Single Sided Hearing Loss

@dwi. Have you checked out hearing aid availability in Thailand? I remember reading before I visited there that Thailand was a medical tourist destination center. I just did a google search on hearing aids there. One article said it is a medical tourist destination center for people wanting to get less expensive hearing aids. I didn't scroll down through all the articles, but Phonax hearing aids and Starky hearing aids were mentioned as being available there, along with others, I'm sure. If they didn't have the specific model you were looking for, they could probably order it for you. I don't think less expensive means inferior, but Gina @earscan can probably help with that issue. The markup in cost for exactly the same drug in the States as compared with the rest of the world is obscene. Just a thought. Nancy

We live in rural Wyoming. No way to get to a Costco. Sams, Walmart and the nearest audiologist is about an hour or so away. I have no clue where the nearest Costco is. I think Sioux Falls? My husband is completely deaf in one ear, no bones, nothing. I think when they cleaned the last cholesteatoma out and pierced the lining of his brain, they cauterized and built an eardrum, not sure though. The right ear is the one that’s got the prosthetic bones, and false ear drum that is beginning to lose hearing gradually so he needs TWO hearing aids now but not sure.if he will need the same kind, or specialty HAs? Who knows.
He’s used Starkey, (last one) and had a lot of programming issues. He used another manufacturer before that but he had a lot better hearing.

@nla4625 @dwi and Others.... I saw this in a AARP post.. the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creeping into the latest hearing aids..Livio AI is made by Starkey.. I get Starkey HAs at the Veterans Administration.. I do not have these AI advantages ..
They have many new advantages..

Remote Adjustment.. Eliminate trips to the Hearing Aid Provider.. it even includes a chat ability.. and one amazing thing .. you can have the Hearing Aid find your Phone..

Fall Detection and Notification..
People with hearing loss have a 300 percent increased risk of falling, says Tom Wiffler, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits. “Now there are hearing aids that can detect and chirp when a fall is about to happen,” he says. The technology — found in the Livio AI device, made by Starkey — can't stop someone from falling, but it can automatically notify up to three emergency contacts to alert them that a fall has occurred and pinpoint where the person is.
Language translation
The Livio AI also offers translation in 27 languages, including French, Japanese, and Arabic. As someone is speaking, the device translates into English in real time.
To Text..
The Hearing aid can write text to your phone in real time ...

Renee, Starkey Foundation has hearing aids that are available. I will check this out for you. The local Lions Clubs have donated hearing aids. My husband and I went out all the time to fit the hearing aids from the Lions Clubs, but we were both degreed and licensed. Senior Centers also usually have someone who comes in for monthly testing and usually will work with you on pricing. Leasing hearing aids is also an option. I'll see what I can do, it helps to know what state you are in as the rules and regs are different from state to state. Gina

Renee, Starkey Foundation has hearing aids that are available. I will check this out for you. The local Lions Clubs have donated hearing aids. My husband and I went out all the time to fit the hearing aids from the Lions Clubs, but we were both degreed and licensed. Senior Centers also usually have someone who comes in for monthly testing and usually will work with you on pricing. Leasing hearing aids is also an option. I'll see what I can do, it helps to know what state you are in as the rules and regs are different from state to state. Gina

Enough about falling, i.e., imbalance! Everyone should learn to do some vestibular exercises as they age, because our inner ears age just like everything else. Many inner ear diseases offer imbalance as an added "treat." It's well worth it to locate a VRT (vestibular rehab specialist), even if they're not near you, schedule at least a couple of appts., and DO THE WORK! The great thing is that you can practice vestibular exercises while you're walking or moving about; they aren't something where you need to set aside a certain amount of time to do them.

BASICS: You have three balance systems. Your inner ear is your primary balance system, but, when it doesn't work well, you automatically begin to attempt to use your second balance system: VISION. This is really bad, because you'll lose your focal point every time you move or even move your head. Trying to use vision for balance causes falls, nausea, vomiting...a whole list of bad stuff. So, you need to learn to use your third balance system, PROPRIOCEPTION. Simply put, if you're standing on a headland with the wind blowing, proprioception tells you just how much you need to lean into the wind. Prtoprioception is the combination of what all the parts of your body tell you about where you are in space, especially your feet. You may think they're just stupid, but that's not the case. The simplest VRT exercise is simply thinking about what your feet tell you as you walk: check for obstacles ahead of you, then walk without looking at the ground or floor. Dead simple! You'll also be amazed at all the things there are to see! You can do this even while hiking in rough country. The other thing you need to do is to quit walking with your feet further apart (to attempt to balance). There are exercises where you stand, eyes closed and feet close beside each other, and see how long you can avoid wobbling. Then you start to walk short distances in safe places like halls or with someone beside you with your eyes closed. I guarantee you that your balance will improve, plus you'll have better eye/hand coordination in less than a month--and it will get even better after that. I've done some VRT work every single day for nearly 40 years and, in spite of bilateral Meniere's, I've only fallen twice, right after I went bilateral after decades of being unilateral.

