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Am I deaf from a childhood incident?
When I was around 7-10 years of age (now 21), I went to an ear specialist and I believe my hearing was damaged by the instrument he was using. I didn’t tell him to stop when it hurt, which he said to do so. The deafening sound of the vacuum in my ear and how far he went down I think has an effect on me today. From then on I can’t hear people in loud areas, I constantly ask people to repeat themselves or speak louder and clearly. But there are times when I can hear people when they speak lower or a random noise but only in a quiet environment It’s come to the point where I just nod my head to anything someone says that I don’t hear. I can not get my ears cleaned by the doctor because my ears are too sensitive to even clean or loud vehicles and music I also work with with heavy machinery which does not help. Is this hearing loss or just a large amount of ear wax that is lodged?
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I would make an appointment with an Audiology Dept in a University or a hospital concerning your hearing loss. Wearing ear protection due to your working environment with the loud noise of the machinery. Ear protection lowers the decibels that your ears are receiving. For example from 80-100 decibels down to 70 decibels. When you make your appointment ask about the protection of your ears from noise during working hours.
Hermine Willey
cohear@aol.com
...sorry to hear , from fellow sufferer , i have a few issues, moderate hearing loss, tinnitus, hyperacusis and now, of all things, musical ear: yesterday was
O Canada theme being whistled to softly for hours; then turned into music rendition of the song ... The last time ever I saw your face.. and it continued into the night; sorry, got sidetracked, but while lying here have wondered if my tinnitus is worse right ear when audiologist did hearing test, and checked pressure in left ear, couldnt see what she was using, and sort of did it "once" but right ear i could feel her wiggling something around 3 times, but like you didnt want to ask; when she put the trial hearing aid in left ear it has been set toloud and I winced and she took it out and lowered it (I tried them for a few hours each day for 4 days but didnt work out)... so like you, although didnt hurt...I still wonder if a "one of a kind/time" thing could cause future permanent problems or exasperate (?) current condition - ? Agree that you MUST wear hearing protection - spouse just using lawn mower and leaf blower outside and I shut the windows as sooo loud, yet he wont wear hearing protection !! Best of luck with future comments, will be interested in reading comments on your post... J.
@abram67 Welcome to Mayo Connect. Valerie and Hermine have given you some good advice.
Hearing loss can have many causes, but your exposure to the noise of heavy machinery is more worrisome to me than a medical procedure that was done years ago.
Have you consulted an ENT? Not all ear wax needs to be removed mechanically is that is the cause of your loss - we "bathe" my grandson's ears regularly to dissolve the wax, and then have him tilt his head to drain it - my Dad had to do that his whole life.
Do you wear hearing protection?
Please get this evaluated soon - you shouldn't spend your life nodding in agreement to things you cannot hear - Wow! that could get you into big trouble in some situations 🤷♀️
Sue
@abram67 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.
Hearing loss is complicated. It would take a thorough exam by an ENT specialist to know if your ear drum had been damaged during the childhood exam you mention. Even if that was the case, it's unlikely it would cause sensorineural hearing loss that takes place in the inner ear. Could the fear you experience from that time be related to your hesitation to have a hearing exam now?
Were you having problems hearing when you were a small child? Ear wax (cerumen) can block the ear canal enough to make hearing difficult. That is a kind of hearing loss that can be corrected by eliminating the problem. That is not the case with most other types of hearing loss.
It's very possible that you have sensorineural hearing loss that affects the inner ear. I encourage you to make an appointment with a reputable audiologist or ENT as soon as possible so you can get a baseline audiogram.
SNHL tends to be progressive and is often related to genetics. Is there anyone in your family that is hard of hearing? Parent? Grandparent? etc.? One of the first signs of SNHL is difficulty understanding speech in a noisy environment, even one as common as a social setting in a restaurant or at a party. SNHL can be exacerbated by exposure to noise. Loud music, noise at work, etc. is a problem. It sounds as if you are working in an environment that is noisy.
Ear protection is highly recommended. Are you using ear protection on the job?