Hear2much
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2010
- Messages
- 136
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...I might as well explain this all now.
Hello everyone! I want to introduce myself and see if anyone out there has a similar hearing issue to me. I do not consider myself hearing disabled- but I am. My hearing is and always has been more than good enough to communicate using speech. My hearing has tested above average most of my life but when I was 20 I began to suffer from a rare condition related to some minor hearing loss. The hearing loss isn’t the problem. I have extreme hearing loss in both of my ears, but for extremely short frequency bands. It is rare. Certain tones are like a dog whistle to my ears, they aren’t really picked up at all. Fortunately the frequencies are different in both ears (my left ear is far worse) so as long as both of ears are exposed to sound I can hear what is going on almost perfectly.
Here is my problem; There are compensation mechanisms in the inner ear that try to adjust for this kind of hearing loss and they have malfunctioned. The mechanism in my left ear is so messed up that it generates sounds whenever I hear anything above say 30 decibels. The sound is best described as the crunching of cellophane crossed with a needle being dragged off a record. For those of you who are deaf, look at hearing people when they experience this or ask them, they will tell you those sounds are horrible and agonizing. To hear them all the time is truly like torture.
I have found a solution that of course isn’t covered by insurance, a hearing aid that will filter out the few frequencies that set this off. Hearing people don’t seem to understand the agony this has caused for me. I am always asking people to speak more softly and it is like they don’t understand that when they talk at a normal volume level I hear these sounds. The perceived decibel level of the sounds is around 95 dB. Yeah, that loud! I also suffer from tinnitus (ringing) and I have not heard silence since the age of 20. My tinnitus is different from most hearing people’s. My ears generate tones! They stuck a small microphone in my ears to test for this. It isn’t in my head or just regular tinnitus, my ears are actually ringing all the time!
I have tried sleeping medication, steroids and a number of treatments to cope with this situation. At one point I actually considered suicide. It took me along time to learn to deal with this physically. For years waking up in the morning and turning on the shower or even a faucet meant hearing noises louder than a rock concert. I had to take blood pressure medication to stop my heart from pounding. If you walked into my room and just said my name, it was like a gunshot going off.
Well enough about me and my problem. I know I will probably never cross paths with someone who has this problem. My ENT Dr. says it is very rare. But it makes me consider my hearing more than most hearing people. I am very thankful I am not deaf, but often times I am very jealous of those who are able to hear silence, deaf or hearing, and I hope no one takes this beautiful gift of silence for granted. If there was a procedure to install and on/off switch for your ears, I would do it instantly even if it risked being permanently deaf and I would “shut off” my ears quite a bit;
To go to sleep, when I shower, when my girlfriend tells me about her day j/k baby!
I know this is lengthy but anyone who wants to really know who I am and why I am here can just read this, and understand just who “Hear2much” is
I am a musician and a composer. I love my ears and I am thankful I can use them as much as I can. But I miss silence, a lot. A few weeks ago I decided I would learn ASL, seek out people who are deaf on this Earth, and I believe I will be one of the most widely recognized advocates for unity in the deaf community and with the hearing community; because of my music, because of my love for sound, my wish to share it with everyone who wants to hear it and because of my respect for all people. ASL is an extremely advanced form of language and communication. I need to learn rom those who know it well. I am going to become fluent in ASL. Fluent! Give me three years, that’s all I need.
A small part of me will always be jealous to think deaf people hear silence, all the time. I have not heard that for a long time, and I have embraced the life I have where I know I may never hear it again.
I have a purpose on this Earth, to share my music with as many people on this Earth as I can, and I will, even if they cannot hear it.
I love you all, even if you are Republican!
(just a joke
PS I can't wait for us to have a nice ASL conversation together. I bet that when we do, I won't need to say "Please be quieter, I have a hearing problem"
Hello everyone! I want to introduce myself and see if anyone out there has a similar hearing issue to me. I do not consider myself hearing disabled- but I am. My hearing is and always has been more than good enough to communicate using speech. My hearing has tested above average most of my life but when I was 20 I began to suffer from a rare condition related to some minor hearing loss. The hearing loss isn’t the problem. I have extreme hearing loss in both of my ears, but for extremely short frequency bands. It is rare. Certain tones are like a dog whistle to my ears, they aren’t really picked up at all. Fortunately the frequencies are different in both ears (my left ear is far worse) so as long as both of ears are exposed to sound I can hear what is going on almost perfectly.
Here is my problem; There are compensation mechanisms in the inner ear that try to adjust for this kind of hearing loss and they have malfunctioned. The mechanism in my left ear is so messed up that it generates sounds whenever I hear anything above say 30 decibels. The sound is best described as the crunching of cellophane crossed with a needle being dragged off a record. For those of you who are deaf, look at hearing people when they experience this or ask them, they will tell you those sounds are horrible and agonizing. To hear them all the time is truly like torture.
I have found a solution that of course isn’t covered by insurance, a hearing aid that will filter out the few frequencies that set this off. Hearing people don’t seem to understand the agony this has caused for me. I am always asking people to speak more softly and it is like they don’t understand that when they talk at a normal volume level I hear these sounds. The perceived decibel level of the sounds is around 95 dB. Yeah, that loud! I also suffer from tinnitus (ringing) and I have not heard silence since the age of 20. My tinnitus is different from most hearing people’s. My ears generate tones! They stuck a small microphone in my ears to test for this. It isn’t in my head or just regular tinnitus, my ears are actually ringing all the time!
I have tried sleeping medication, steroids and a number of treatments to cope with this situation. At one point I actually considered suicide. It took me along time to learn to deal with this physically. For years waking up in the morning and turning on the shower or even a faucet meant hearing noises louder than a rock concert. I had to take blood pressure medication to stop my heart from pounding. If you walked into my room and just said my name, it was like a gunshot going off.
Well enough about me and my problem. I know I will probably never cross paths with someone who has this problem. My ENT Dr. says it is very rare. But it makes me consider my hearing more than most hearing people. I am very thankful I am not deaf, but often times I am very jealous of those who are able to hear silence, deaf or hearing, and I hope no one takes this beautiful gift of silence for granted. If there was a procedure to install and on/off switch for your ears, I would do it instantly even if it risked being permanently deaf and I would “shut off” my ears quite a bit;
To go to sleep, when I shower, when my girlfriend tells me about her day j/k baby!
I know this is lengthy but anyone who wants to really know who I am and why I am here can just read this, and understand just who “Hear2much” is
I am a musician and a composer. I love my ears and I am thankful I can use them as much as I can. But I miss silence, a lot. A few weeks ago I decided I would learn ASL, seek out people who are deaf on this Earth, and I believe I will be one of the most widely recognized advocates for unity in the deaf community and with the hearing community; because of my music, because of my love for sound, my wish to share it with everyone who wants to hear it and because of my respect for all people. ASL is an extremely advanced form of language and communication. I need to learn rom those who know it well. I am going to become fluent in ASL. Fluent! Give me three years, that’s all I need.
A small part of me will always be jealous to think deaf people hear silence, all the time. I have not heard that for a long time, and I have embraced the life I have where I know I may never hear it again.
I have a purpose on this Earth, to share my music with as many people on this Earth as I can, and I will, even if they cannot hear it.
I love you all, even if you are Republican!
(just a joke
PS I can't wait for us to have a nice ASL conversation together. I bet that when we do, I won't need to say "Please be quieter, I have a hearing problem"