Again, you need to find someone experienced with VRT, not just basic PT. When Meniere's became a serious daily problem for me nearly 40 years ago, there were only a handful of VRT specialists in the entire country; it was a new thing back then. So, when I went bilateral a couple of years ago, as soon as I got the monster under control I went to see a VRT specialist at the balance center in Portland, OR two hours away. Because I already knew a fair amount about VRT, I only needed four appts. to get a refresher course. After all, I had learned VRT all those years ago via e-mail!

So, please, everyone whether you think you have a balance problem or not, please try some simple VRT. Hearing and balance are closely tied; the nerves are often intertwined. One of the worst things older folks can do is rely on night lights. Instead, make certain that the path from bed to bath is clear before you retire and, when you need to make that "during the night" visit, do it in the dark until you reach the bath. When you get ready for bed, walk to your bedroom AFTER you've turned out all the lights. VRT really, really works! I'm 78 and still do very difficult instream (wading) data collection for our state fisheries agency. I've now volunteered in the same little river that runs through a very steep canyon on Oregon's north coast for nearly 30 years, and I don't intend to "retire" any time soon. My part of the river involves hiking/wading 3.5 miles upstream and includes crossing the main stem and scrambling up above a waterfall to place and retrieve a temperature monitor every spring and fall. I couldn't do this if I didn't work on VRT all the time. Because I'm all alone in a place that's miles from phone reception, I am excessively careful about wading. You will also learn that challenging your vestibular system by doing something that's a bit difficult will result in improved balance for 3-4 days, a side benefit for me of the ugly job of cleaning gutters.

@joyces. I'm really glad you posted about this again. I meant to save it and read it thoroughly and have now book marked it. I really have trouble finding things on Mayo Connect that I want to go back to. I don't find the search function to be very helpful. Anyway, I'm going to print this for myself and for my brother who had 3 strokes and is having balance problems. I think we're both river people -- when I was looking for my farm years ago, being on a river topped my list of priorities, followed by being less than an hour ambulance ride to Mayo Clinic. That requirement saved my life 15 years later. How do you find a person trained in VRT? Thanks. Nancy

If anyone has questions about VRT, I may be able to answer them...even though I'm not a VRT specialist. I've spent lots of effort and time to learn as much as possible about the problems of hearing and balance presented by Meniere's. FWIW, I've had single-sided hearing for well over 30 years and never even knew back then that it could be helped...and lived an active life in spite of it. As time went on, my "good" ear lost hearing due to age-related deafness, so I began to wear an aid in that ear. Other than never knowing where a sound is coming from, I don't seem to have any problems related to SSHL.

I'm pretty sure that Mayo has a vestibular clinic and/or specialists. I know that I saw Mayo on a list of VRT places. I'm fortunate in that Portland, OR is a center for vestibular treatment/diagnosis. When he was alive, Dr. F. Owen Black was supposedly the best diagnostician in the country, and he built the vestibular center and all its "fun" machines. He worked with NASA, testing astronauts before and after being in space, esp. John Glenn, who was the oldest astronaut at the time, much older than most. Dr. Black wanted to learn how being in a weightless situation for an extended time affected balance. There are balance specialty clinics in some surprising places, like Fort Wayne, IN. The House Clinic in LA in famous. Portland not only has the vestibular clinic (Legacy Good Samaritan) but also is the home of the international assn. for vestibs: VEDA (Vestibular Disorders Assn.). There was also a balance center in Texas decades ago...

Please understand that VRT is something you must do every day, for the rest of your life...but it's easy to make it just part of daily living once you learn to pay attention to what your feet have to say. I practice walking with my eyes closed on the quarter-mile walk along our one-lane gravel road to retrieve the mail every day, for example. It takes no longer to do that than it does to just walk down there, but is a big part of my VRT. Another thing to do is to get dressed/undressed standing without touching anything (stand beside a counter or dresser in case you begin to wobble). Putting on socks standing without touching anything is a special test--panty hose a REAL test (that I often fail). A simple thing to make is a step 6-8" high (like two 2x4s with a chunk of particle board on top); Eyes open, step down and back up 5X, then repeat with eyes closed, then do the same with your left foot. At first, you need to be next to something in case you begin to lose balance. You also may be surprised to find that you're heading off in a surprising direction, esp. if you have one-sided loss. You can also put a chunk of 2" foam on the floor and practice standing on it, eyes closed. All of those exercises teach you to "listen" to your feet--i.e., learn to use proprioception. You should begin to see some improvement in a couple of weeks, real improvement at the end of a month--IF you do something every day.