my youngest son (of five siblings) is 31. when he was 19 he became almost totally deaf. we thought he was just ignoring us! but he couldn't hear, and was becoming more and more depressed by the condition. he wasn't living with me then, but i FORCED him to go to a number of specialists, who finally diagnosed him with classic otosclerosis in both ears. they said that this condition, (which i can't believe i never heard of before) is quite common, and my son fit the "age bracket" in which it usually occurs; late teens and early twenties.

he had both ears implanted with a titanium replacement for the stapes bones. the surgeries were done 6 months apart. it was a totally successful surgery, both times. he can hear just fine, more than ten years later. he is, of course, extra careful to wear ear protection in his job around huge and sometimes noisy machines, at an airplane-parts fabrication facility.

dianne in eastern WA where the ENT doctor who did my son's surgery is practicing.