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I am not a Dr. but have years of advocate and personal experience with hearing loss. If your hearing problem is caused by nerve damage in one ear, that ear's cochlea isn't able to send the sound messages to the auditory nerve which goes to the brain for interpretation. As I understand it, the brain may react by the loss of sound messages from one ear a number of ways. Lack of hearing, but also it can affect balance, cause tinnitus, early dementia and more, if not treated. If the loss is caused by bone conduction, it happens differently but the brain is still reacting to with other problems, also. I have both problems so have had this explanation given to me. My bone problems are much more recent.
Technology is rapidly changing, as you said. I always recommend shopping in 3 different places to get the quality, features, price and most importantly, care, you need. I went to one very capable provider with similar quality and price as another but he talked my ear off! Appointment took 3 hours. Went to two others, testing and all, was done in hour or a little more. I also checked Consumer Reports ratings and now they even ask on Next Door who is good in your area.
Hope this helps
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@th1. This does help, thanks, and reminds me that I need to refresh my memory when I visit the audiologist about precisely what my problem is and all the ways it can be addressed. I think the deafness in my left ear was caused by damage to the auditory nerve when they removed the acoustic neuroma. I read an article several years ago that doctors can now remove acoustic neuromas without destroying the auditory nerve if the nerve hadn't been too badly damaged to begin with. I remember thinking at the time mine must have been pretty damaged, since I was having serious hearing problems in that ear, which led to the diagnosis and subsequent surgery. I don't think they could have preserved the nerve.
Thanks for the good advice about buying and testing hearing aids. Before I spend more than $25 on anything, I consult Consumer Reports to see what their recommendations are. Before I go HA shopping, I'll look at their website again and download their latest information on hearing aids and do a lot of research on the internet. I'm a member of the professed luddite group here but am amazed at how much I love my Ipad and the worlds it opens up to me. I don't know what Next Door is but will check it out. Thanks! Nancy