It looks like possumgrin never posted again since the first time so I hope you found the support you were looking for. I'm new to the site and I don't have any deaf friends, however my best friend lost the hearing in one ear following a brain surgery. It did take her a while to get used to it especially since it was her dominent ear ( she always put the phone to that ear) So now she is doing just fine, (though she didn't have the same fear that if this could randomly happen to one ear, could it happen to the other) She keeps her cell phone on loud and vibrate at the same time and whenever possible leaves it on a hard surface so it dances around while it rings. She has a LOT of very funny stories about getting used to the hearing loss (like calling people and cursing in the phone and hanging up when "the line seemed dead", and falling asleep on her good ear so she couldn't hear the baby cry.) If all goes well, it will take a while but your other ear will start to compensate and your sense of your suroundings will adjust. Obviously you will always have difficulty hearing on that side but locating sounds and understanding people will improve. Stick with it and though you may be frustrated don't let people make you feel bad for needing clarification. What was it Elenore Rosevelt said? Something like "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission"
Good luck
