← Return to Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others

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@dstell

@colleenyoung, thanks for the invitation to join. My hearing loss began at age 27 when I was diagnosed with Meniere's disease. I went deaf in my left ear within 3 years of diagnosis. I went deaf in my right ear at age 48, also from Meniere's. At that point I was implanted with a cochlear implant in my left ear, and my right ear was implanted 1 1/2 years later.

With this being tinnitus awareness week, I would like to add that, although I am deaf, I have not experienced silence in 27 years.

Feel free to ask me anything about Meniere's or cochlear implants. I'm pretty much an open book on those subjects.

Dennis

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Replies to "@colleenyoung, thanks for the invitation to join. My hearing loss began at age 27 when I..."

@dstell I had no idea what Meniere's was so I just googled it. Does it always result eventually in a permanent hearing loss? Are CIs appropriate for all types of hearing loss? My daughter had a friend who had always been deaf and he got them. He basically had to learn to speak then.

@salledell Does your water instructor teach from in the pool or on the edge? I have one who teaches from in the pool but she has a deep and booming voice so I can hear her pretty well. I do wear my aids in the pool, my head never goes under. Another of the instructors teaches from the side and wears a little microphone called the "Connect Clip" so I can hear her. That is an accessory for the Oticon Opn hearing aids. Prior to her using it I had to really follow her movements and what others in the class was doing. She is young and has sort of a high voice. I could wear my prior hearing aids in the pool also. A brief submersion did not hurt them. They were Phonaks.

@gulzar I hate being in crowded, noisy places. It can be very depressing to just hear a din and not be able to distinguish much. Even when my family is gathered in our family room, I have trouble distinguishing sounds and hearing what is being said. Sometimes I just drop out.

@babarker I really understand your frustration. I hate continually asking people to repeat themselves. You are fortunate to have an understanding family.

JK

Are you pleased with the cochlear implants? I lost all hearing in my right ear recently. Oral steroids and ear injections were not successful, unfortunately. I don't think a hearing aid will be helpful. Thank you.

Hi Dennis, my name is Nancy and I also have Meniere's and have very little hearing in my right ear(8% speech recognition) and about 65% in the left because of it. I am scheduled to have a cochlear implant in early October and am interested in your experience with yours. Has it made a big difference? Would you do it again? I do have mild tinnitus and I struggle to understand words in groups of any size. I use an FM system for one-on-one communication successfully and am getting better at speechreading through an online course. Please let me know more about your situation.