I had an appointment for my annual check at Hearing Australia this morning. I’ve lost a further 15-20db from mid range in my L aided ear… Sigh… This is not good news for me, as I have very little usable hearing in this ear. It’s already severe profound, what classification comes after this? UGH!
On the bright side they have ordered a new Hearing Australia/Resound aid the XR power aid, time will tell if it’s powerful enough, and better than my Enzo 3D. Or I need something more powerful still. The good news is the BTE XR comes with disposable batteries, (woohoo can’t cope with rechargeable) and it’s a much newer platform from my old 3D. Fingers crossed it works well for me… I will have it on trial for 2 weeks and see how I manage. Sadly I will need to get it linked at my Cochlear care center…
Is there any other Aussies who have the XR line from Hearing Australia?
My hearing dropped the last year about that much.
Do you have any discussion with an ENT or other doctor, as to what might have caused it, and could there be any medicine like a steroid treatment, I have read some have had here, after a Covid related or suspected hearing decline?
Also… what don’t you like about the rechargeable batteries, At first I laughed at the idea, and thought it was just a gimmick…sales gimmick, but I been only using rechargeable HAs now for five years, and I would never want to go back to the “dumpers”.
Hope you can find some workable solution to better hearing.
Yes I’ve had many discussions with my ENT. My hearing in my L ear is congenital loss. It’s over 7 decades since I’ve heard high frequencies in this ear. So the only useable hearing I have is mid range.
I have rechargeable batteries on my CI. The amount of equipment I need to take with me when I go away is an awful lot. So why add another charger to the mix when I can take a slither of batteries. Apart from that I’m not at all tech savvy I just don’t need the extra stress of wondering if it’s charging properly.
as a pro photographer, i can relate to large amount of gear… you cannot imagine the amount.
Battery cards are far more confusion than today’s HA chargers.
You can use any USB power supply, just need the single correct cable. The HAs fit in only one way, so that light comes on - right, and you get visible indicator of charging, charged, off/not connected.
My hearing aids have rechargeable batteries. I complained the first 3 years that they didn’t last long enough. I wear them at least 15 hours a day.
I got replacement hearing aids and charger at end of warranty. The battery life is longer. Better.
I stayed overnight in Hospital about 2 years ago. Rechargeable batteries died.
I have rechargeables, and if there’s the slightest hint I might have to bug out I toss the charger, a spare 2-charge battery and an extra charging cord along with my IPhone and Ipad into a bag. If traveling, I have all those with me anyway, and I’ll probably ultimately swap out my basic charger for the travel one. (If it’s sudden, I can always draft my brother to swing by the house and collect charging paraphernalia to bring by the hospital.)
@eliotb I also have a bag for traveling with all hearing gear in it. I need a usb power board for my cochlear implant, Y battery charger, my breeze dry box. Spare rechargeable CI batteries, iPhone charging cords. Spare microphone covers. My bag is FULL, I don’t need another battery charging device for my hearing aid. If I have to go rechargeable batteries then I stand the chance of the battery running out half way through the day!! A slither of disposable batteries is a heck of a lot easier to manage in amongst all my other hearing gear I have to take with me. Whether it to hospital or holidays I have to take this bag or I’m deaf for the duration.
I got my new HA yesterday, it’s the XAF 7 BTE with disposable batteries. Which is a rebranded Resound aid, but I have no idea which Resound aid it is. I don’t even know if it’s a P, SP or UP aid, my Aud didn’t know. What is surprising me is this aid she has chosen for me doesn’t cover all my hearing loss. Just forget what hearing I have between 90-120db. So far this aid is useless to me I can’t hear very much with it at all. I can’t talk on the phone and understand what the other person is saying. I can’t hear what people are saying to me in a conversation. I’ve asked people to repeat what they said constantly. But I will see what tomorrow brings after my CI appointment when I get everything paired and up and working properly. Without the bimodal hearing effect this aid isn’t powerful enough.
Can someone explain why they are only aiming at my mid range hearing please? As I don’t have much of my mid range left to hear with. Why not cover it all?
No idea: this looks like a Mid-HF dead region to me on the Left. Might be better to shut the aid off there and use a bit of frequency shifting to appropriate some of the sounds from there.
I feel for you so much. I know how it feels. When I lost my hearing and they told me it is what it is i felt exactly like when my mother died of cancer. I’m still in mourning. I lost my hearing on 07 March 2025 suddenly. I will never forget that.
I lost whatever hearing I had left in my right ear in February. My doctor immediately started me on a course of steroids with varying or limited success. As the little hearing I have regained is not constant, and varies from one day to the next.
Hello Barry. I had a sudden drop in hearing from normal to -40dB in my right ear. I did a course of steroids and it came back partially. However like two weeks ago started to feel something off with my right ear. In the last 3 days it went down badly. Do you remember the dosage and the duration of the steroid treatment? I’m curious if they have the same practices around the world. I mean how many mg? how many days? was with tapper off? Is good that the hearing varies yet. This means the cochlea still works.
I did a course of steroids and it came back. Not the same but was oke. However like two weeks ago started to feel something off with my right ear. In the last 3 days it went down badly. I really don’t know what to do.
Go to the GP/ENT today for prednisone. You will probably need 40-60 mg per day, taken in the morning between 6 and 8 a.m., for at least 10 days.
6-8 mg of dexamethasone 1x per days probably also woukd be good.
The sooner you start treatment, the better. If you have type 1 or (especially) type 2 diabetes, monitor your blood sugar.
A steroid treatment of up to 14 days does not require tapering afterwards. However, many physician don’t know about that, but probably tapering didn’t harm anyone. The most important doses are the first ones given in the first several days, which should be close to the maximum.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (at least 2.5ATA and 10-15 session 60 min in 100% oxygen) may be considered depending on accessibility.
Dear friends I already did like 60 pills of Medrol (methylprednisolone) in 4 cures all of them starting at 48mg (equivalent of 60mg Prednisone) for a week then tapering down. This started since March this year. I think I had enough. If my hearing didn’t recovered and went even worse (I will find out next Tuesday) I think is call it out. Now I’m scared of necrosis or extreme bone loss. I do think it wasn’t enough though. I know some chronic conditions require the use of this drug for years so I guess I’m safe for my little escaped. But you know how it is, you do whatever to save a sense so important as hearing. I just ordered some supplements right now to help with bone grow. Is funny because I don’t usually drink milk but somehow all this period my body asked me for milk (maybe my sensors told me I lose calcium). I’m very very depressed. Very depressed. I don’t know why I’m alive anymore really. I’m devasted about my hearing loss. Just hope for a miracle to happen and it doesn’t.
Regarding bone loss from steroid treatment - this is mainly true for chronic longterm glucocorticosteroids and Cushing syndrome, this is much less probable from short-term medicating.
If you think about osteoporosis, I think measure of vitaminum D3 should be considered, and depending on where do you live you should take at least 2000 IU of vitaminum D daily.
well is a known fact that intensive steroid use, even for a short time may lead to bone tissue necrosis and most likely bone mass loss. signs could show up after 6 month since you quit the treatment. but maybe I’m just scared that’s all.
I’ve lost a further 15-20db from mid range in my L aided ear… Sigh… This is not good news for me, as I have very little usable hearing in this ear. It’s already severe profound, what classification comes after this? UGH!