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Noise sensitivity with hearing loss: What strategies do you use?
I have worn hearing aids for almost ten years for sensorineural hearing loss. They have been amazing for me. However in recent months I have realized that I am becoming increasingly sensitive to noises, particularly when there are multiple sounds going on at the same time. For example, a can be enjoying a conversation with minimal problems, but when someone else starts having a separate conversation in the same room I suddenly cannot make out anything meaningful in either conversation. It's partially a matter of not being able to "block out" the distraction, but there's also a physical discomfort.
My aids seem to be working properly. I had a hearing test and aid adjustment about six months ago.
Is this something you have dealt with? If so, what strategies can you share?
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Have you tired turning the aid down a level or 2 to try to block out the background conversation? Sometimes I find that works. But yes it is something you will probably need to work on finding ways to help with it. It is a struggle in group settings when more then 1 person is talking.
I also know I struggle with loud noises. The microwave timer beeping and my son just generally being loud. They all “hurt” my ears and I need to turn the volume down on my aids.
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2 Reactions@pokerduckie
Hi,
I have worn hearing aids for 40+ years for same type of hearing loss. My Phonaks have a setting that lessens surrounding noise somewhat. It was a delicate balance to mute some of the background noise while keeping speech loud enough to understand in the programming process. . As @mickey5909 does, I more often turn the volume down a click or two on my regular setting and that seems to help a lot. Try it and give it a minute or two when you turn the volume down so you get use to it. I think you will like it.
I know restaurants are noisy so I start turning down or change the setting as I am walking in. I found this out by accident one night years ago in a particularly noisy environment.
This is just relevant to me but I also often remove the aid from my left (bad) ear which helps as I have minimal hearing in that ear…..found this helpful when there is music in the background.
So, perhaps your audiologist can give you another setting or try our tips.
FL Mary
I have a left bad ear and also remove the phonak (microphone) in my left ear with too loud noises
Extreme sensitivity to sound, even sounds that are typical to other people, can be caused by a condition called hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is not common, but it can accompany hearing loss in some cases. You will find some very basic information on this link. https://www.webmd.com/brain/sound-sensitivity-hyperacusis
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1 ReactionThank you for the link
I know I've written about this other times, but, especially if you're a postmenopausal woman, hyperacusis may be a sign of Meniere's Disease. Although no research has been done, except one study in China (of all places), most people with real MD (not misdiagnosed MD) are older women, who lack normal amounts of hormones. Hormones past menopause are another subject that hasn't been studied as much as it could/should have been. I've had MD most of my life, but it became a real problem in my 40s...when I quit taking the birth control pills I'd taken since I was 18. After four years of total hell where I had crises that lasted 12-15 hours up to three times a week, I finally found an OB/Gyn who gave me the right formula for safe hormone replacement: 2½ parts progesterone for 1 part estrogen. I started with large doses, quit having crises in less than a month, then was able to work on learning proprioception for balance, meaning that I could function as a norm. Because it had been four years since I had started losing hearing in the affected ear (I was still unilateral), there wasn't a way to regain hearing in that ear, and the hyperacusis prevented me wearing an aid in my right ear. Then, four years ago, I went bilateral: the damned disease moved into my sorta good ear. I was then wearing an aid in my left ear due to age-related hearing loss, but the new hyperacusis in my left ear meant that I couldn't wear the aid because loud, sharp sounds like my large dog's bark were downright painful. It took me a year to find a local doc willing to prescribe adequate amounts of hormones: my hearing returned to where it had been prior to going bilateral in less than two weeks, and no more crises! Later, it occured to me that, if increased hormones prevented hyperacusis in my "good" ear, it might also have reduced it in my long-useless right ear. I requested a new hearing test, and am now wearing aids in both ears. I don't hear much from the right side, but it is enough so that I can locate origin of sounds: when a plane flies overhead, now I can look up and see it without swiveling my head around in total confusion over where it might be. I can hear cars coming up behind me while I'm walking. All good, all due to increased hormones. In addition, I no longer have loud tinnitus or, better yet, auditory hallucinations.