorineural hearing loss at age 22. I was told this was due to nerve damage and it would progress to total deafness by the time I was 40. Further, that there was nothing that could help me and I'd have to learn to live with it. Discovering HLAA and getting involved as a learner and advocate gave me hope. I got hearing aids, whch helped for a while. I watched people become CI test subjects. I saw them regain hearing they had lost. I became a CI recipient in 2005. It was a huge boost going from hearing tests that showed I was missing 80% word recognition to hearing 94% word recognition after my brain adapted to CI hearing.

If your hearing loss has digressed to the point where hearing aids are not helping much, I strongly encourage you to go to a cochlear implant surgical center's audiology department for consultation. If your hearing aid provider discourages that, it's questionable. You need consultation from someone who understands cochlear implants. If you are a healthy person, it's likely that a CI will bring a great deal of hearing back. I know people who have had CI surgery in their late 80s with success. Yes, it's surgery, but it is usually done on an outpatient basis. Mine was done in the morning and I returned home that afternoon. Of course everyone is different, so experiences are not always identical.

I tell this story again ONLY because there are still people out there in medical fields who think that nerve deafness is standard and uncorrectable because the auditory nerve is dead. The odds are that auditory nerve is functional but isn't being stimulated. Again, go to a CI center for testing.

Ask your medical providers how much curriculum-based study they had on hearing loss.

There is help out there and it keeps getting better. The technology that can be added on to hearing aids and cochlear implant processors is worth learning about as well.

Julieo4

I have had this problem for almost 4 years now . I was just riding down the road and my right ear shut off , never to come back on. Went to two ENT doctors . Sudden sensoral hearing loss was the diagnosis. I wasn’t sure they really knew. One said a cochlear ( might) help. I need a little more than might! I get along well most of the time. The facial numbness and the inability to tell the direction of sound is the most aggravating part. Sometimes my face , just on the right side , feels like no just left the dentist.

@rlsutton If the hearing loss is single sided, you might benefit from a bicross hearing aid. That sends sound from the hear that doesn't hear to the side that does. That would help with that directional issue.

A cochlear implant could very possibly give you back the hearing on the damaged side. Let us know if you find help.

@julieo4 I lost my hearing in my left ear from the surgery performed for hemifacial spasm. The surgery is called microvascular decompression. I now use the cros-hearing aid in my left ear to send the sound to my right ear. It does not help with directional hearing. The right ear gets bombarded with all the sound. The only time it's beneficial is when you are in a discussion with someone sitting directly to your left. And when in a noisy room, it doesn't even help, then.

@jtpalmbay2023 & others: It's important to understand that everyone's hearing loss is different. So is treatment for it. I was fit with a bicross system back when they first came available (1970s). That happened because my provider said I wouldn't need 2 hearing aids if I used the bicross. I should have been fit with 2 HAs because the tests in both ears were similar. Instead, I went with my right ear 'unaided' for over 2 decades. That led to sensory deprivation in the unaided ear.

After watching the development of cochlear implants in the 1990s, I decided it made sense to get one. However, I was advised to get a hearing aid for that unaided ear and to use both ears to listen to audio books with the telecoils they contained. It was a matter of plugging in a neckloop to an audio device. Back then everyone was using portable tape players and small radios. That provided that 'lesser' ear with sound it had not heard for many years. At first it wasn't very clear, but after a few months it became clearer. I was amazed that I could follow those audio books better than ever. However, without the technology my hearing was getting worse. (NOTE: I realize the cause of your single sided deafness is different than my hearing loss.).

I did that for nearly 2 years prior to having the deprived ear implanted in 2005. It was life changing. I was able to adjust to bimodal hearing (CI & HA) very quickly as my word recognition tests kept improving.

Are you using any add on technology with your bicross system? Does the system have telecoils? Did your provider explain this to you? Nearly all quality hearing aids today work with small add on microphones. Those tiny hand held devices can make a positive difference in many settings where background noise is present. In larger venues, hearing aids with telecoils can connect to the public address system. The key is to bring the desired sound direct to the hearing aid or cochlear processor. It's a matter of having the connecting link and being told how to use it. Also a matter of making sure the hearing aids you buy have it.

I realize I sound like a broken record as I've explained this before. Most important: Don't buy hearing instruments of any kind that don't have access to sound from other sources. That requires telecoils, and in the future it will require Auracast connectivity. Insist on both options when you buy hearing aids today. Sadly, people who sell hearing aids do not always explain this.

I hope you're able to get the information you need from your providers. Be proactive in asking questions. Learn from other people who have hearing loss.

Good luck!