Hearing Loss and Tinitus

Joe222

Hey all,
I'm wondering if anyone out there is suffering from this. My hearing is gradually decreasing since my midteens but it has got to the stage now where I am having serious difficulty with hearing conversation when there is background noise. I'm worried about the whole thing affecting my work and social life in the long term. I have been to an ear specialist but find it frustrating when they simply say to you, you have a hearing loss, nothing we can do. I didn't pay a lot of money to hear something I already knew. I also suffer from ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and I've no doubt they are both related. I don't want to do down the hearing aid route but am fearing I wil have no choice. I have relatives with hearing loss so believe it is genetic. At this stage I am holding out on stem cell treatment but god only knows when this will become viable, in every sense. How do others cope? I have days where I get down about it such as when you're out in a loud pub and you can't even understand the person next to you. Any stories or advice would be appreciated.

tenchi-fan

I'm not in this situation but I remember how frustrated a girl at work was. Her hearing was damaged in a car crash and she has constant ringing in her ears.

She went to a hearing specialist who said "well, you're 25 now, and you have 75% of hearing in one ear and 40% in another... and the average person's hearing starts to deteriorate anyway at 45... so you're really only losing out on about 10% of your hearing over your lifetime."

She was furious! But I could see his point. In the absence of miracles or scientific advancement, you just need to look on the bright side.

You say you can't enjoy loud pubs ... the solution is to avoid loud pubs - or at least go somewhere more quiet away from the music speakers or maybe go out to the smoking area. Personally I hate loud pubs and I don't know how people can understand what others are saying at the best of times nevermind when they have a hearing difficulty.

Wilba

Hey JOE222,

MY dad has been sufferring from the sam disease since 2007 and I can partially understand where you're coming from. It got heaps frustrating for him too, especially when he first got it. What he tends to do at times is avoid mega loud places and wherever possible protect the infected ear when a bike flies past or when he hears a car beeping etc.

What we have noticed, however, is that by speaking to him in a much reduced tone and concentrating on proper pronunciation of words he is able to hear us better. I don't know if this is helping exercise the ear again or anything but I find that he understands me better than if I scream at him.

I know there ain't much medical help at the moment but hey, if you have to get a hearing aid then by all means get it. There's no shame in that....look at people who tend to loose their sight....they rely on glasses for aid, so I don't see an issue here. My dad wants to get a hearing aid but we don't have the money at the moment so really all we can do is remain positive. I know it's easier said than done but hey you're not alone man.

We are also a Christian family so relying on faith has helped him inmensely and I really admire his positiveness. Well I hope the above helps and don't loose that spirit man....we have to overcome all obstacles.

All the best.

cafecolour

I've always had significant difficulty understanding what people are saying with background noise.

Sometimes I find earplugs help, oddly enough - they seem to filter out some of the background noise and help me hear as long as people talk in a normal tone (if they shout they are harder to hear).

Mostly I just avoid loud pubs, or spend more time in the smoking area/beer gardens which don't tend to be as loud (and I don't even smoke). If I go to a club or such, I mostly just dance and don't talk.

Neyite

i have hearing loss, - i had an ear infection that ruptured the eardrum years ago, and about 2 years ago another infection did it again- probably to an already damaged eardrum. im due to see a specialist who will confim that im partially deaf. it remains to be seen if there is anything that can be done.

i find that high pitches make me wince, and i will notice the telly being too loud more than my other half would, but there are advantages, like when he snores, i sleep on my good ear, and it came in very handy at work, where the loud co-worker was sat on my deaf side!

my mum had eardrum trouble too - and now wears a hearing aid and tends to get quite loud (in public this is morto:)) so i think if i go that way, i would find out how to lip read. i dont have a problem with telling someone that i am half deaf, i do it all the time.

a blind relative once said that its not your disability that disables you, but your attitude to the physical limits it gives that will disable you. in other words, if you tell yourself that you cant do something, you wont do it, but if you say 'this challenge will make me find a way to not only cope, but succeed' then you are off to a great start. (this guy went ice skating, re-wired houses, was brilliant at diy etc all in pitch dark)

you have 2 choices - wait with increasing difficulty for stem cell research, or tackle your problem head on - i would check out the organisations for the Deaf, and learn what you can do to make life easier. if you were able to lip read, along with the hearing you do have, then the loud pub wouldnt be an issue.

this is what i would/will do when my hearing worsens. best of luck.;)

JJJJNR

I'm in the same boat, was diagnosed a couple of years ago with the same problem, I used to be a DJ and put it down to that but it's actually not related and just a natural thing.

