Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others

@cherriann They are nice to work with . I email them my questions and Kemp answers . So far he has helped me get use to them and I did have some tweeking to do at first . To find the right ear tip to use. At first you do hear whistling but thats your brain getting use to the new sound. After I found out the best fight for me I,ve had no more problems.

Just signed up. I've been losing my hearing since I was a child, and now have severe bilateral loss, sensorineural. On my 3rd pair of hearing aids (Oticon OPN) which I wear faithfully, but I still cannot hear well. My hearing loss creates difficult situations, miscommunication, fatigue, and isolation. On the UP side, I am able to use my experience with these challenges in my job as a Peer Support Specialist.

I sincerely hope that you will consider cochlear implants if you are not doing well with your newest hearing aids. I am bimodal, which means I use a cochlear implant on one ear and a hearing aid in the other. It has worked very well for me. Both ears have similar hearing loss. I would be a candidate for a second implant, but feel I do quite well using both technologies. My brain has wired itself to hear with both of them. If I remove one technology I don't do very well with the other. It doesn't matter which one. I do know that if I had to only use one that it would be the cochlear processor. I used hearing aids for 30 years before having the CI surgery.

Cherriann: I see you have issues with tinnitus. I am not sure what you hear but I have the tinnitus with the real high pitched ring and also was diagnosed with reactive tinnitus...this is a real low pitched drone. It gets worse when I am exposed to noise...like that found in restaurants or meeting places. I spent 4 hours at the Froedert Tinnitus/Hearing clinic in Milwaukee 6 weeks ago and was very pleased with the time they spent with me. They recommended sound therapy(white noise,etc) several hours and day. I can either use my earmuffs or my Phonak Compilot 2. I should see results within 6-9 months. I will let you know how that works. I am finally understanding the problem. I have been retired for a little over a year. When I was working my office was right above the plants compressor/utility area. The low drone pitch I am hearing now is the noise I was exposed for over 30 years! Isn't that interesting? Just thought I would share this. Hope things get better for you!
Scott

For those of you who are concerned about COVID-19, and who isn't, there is a new group to discuss these issues. It's
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/covid-19/
In it, people can discuss their concerns and share information that is from reliable sources. There is much information out there that is bogus, so do not fall prey to it. Things such as gargling with warm salt water to kill the germs before they get further, some of the recipes for homemade hand sanitizer. There is much less need for hand sanitizer now since most of us are going out very infrequently, just when absolutely necessary. The most effective is washing your hands with good, old regular soap for 20 seconds.
JK

First of all, thank you for moderating. Hearing issues don’t stop in COVID-19 times. I am 58 years old. I have a congenital hearing loss which means it was present at birth. As an adult, I wear a BTE on my right ear which was reconstructed in surgeries during my childhood. I have Atresia on my left side and recently decided to see if I was a candidate for BAHA. I am which makes me very happy. Sad though because understandably I may have to wait until C-19 has subsided a bit. In the meantime, my BTE quit and am testing new aids. In any other time, I would be happy for these developments but am not.

Hi @maryella7 Welcome to Connect.
I have a hearing loss that occurred as I aged, it started when I was in my 50s, but my daughter has always had one, presumably since birth since there did not seem to be anything that would have caused it afterward. I was diagnosed much after my hearing loss started with non-alcoholic cirrhosis and I have read that it can sometimes can cause hearing loss so that perhaps was the cause of mine.
I was the person who recognized that my daughter was not hearing well but at that time I was told by her pediatrician it was difficult to test a young child (she was 3) for hearing loss unless it was profound, which hers was not and is still not in her 30s. They told me that about 80% of the time in cases like hers they never really know what the cause was.
It is tough to have to wait for something that will help you so much. It's understandable that you are not happy with these developments. My loss is severe in one ear and profound in the other at this point but I have been told that a BAHA would not help with my type of loss. Apparently a CI would but I am not ready to take that irreversible step.
JK

Hi JK,
Yes. One does feel alone, even in one’s family. I am feeling better with the responses I have been receiving these past few days. They have really helped. Having a hearing aid “crap out” on me is teaching me to do better next time-get my money’s worth. Which ever hearing brand I go with, I will make sure I get the aid checked on a schedule much like a car.
Today’s mail brought me good news! I don’t have to wait. The insurance approval came through. The procedure is same day at a surgery center not at a hospital. I’m 58 almost 59. It’s time to wake up the left side of my head.

@maryella7 That's wonderful that you don't have to wait for you BAHA, you must be so excited to be able to move forward on it. I really am excited for you and look forward to hearing how it goes.
I know little about these, but I presume that there are different brands as there are in regular HAs. I hope the audiologist you are dealing with recommends a good one for you. I have good experiences with regular HA brands Phonak, and Oticon. My daughter currently has ReSound and loves them. I have had Widex recommended too by a highly regarded audiologist. Do these brands also make the BAHAs?
JK

Hi JK, It will be fitted with an Oticon Ponto 4 once the healing period is over. I have had Phonaks previously for my right ear. They last a long time. I’m turning in my Oticon demo and most likely purchasing Resound the first demo I tried. I love the itty bitty receiver size. I don’t know if it’s spring allergies or the Oticon demo, but I have had headaches for a solid week. Ugh. I will definitely keep you apprised of developments. One thing I will do at audiologist appointments from now on is request a writeup of the appointment. Goals, expectations, etc. In hindsight, I am stunned that I leave a hearing office without one. It should be standard practice. Anyway thanks. Comments welcome! Mary