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"The HUM", a persistent Low Frequency Noise
As I sit, writing, my left ear is filled with the Classic Hum. Both my ears used to hear it, but after an ear infection in the right ear, leaving no measurable loss of hearing as determined by yearly workplace hearing tests, I no longer hear it in the right.
Certainly, others must hear it.
My wife, largely complete loss of hearing in one ear, high frequency Tinnitus in the other, and myself, excellent hearing as tested by yearly workplace physicals, started hearing the HUM on the same day, in the same location, over a decade ago. We hear it exactly the same in a number of places separated by hundreds of miles. We have experimented by asking if the other could hear the HUM, whether in certain parts of the structure we were in (home we rented in the Country, home we owned in the City) if it was louder, quieter, or audible at all, and had an extremely high degree of concurrence.
It appears to be a real world event, not Tinnitus, but IMHO, the American Medical Community is trying to pawn it off as Tinnitus. I've seen a few references to the National Institutes of Health claiming, on flimsy questionnaires sent out, that the HUM is, indeed, Tinnitus.
My wife heard it, simultaneous to me hearing it, for a decade, I still hear it, but if you mention this to doctors, they look at you like you have snakes coming out of your head. My ENT has been sick, so my appointment with him has been delayed, he's back to work but catching up. I see the ENT due to a cancerous thyroid he removed. But recently, my right ear has been acting up. It makes a spontaneous rumbling noise that I can voluntarily reproduce. But telling this to my family doctor, that I can voluntarily make this rumbling (not the HUM) and also mentioning the HUM, since I hear it in my left ear but the right ear is acting up, on both counts, I don't think he believes me, or understands. Yet, yesterday, I found an article that says that some people have voluntary control over a muscle attached to the Tympanic Membrane. That's my voluntarily induced rumbling (not HUM).
So, there are some forms of Tinnitus, "Pulsatile Tinnitus (PT) is a symptom that affects nearly five million Americans. The sensation of hearing a rhythmic noise, such as a heartbeat, swooshing or whooshing, from no external source, is, at best, a little unsettling; for many, the near constant sound exceeds annoyance and becomes completely debilitating" that can cause noises in your hearing, but decidedly is not the HUM. I'd be interested in reading what others have to say on these experiences, if you don't feel like outing yourself, you could always say a friend of yours.......
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Did your specialist talk to you about bi-cross hearing technology? A bi-cross system transmits sound from the poor side to the good side. It looks like 2 hearing aids, but one is a transmitter, the other a receiver. It can help a great deal for people who have good hearing on one side.
Yes. He said he didn't think it (or a bone anchored device) which bypasses the bad ear would be that beneficial to me. He said it helps only slightly with sound localization, doesn't reduce tinnitus, and doesn't help with filtering background noise or multiple voices. Whereas a cochlear implants uses the bad ear and would likely help me with my most troubling issues of SSHL. My husband wants me to get the Osia which is covered by Medicare but it's difficult to choose that when the specialist/surgeon says that if it were him he would only do the Cochlear Implant.
Question: for those who lost hearing after vaccine …which vaccine did you take ? Was it Pfizer?
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@videojanitor Thank you for sharing your location. There is a strong presence of HLAA in California. While there is no chapter located in Sacramento, there are others in that general area. The CA website has a lot of information. During COVID, many events have been held online, so people from afar have become more involved. I suggest you check the website: http://hearinglossca.org/about-us/governance/board-of-directors/ NOTE: This address relates to the HLAA California board of directors, but will bring up all the info at the site. HLAA is about PEOPLE with hearing loss. Learning about these leaders is enlightening as they are all volunteers. As I've said before, meeting other people who 'get it' about our hearing issues can be life changing.
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2 ReactionsMedicare often does cover single sided deafness for cochlear implants, but it may take some personal advocacy.
The CI manufacturers will go to bat for you if your medical team has determined that a CI would work well for you. I know, personally, that Cochlear Americas has had excellent results on this issue.
Who told you Medicare would not cover the CI procedure?
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1 ReactionThe surgeon's, Dr Michael Murray, office gave me a private pay estimate. I asked if they could try to get an approval from Medicare and the gal just said Medicare doesn't cover it. And that was it. I didn't really know who to talk to after that.
Once you decided a CI was the way to go, did you talk to Dr. Murray? Is he an audiologist or an ENT? I think you said ENT before.
I encourage you to advocate for yourself on this. Talk to the doctor again. Not sure 'the gal' knows everything. Medicare does decline procedures that are considered experimental. Cochlear implants are NOT experimental, and there is a great deal of research that indicates they change quality of life for recipients.
Medicare does cover it, but often it needs to be pushed. Again, the CI manufacturers have a department that works to get insurance coverage for CI candidates. Ask your doctor to contact the CI provider he suggests for you. As mentioned before, Cochlear Americans went to bat for me.
You may find more information to justify advocacy at: https://www.acialliance.org
Have you considered getting a second opinion?
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1 ReactionThank you so much! Dr Murray is an Otolaryngologist in San Jose, CA. My audiologist referred me to him and said he does all their Baha, Osia, and Cochlear Implants. Someone from either Cochlear or Hearing Loss Assoc told me he is highly regarded and I would be in good hands with him. I can try calling his billing office and see what they say. I'll check out the link you gave me as well.
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1 Reaction@julie04 Thank you so much for that information -- I will definitely check out the HLAA site that you linked and hope to meet others with hearing issues.
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