Struggling at 24 due to noise related hearing loss

[Ja_Ryu_ImEngl1sh]

Hi, I’m Jack. I started having problems with tinnitus when i was around 18 due to years of blasting music at max volume. I tried to stay off it from then on, but due to pressure to keep up with university and my general anxiety(and habit), I kept coming back to music.

I tried to keep it to half the avaliable volume, but kept ended up using earbuds and listening to it for hours. Now, I’m 24, and I’m struggling to figure out what the heck I’m going to do with my life.

I keep my noise cancelling headphones on basically all day because I’m anxious. I have been paying religious attention to my hearing health app, and am barely able to listen to music without looking and seeing that even at the lowest volumes I can listen to(3-4 volume+ button presses) on my iphone, that it still reads as 54-67db. That just makes me feel even worse. I knew this was coming, I knew something was wrong, but I just kept going.

I go to hearing loss clinics, but they tell me I’m fine. Apps keep fluctuating. And all the while, I can’t understand speech in public, can’t make out songs on the radio, and have to force my parents to repeat everything they say multiple times just to not bungle conversations. Even my own voice sounds distant. I’m also having trouble hearing ‘s’, ‘m,’ ‘n’, and ‘k/c’ sounds.

Any advice, gang? Cause I don’t know what the hell to do. I basically ruined my hearing for my whole life. After all, hearing just gets worse as you age.

From clinic:

App tests:

Now I’m 24, and I don’t know how I’m going to live the rest of my life like this. I go online and all I see is how there is no cure, how I’ll forever be disabled, and that even hearing aids won’t really ever help me get my old life back. Not to mention that, apparently, hearing loss and anxiety make me more at risk for dementia! Just great!

[PJB12]

Hello Jack,

You mentioned going to hearing clinics with no helpful results. Hearing clinics vary so much in ability to assist. It depends on the education and experience of the staff- and that varies widely from a week’s training all the way to a medical degree, residency & board certification.

Perhaps a medical professional who can examine you from the “ears and brain” perspective will be of more benefit for you.

If I may, I’d like to respectfully suggest starting with an otolaryngologist. She or he will do a thorough examination and, if necessary, refer you to a trusted audiologist, otologist or neurotologist depending on your situation.

For a real-life example, much of my hearing challenge (a lot since birth) has nothing to do with the ears. And the tinnitus I have is 100% neurological. For this, a generic hearing clinic would not be of benefit.

The most important thing is to continue to pursue a solution for your hearing challenges. Over time, if not addressed, hearing troubles can result in nerves failing you. They simply give up.

The sooner you can address this and start the journey to happy hearing, the quicker any hearing assistive device can provide benefits to you. (The brain takes time to adapt. The sooner it starts learning to hear and understand newly regained sounds, the quicker you will be enjoying sounds once again.)

Please keep us posted on your journey. You will love being able to hear and understand once again!

Paul

[MDB]

It would be nice to see an audiogram done by a professional that includes word recognition scores.

It’s possible that you might have a word processing disorder.

If you have issues with anxiety and/or depression I encourage you to seek treatment for those too.

Listening to music at 54-67dB is not going to harm your hearing.

[bpeckham]

Welcome to the forum! Your audiogram doesn’t look bad, but that could simply mean you need to look elsewhere. Don’t give up. Find a doctor who will help. It’s not always easy, you may need to advocate for yourself. I agree with @PJB12 find a specialist who will help.