It happened all of a sudden, just sitting on the dart one day and started to get this buzzing noise in my ears and have had it since... been to specialists etc and they confirmed that there is an issue and that I would really need to get a hearing aid, I'm finally going to get a hearing aid as I want to deal with this, sod it.. same as you i'm also sick of not being able to hear people properly and this is the only solution. I don't know if there's a bit of a stigma associated with wearing a hearing aid but for me its more embarrassing asking people to constantly repeat themselves and besides I'm 6' 4' so try and make fun of my hearing problem..

I've also got a lazy eye on the same side as my bad ear (as if things weren't bad enough) and there's nothing I can do to "fix" that.. so I thought there was something more to these problems, so I got a cat scan and there was nothing to suggest it was brain related so that was a relief.

LegacyUser

I have had tinnitus for the past 7 years. Over that time it has varied in severity but overall thankfully i can say it has not worsened considerably and my hearing has not been too badly diminished. It caused me considerable anxiety at the start as i felt that it would probably just get worse but it didnt really. Medication for anxiery did help me for a time intially. These days when im out i need to avoid standing under a loud speaker when im out but i have definitely learned to cope better with it and sometimes i can say now that i dont notice it unless i focus in on it.

Try to be positive and not let it get you down. you will have to make changes and might not be able to do all the things you want to do but focusing on the other good things in your life is important.

unreggd

OP, I think you just go to very loud places

A hearing aid would still elevate the background noise also

Ive noticed loss in left ear, and I'm 99% sure its from concerts
Whenever I go to big venues [The O2, Oxegen etc] I've always had a habit of standing on the left side of the stage, so I'd be turned in watching the centre, therefore my left ear is right at a giant speaker
I always get tinnitus after concerts, and clubs. Its very severe when I go to bed that night, and usually lingers for a few days

Theres lots of modern hearing aids out now that go in your ear, instead of the one around the back

But its nothin to be ashamed about, esp if it may be genetic.
I was the same with glasses. Needed them since I was 13, but was too "scarlih" to wear them in class. But then when I was 17 I just said fxck it one day, I cant see the board, fallin behind, so got glasses and no1 said anything. Also, most others are the same, as I only wore them in class, not really at all outside school

Stem-cell research is still in its early days, so i wouldnt hold out on that

How are you in regular situations, like, a quiet restaurant, you still have problems then??

Hidden Hearing is worth a look

All the best!!

tenchi-fan

probably not the same thing.. but my eyes are -2 which isn't bad but i need to wear glasses for a good view... and i hate wearing glasses so usually do without them in the pub! I went for a laser eye surgery consultation and I wasn't able to get it.

Joe222

Thanks for the replies everyone. My tinnitus is not very bad thank god, just at night in bed or when its v quiet around me. It's my hearing that worries me. I work in an environment where there wouldn't be much background noise. I'm lucky as I would find it impossible to understand others in other work environments. I can understand what others say that the hearing aid is no big deal but I would find a bit of difficulty...mostly because of the attention it draws to you and perhaps how people might judge you. I know I shouldn't be too bothered about that but I am.
In terms of hearing aids..the new digital in-the-ear ones..do they come just as the earpiece or is there some other device that you have to put into your pocket. I looked into them a small bit..they're v expensive.

unreggd

Maybe you could try one of them spy-gadgets

I think the €2 shops do them

Basically, its a hearing aid you keep in your pocket, and listen through earphones

This would be an inexpensive way to test out what it's like using a hearing aid

Also, the Hidden Hearing website have a free online hearing test, give that a try

Best of Luck

griffdaddy

I remember one time when i went to an all night drum and bass party and spent a lot of the night sitting next to the bassbins, i woke up the next day with a high pitched ringing in my ear that stayed for about a day and a half. I was getting unbelievably irritated and frustrated, so i can sympathise with how you must feel having it on a permanent basis. I wouldn't lose hope though, there's a lot of research into this area at the moment and medical technology with regards to hearing and sight is evolving very quickly, I'm sure in time it'll become manageable or even treatable. If that means you have to wear a small hearing aid for the time being than so be it, it won't be the end of the world, and the relief it'll give you will be worth it.

fasty

I have mild chronic tinnitus too after one concert too many. It really bothered me at first. Couldn't get to sleep, couldn't concentrate but you do get used to it.

