Looking for continued input for SSHL

That telecoil advice is extremely important. Telecoils will connect to sound systems that have hearing loops, FM or IR technology installed. This hearing assistive tech is likely to be found in areas where groups of hard of hearing people have advocated for it and educated about it. Check out http://www.hearingloss.org (The Hearing Loss Assn. of America) for chapter locations.

You are also going to be told that telecoils are 'old technology' and a new technology called Auracast will replace it. The wise response to that is "I want both telecoils and Auracast in whatever hearing aids I buy". Not all have that option, but some do.

As I've explained many times. We have a right to hear in public places according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is called 'communication access'. The ADA does state that it has to be requested in advance. In most cases it's installed because people have done the educating on it.

Reality: Venues that related to telecoils are not going to have to install a new type of tech if they are already accessible. Plan for both. ASK your provider for it.

One of the reasons why these options are not always included in hearing instruments relates to the space they take in the product, which is very small. BUT, the stigma of hearing loss, which is unfortunate, leads to ads that brag about how 'tiny' their products are, etc. People with hearing loss create their own 'demons' when they put stigma ahead of better hearing.

I lost hearing in right ear overnight and was at hospital next morning for steroid injections, drops and whatever else was prescribed. It did nothing. I was told it was a viral issue but I was on strong antibiotics for a number of days before and believe this was the cause. Very concerned if I do get some medical problem which usually requires antibiotics as I am concerned about losing hearing in good ear. Antibiotics are not the only ototoxic drugs so be careful what you take. You do get used to living with one good ear but always thinking about the potential to lose hearing in good ear.

Wow ! I could've written that. To be honest I have not read every reply in this thread.

I had a successful complication free total left hip replacement in February of 2025 and was recovering nicely. Then on August 6 2025 I just woke up with SSHL completely deaf in my left ear and lost my sense of balance. As of today September 9 I've had a dose or oral steroids and two intratympanic shots with the third and (thank God) final one in two days. They are no fun.

Your comment about knee replacement and a spinal and SSHL got my attention and will have me looking to see if I can find any studies that might make a statistical comparison.

The first ENT served to put me on the oral medications within two days of the event but he was bad news and I had to go find a better doctor and did. He had me on Dexamethasone and Acetazolomide. I noted that my new hip that had not been bothering me started to quite a bit after I started on these and he said he never heard of that. The surgeon that did the replacement is in the same building so I stopped in and left a message for him about those two meds. He has been wonderful to date and responsive yet somehow when I asked that I get nothing so I gave up.

My new (excellent) ENT said he never heard of that either but believed me and had me off of both of them immediately. I got a ten day course of them by that time anyway. and started to feel better almost immediately after discontinuing those pills. The two shots in the ear I got haven't bothered my hip at all.

IDK if my sudden inactivity due to the persistent vertigo/dizziness was responsible or not or if it was the meds but it whichever (or neither) this has been a damned painful setback. I've been working on it at the gym to restore my range of motion, again. I am now able to walk as much as I want (2-5 miles per day), go to the gym and drive locally (safely) but still nowhere near 'right'. My ENT said that apart from age (61) persistent vertigo usually means the chances of my hearing returning is slim. He also said that it'll take weeks/months for my brain to 'recalculate' itself and that I should not pursue any hearing aid until I wait a while. Fine by me.

My hearing was already damaged to begin with from long term exposure to loud noise and I have lived with tinnitus for years. I mentioned to the ENT that I am paying the price for that now and he didn't think the SSHL was necessarily related, it's a matter of what I have left on the right. The hearing test confirmed ll that but my non-scientific guesstimate is that I have about 85% left in my right ear. Going totally deaf at some point keeps me awake at night.

Like you I am trying to learn how to function like this and not become deeply depressed and am only marginally successful. The exercise is helpful - I've always been very active. There are certainly many worse things you can get but that doesn't mean I have to appreciate this ****.

