just been diagnosed with hearing loss - Hearing Disorders Message Board

beth11 · 12-31-2008, 09:23 AM

hi
i have just been diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss
and been told it permanant and i will have to wear hearing aid and that it will get worse im only 47 and feel devistated and scared

klava · 12-31-2008, 11:43 AM

I have familial hearing loss (that is inherited). I'm 45. My right ear is almost completely gone. My left ear is a bit under normal, with 2 ears I can get by with hearing probably 60% of everything. I can't hear low-talking people, or if there's a background noise. I remember my Dad was talking extremely loudly when he was around 50 years old, as if to provoke other people to talk louder, too.

I am not forced yet to get a hearing aid, I'm OK with not hearing 20% - 30%that I don't need to hear anyways. I learned to ask people to speak up, when needed. In a handful of cases when hearing what is said is extremely important, like in my kids' school meeting, I have that Bluetooth-like looking device that is actually a sound amplifier. It also doesn't have a battery, just charges from the wall. It cost just $20 or 40, versus costly hearing aids.

Take heart that hearing loss is not the worst thing that could happen to us. In some cases, a cochlear surgery or implant can be done. And hearing aids are Ok, too, and you always can cover them with long tresses

Chele60 · 12-31-2008, 11:59 AM

I was diagnosed with a moderate, permanent hearing loss in my left ear due to Menieres Disease when I was just 26 years old. I'm 48 now, and have adjusted very well. It is initially devastating, especially when one is still young!

But, truly, hearing aids are not the end of the world, now, are they? There are so many different types and sizes nowadays. Some are so small, yet so powerful, you'd never even know those little things were there. And, not meaning any disrepect here at all, but with loss of hearing and hearing aid, you will still have the ability to function in a relatively normal way.

In my condition, with the type of hearing loss I have in the left ear (not just loss of volume, but also inability to comprehend what I hear, so "cat" sounds just like "hat" or "bat" or "sat") and normal hearing in my right ear, I cannot be fitted for a hearing aid. I would love to have equal ability to hear and understand in both ears, but, well, it's not to be and never will. You make adjustments and live life to the fullest anyway you absolutely can!

This news is sad right now, yes, but truly it's not the end!

barton93 · 01-13-2009, 10:33 AM

Hi Beth.....my daughter began losing her hearing when she was about 6 years old. It started as a mild bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and within a year and a half it progressed to a severe level of loss. Now, at the age of 14 and a half, my daughter only has 5% of her hearing left. She does still get benefit from hearing aids though which is good. I remember when she first began losing her hearing, she naturally as well as my husband and myself were devastated. She was mainly confused at that age as to what was happening to her and that upset her because she didn't understand that it wasn't going to come back. Now, she has accepted it. For my husband and I, we were upset because it was our child and we didn't know what to do. Now......I realize, things could be so much worse. My daughter is healthy and happy. So she has to wear hearing aids, it's not the end of the world. It definitely is an adjustment, but you do adapt.

Lynne4300 · 02-19-2009, 08:26 AM

I also have Menieres. I wear a hearing aid to mash tinnitus and prevent recruitment. My new aid has a "compression" on it that dampens down non verbal.

Good Luck.