Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others

Are you Tony F who I met at HLAA convention in Mpls a year ago?

Ha Ha Ha, we meet yet again. Hope you're doing well.
Are you planning on going to Naaarlins next summer? (I'm practicing my southern drawl already)

@joangela Hi Joangela. My hearing loss started about 15 years ago and has gotten progressively worse over the years.

It is very difficult, and often depressing, to not be able to hear the conversation when I am trying to communicate with more than one person, and even worse when in a restaurant or at a function. My son was married recently and despite the joy of the occasion it was also depressing for me. There were other events surrounding the actual wedding and I was at a total loss. I find that phone conversations with anyone other than those with whom I am close are very difficult, particularly if I need to call customer service for something. Then you not only have the problem in hearing the person at the other end but often those jobs are done by people in other countries and they have strong accents. One time I kept asking to be put on with someone who could speak more clearly to me. I went through three different customer service people and ended up almost in tears by the time I got off the phone, and had not resolved the issue. When I know I have to make those calls I will sometime have my husband do it for me.
My last hearing test was two years ago and my hearing loss in one ear was profound, and in the other severe. I am scheduled for tests in October. I have Oticon Opn 1 hearing aids and have heard there is a newer model that is 15% clearer. It is tempting to buy new ones but will 15% really help that much? It's not as if they give these things away either. New ones will cost over $6000. My daughter used to work at the Center for Hearing and Communications in NYC. I am tempted to go there if I choose to get new hearing aids. I did get hearing aids there before once. The audiologist there is fairly renown and I am wondering if she might be able to do more for me than my local audiologist who I think is really very good also.
JK

Good luck picking your audiologist. It is really pretty much just science, but there is some art to practicing well. Then there enters luck. Because we are humans we don't all react the same way to the same treatments. All the audiologists I've met seem to be competent and caring, but they don't always achieve good results.

Good luck picking your audiologist. It is really pretty much just science, but there is some art to practicing well. Then there enters luck. Because we are humans we don't all react the same way to the same treatments. All the audiologists I've met seem to be competent and caring, but they don't always achieve good results.

Hello.I'm 44. I was told by family members that I have a "busted" eardrum ever since birth. Until recently as I inquire more, the same family members told me I have nerve issues. Not sure why it changed. If that the case and according to all the audiograms(only) I've had over the years, it appears I have bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss. I'm not convinced my audiologist knows exactly what I have without an otolaryngologist diagnosis. As I research more online about nerve damage, i found there's a host of other possible disorders that go along with this affliction.

I have so many questions and any reply from this forum would be forever grateful. Can anyone tell me if nerve damage means auditory nerve only, or both auditory and vestibular nerve? How one know if they may have balance issues without seeing a specialist? How does your diet play a role in having a healthy hearing lifestyle such as salt intake?(I omitted caffeine)

I've seen a few therapists thinking I have depression. What I believe I have is hearing loss depression. Most of the jobs I had were in a loud environment with constant communication with people. This leads to listener fatigue which leads to fatigue which leads to the concept of depression. Now I know. My fault I guess. I'm my own therapist and I'm suggesting my own therapy routine. Be more assertive with my audiologist(maybe change), join this forum, join HLAA, interact with Blogs, change my diet if necessary, and finally, if possible, find some people in the flesh that have some form of hearing loss whom I can relate to. Will see if I'm successful. I know I will be.

Thanks for listening( I'm sure you heard that before)

@johnny3 From what I know depression goes hand in hand with hearing loss as it gets worse. How bad is your hearing? Mine is now severe in one ear and profound in the other. My understanding of words has also degraded severely. It’s very isolating when in social situations and that is a cause of depression.

There is a private group on Facebook, Hearing Loss Community - HLC. It can be helpful and comforting to communicate with others who face the same problems. If you are on Facebook you might want to request to join.
JK