This may be unrelated to the topic you are addressing here but in going to restaurants with other couples without hearing loss they have complained about the noise.
I researched the topic and restaurants have become increasingly noisy because of the way they are built. If this is the direction we are headed and even those without hearing loss find it uncomfortable what are we as a group going to do?
Hearing loss is isolating enough and this only makes it worse.
I welcome all comments on my post. Certainly I am not the only one that is experiencing this.
Where is the ADA for us?

@daveshaw I suggest you start a new discussion. The ADA supports communication access in venues where being able to hear performances, presentations, etc. can be provided with technology like hearing loops, FM systems, IR systems and in the future Auracast. It does not relate to common areas like restaurants, cocktail parties and places that are noisy due to people talking, music playing in the background, acoustical issues like vertebration due to the building's structure, etc.

If you feel a location is acoustically problematic for all who enter, let the facility manager know your concern. If enough people do that, it's possible they will do something to create a better acoustical environment. That often means adding soft surfaces to ceilings, floors, walls, etc., and is not always possible.

Obviously, if enough people complain and their business is affected, they are more likely to listen and react.

I would like to hear from people that have had CI’s. I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.
Right now they are working on a fully implantable CI. It is still in the trial stages. Can you imagine having something you could shower and swim with and would not have to take out at night.
How hard is it to learn to hear sounds in a whole new way?
I have been told my hearing is between severe and profound. Phonak has a new hearing aid with two chips called the Phonak Audio I90 Sphere.
Has anyone tried it? I am demoing it right now without custom molds. Let me know. It seems to help with background noise and clarity.
Love to hear from all of you out there.

At the end of August I lost some of my hearing in my right ear. I was misdiagnosed three times. On day 25, I received a hearing test and was diagnosed correctly and started injection treatments to my ear.

What I have going against me: Late treatment but technically still in the window. Not young. Vertigo with it.

On the other hand, I did not lose all of my hearing in the affected ear which is a predictor of good upcoming medication response. In addition, my voice recognition skills were not badly affected--also a predictor of a good response.

Nevertheless, the odds that I will get some hearing back are not great.

Although I am having a good day, I can see how this will be life-changing short of a miracle.

The fullness in the ear part I hate. The tinnitus is not that bad some of the time. The loudness of sounds and inability to locate them was really getting me down but today that seems better.

The vertigo has gotten worse. I never in a million years expected this. I was a bit lost last week but today I have a better attitude.

Hello new here and I have Genetic Nerve Deafness hearing aids do not help we tried ... I have a new personal amplifier hangs around my neck with ear buds but can't figure out how to use yet too high tech plus I am 86 . Anyone else have this issue ?

@michaelhockey Sorry you have to deal with this. I was also diagnosed a month late and never regained any hearing, but honestly it hasn't been that bad for me. It depends on your job and hobbies--if you are a musician, for example, then yeah, it's bad. If your other ear has normal hearing, you should learn to manage OK (pick your spot at a restaurant or the dinner table, for example!). I got a BAHA implant for single-sided deafness in 2008 and that was helpful. Nowadays I believe (not sure) they do a cochlear implant instead. So you will have some options.

At first I too jumped at certain sounds--plate on ceramic counter, announcement in grocery store, someone ripping a reply card out of the middle of a magazine, etc. VERY annoying, but over a period of weeks or months it went away completely, as your brain adjusts. Tinnitus only bothered me when I thought about it, but then it isn't that loud--I can barely hear it over the whirring of my computer. Things should settle down as your brain adjusts, even if you don't get any hearing back and the tinnitus is not likely to go away completely. But if it bothers you, there are also options for that.

Hopefully you are being seen by a NEURO-OTOLOGIST, that is, an otologist that specializes in ears, and a good audiologist.

Vertigo or dizziness can have many causes...mine also went back to baseline after a short time. (I had already had many years of low-level dizziness which gradually worsened and I FINALLY figured out that was caused by vestibular migraine. The "extra" dizziness after the hearing loss--which happened when I sneezed hard one day--did pass over a couple of weeks.)

Good luck and definitely get a NEURO-OTOLOGIST if you don't have one already, and find out about options if you don't get your hearing back. But I hope you will!

Nancy