As far as prevention goes... Earplugs at concerts and clubs. I'm a guitarist to I went the whole hog and bought fancy musicians earplugs but the cheaper variety from boots will do the job at the expense of some sound quality.

If it gets a lot worse, I believe you can get what look like small hearing aids that feed white noise into your ear to help block out the ringing.

cynder

Hi,

ive had tinnitus since i was 4.

I used to have bad dreams falling asleep at night loud eeeeeeeeeeee noise and an image of either a cotton real or sand, turn out it was tinnitus projecting these images into my mind to make sense of the noise i was hearing in my ears. The dreams stopped when i was 8 and more able to understand the noise was in my head/ears.

Im 29 now and have been to an ent and had a hearing test and i need hearing aids. The tinnitus and hearing loss is connected. Hearing loss in the low tones runs in my family (female side) with 4 aunts and 2 cousins with hearing aids, my mother is profoundly deaf with low tones but perfect with high tones, i on the other had can only hear very very high and very very low tones everything in between is in mild/moderate hearing loss.


I have had tinnitus all day every day for the last 25 years but i can cope with it because im so used to hearing something, i would love to know what quiet sounds like.

my tinnitus is normally a eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee sound but can change to an oooooooooooooooo sound and if fluctuates in intensity and volume. my mother on the other hand has a mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sounding tinnitus. (like a motor running)

Joe222

I'm lucky in that my tinitus isn't too bad. However. for me anyway I have no doubt that both the tinnitus and the hearing loss are related. I get bouts of tinnitus and I notice afterwards that my hearing has disimproved. I have read on other threads that certain foods, factors etc can affect it like stress and coffee..I love coffee!!....However, I find things like this are always a sign that medical research simply hasn't a clue and people just start second guessing.
I have had an MRI and blood tests done but they have come back with nothing. Im hoping to get a cat-ray/x-ray of the bones of the ear to see if there is any problems there.
Im pretty certain that there is a genetic link and that some people will just lose their hearing earlier than others or their ears will be more susceptible to damage just like some people are to cancer o heart disease.
At this stage I don't know where I'm going to end up..I've noticed a big disimprovement over the last year and basically am very worried and it gets you down...like a constant worry on your mind and when you get a bad day well you can understand what way you feel.
Can anyone tell me a bit more about hearing aids...are all hearing aids gone down the digital route now...I thinkI could manage the pop in the ear ones but the others ones..over the ear are not a pretty sight and I'd be very conscious and uncomfortable wearing them. Are the digital hearing aids accompanied by a remote device in your pocket or are they standalone and control themselves within your ear.

DublinWriter

Over time you learn to 'tune-out' Tinitus, I contracted it about eight years ago after a severe infection in my left inner ear drum.

The first couple of years were hard and brought me as close to the brink as I thought that I could go.

Thankfully there are are solutions to help you cope. Google around.

cynder

Dont have my hearing aids yet ( as i have a medical card (for at least a year) so will save 4k by getting a medical card hearing aid, but waiting time is a year)

I went to spec-savers and they have a good range of hearing aids and do a free hearing test ( i had to book 3 months in advance as they were booked up) they have remote controlled and in ear and in canal hearing aids pretty cool. can range from 900 euro to 3000 euro for each ear.

anplaya

to be honest if ya only have a slight hearing loss youll prob end up getting the ones that ya put in your ears.the ones over the ears are actually more for people with really heavy hearing loss.theyre are loads of different types of hearing aids for different levels of loss.have been wearing hearing aids since i was 4 in both ears(due to bacterial meningitis)

the only way youll feel uncomfortable is if ya make yerself feel uncomfortable.its actually easier as an adult rather than as a child or teenager wearing them as most adults dont tend to be awkward around you when they cop yer deaf(well ya get the odd one or two).

i wouldnt give two ****s,its about how comfortable you are in life and how they make ya hear and feel better rather than what others think.

anyone thinking about specsavers,a word of advice,people i know whove switched from their normal hearing aid suppliers to specsavers have said their hearing aids are crap,and gone back to their normal ones.something to do with the levels.dont know meself havent tried them.

SerialComplaint

OP - You have a legal entitlement to any 'reasonable accomodation' that you need from your employer to ensure that your disability is not a discriminatory issue in work. So if you need any extra equipment, or protocols (e.g. staff to contact you by email rather than by phone), just ask.

