Sudden hearing loss

Hearing Loss
#1

I need some advise please people…
I’ve had HA’s now for 3 years come March. My L ear hearing loss was far worse than my R ear. I depended heavily on my R ear to hear on the phone and other necessities. For the last 3 months I’ve had a clicking noise in my R ear, which has been determined as tinnitus. I’ve had a MRI and the result is all normal. But my hearing loss in my R ear is now a lot worse than my L ear. Too the extent that I can’t hear when ta.king on the phone. I’m constantly asking people to repeat themselves as I can’t distinguish what they are saying. Family and friends are getting very frustrated with me, as I am getting with myself.

Does any one know why tinnitus can cause a dramatic hearing loss to the point thT I’m struggling to have a normal conversation with people. I’m considering going to see my ENT specialist to see if he has any answers.

#2

Please see attached images for Audio hearing test results
The first was done yesterday and the 2 nd was done March 2014.

#3

I don’t know the answer to your question, however, streaming phone calls has helped me a bunch on the phone. I also rely on InnoCaption for some business calls. Advocate for yourself with family and friends. They should be your bigggest supporters, not getting frustrated with you.

#4

I think seeing your ENT is a decent idea. You have a pretty marked loss. I’m way out of my league, but I wonder if cochlear implants are something to consider? If it were me, that is a question I would ask the ENT.

#5

I can see your concern. I had the same with Menieres several years ago. ENT have a limited repertoire of physical fixes. They will eliminate or confirm those with often good results. But for some of us, what it is what is. In a way, we are like paraplegics with little hope for satisfactory improvement.

For the phone, there is InnoCaption with smart phones and actual phone with captioning. This will give you what it being said and resolve that issue to a much greater degree. I have direct to aid transmission which helps me a great deal. My loss though isn’t as severe.

Frustration for colleague is a real problem that can negatively impact ones life. There are online demonstrations of roughly what our hearing sounds like that can be used to show them what you face and hopefully give them the compassion needed to help you have a full life with the disability. (Google hearing loss demonstration)

One thread here contains such a demonstration where the spouse actually cried when she found out the true difficulty her loved one was experiencing.

Most of your complaint revolves around the phone which gives hope that it isn’t as difficult in real situations. I hope that is somewhat the case.

Stay the course. Educate family and friends better. Get captioning for the phone.