Spanish Eyes

SerialComplaint wrote: »

OP - You have a legal entitlement to any 'reasonable accomodation' that you need from your employer to ensure that your disability is not a discriminatory issue in work. So if you need any extra equipment, or protocols (e.g. staff to contact you by email rather than by phone), just ask.

Yes that is correct. I have hearing loss from meningitis contracted in my early 20s. Tinnitus too. My employer is very accommodating, but I explained the situation clearly. I found the worst was dealing with meetings where everyone seemed to be able to hear everyone else, but I really struggled. Now they know, there are mikes supplied. People don't like using them as a rule, but once they know the reason, it's accepted. And I can't get away with the excuse of not hearing anything, when doing up my notes he he!!

The sad thing is, hearing loss can sometimes, and I mean sometimes be associated with old age and dementia. True.... If I keep saying "WHAT??". What, etc, it is very hard for others to cope with so I just don't answer now, and they will repeat the question or comment..... if it is important enough for me to hear that is!!

It is a difficult disability, because it is not visible, but can be very hard to deal with. I don't care now, I just get on with it and say "sorry, what was that?" and if the volume doesn't go up, I say about the hearing impairment, or just ignore.

Joe222

I've had a hearing test recently. On the results graph it seems I have a steep enough slope from left down to right. I am poor at hearing low frequencies but normal at high ones. The problem is that most conversation with any background noise, tv, etc , person talking low or at a distance, are in the low frequency range. From what the ENT specialist told me, there is little that a hearing aid can do for me, that they work best for high frequency loss. Is this true?
I would love to hear from people in similar situation.

Riesen_Meal

Hey Joe,

As someone who suffers from tinnitus regularly enough I find myself wearing earplugs if im going to a concert or somewhere really loud like a club, even just disposable ones if I can have access to them!

I got ear protection a few years ago and never looked back....

My own hearing has suffered from years of djing on loud soundsystems, a couple of years back I did get earplugs made up moulded to my ear, by a guy called Frank Cass in Kimmage, im sure if you googled you would find a link, but he does 3 types of protection from the frequencies, I went for the middle of the road option, eliminating second amount of most harmful of frequencies possible - there was a higher range option but I need to hear certain ranges in audio on a stage so they wouldnt do for my circumstance....

In regards to your query on hearing aids I think unfortunately what the ENT specialist told you is correct, im open to correction myself on this but I would be surprised if he was wrong....

I wish you all the best in your (hopefully) loud future!

cynder

Joe222 wrote: »

I've had a hearing test recently. On the results graph it seems I have a steep enough slope from left down to right. I am poor at hearing low frequencies but normal at high ones. The problem is that most conversation with any background noise, tv, etc , person talking low or at a distance, are in the low frequency range. From what the ENT specialist told me, there is little that a hearing aid can do for me, that they work best for high frequency loss. Is this true?
I would love to hear from people in similar situation.

My mother had hearing loss in the low frequencies but they would not give her a hearing aid until she was profoundly deaf in the low frequencies, she got her hearing aids this year at 59 as they found that she was totally deaf in low frequencies, she has normal hearing for high frequencies.

I have mild to moderate loss on both low and high frequencies but can only hear very very high and very very low frequencies i the normal range. Im supposed to be getting hearing aids next year.

Joe222

Thanks for the responses.
grindevald,
your hearing loss is often referred to as 'cookie bite' hearing losss. When you bite a cookie, it is the same shape as the graph of your hearing test.
I have progressive low frequency loss (reverse slope loss). I am normal in the high frequencies. I first noticed it when I was in secondary school when I found that I wasn't doing very well in the aural tests. I didn't take much notice as I had no other problems as such. I'm in my early 30's now. Over the last 3/4 years I have found it has got worse. I initially struggled in noisy bars etc. Now I find the tv a real struggle and have noticed myself going closer and raising the volume. Some films are impossible to hear, they speak so lowly. I've always found song lyrics very difficult. I was always amazed when I'd hear someone singing the lyrics while a song would play on the radio. I find the radio v hard to understand in the car. Over the last year I am having great difficulty hearing text messages on my phone when out and about. Only for the fact that it vibrates in my pocket I wouldn't notice.
My ENT has told me there is little that can be done. I find it very frustrating. He has told me to come back in a year. Long term like others I'm hoping advances in stem cell research will help. I just hope it doesn't get much worse.