Adjustment to late onset deafness

I'm wondering how you leave the water going in the first place. Maybe my loss isn't as severe as her's...but I've always thought to look and make sure the water is not going. I know the use of relying on audio cues as I still use them a lot of them but the main thing is to make a routine to check and make sure stuff is off.

Even before I had hearing loss there were times you may not "hear" it going. I can understand leaving something going once - I left iron on once and that doesn't require any hearing to use and boy did it burn when I realized it was still on. :giggle:

I guess the main thing is you have to realize only you can put forth the motivation to learn through your hearing loss and get comfortable with what residual hearing you have left..if you rely on audio cues so much.

The main thing is to seek help if you cannot adjust to the hearing loss, like Bottesini said, seek counseling.
 
KikLove said:
I'm wondering how you leave the water going in the first place. Maybe my loss isn't as severe as her's...but I've always thought to look and make sure the water is not going. I know the use of relying on audio cues as I still use them a lot of them but the main thing is to make a routine to check
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I don't know. I guess I'm just not as smart as you :blah:
 
Wirelessly posted (Schr250)

Hi im new here and not sure what to do yet-i am a newly deaf person i had a good job and once i lost my hearing i got "layed-off" they used another reason but i know why- i had to deal with customers on a daily basis-and i was really suprised to see how angry and frustrated people became with me when i had to ask them to repeat themselves over and over again.what are people like us to do?i dont feel like i fit in anywhere anymore - it is a daily struggle -when i am so different then anyone else.
 
Wirelessly posted (Schr250)

Hi im new here and not sure what to do yet-i am a newly deaf person i had a good job and once i lost my hearing i got "layed-off" they used another reason but i know why- i had to deal with customers on a daily basis-and i was really suprised to see how angry and frustrated people became with me when i had to ask them to repeat themselves over and over again.what are people like us to do?i dont feel like i fit in anywhere anymore - it is a daily struggle -when i am so different then anyone else.
 
I have been hearing for almost 23 years. I've always loved ASL and learned some off and on since I was a little girl, but within the past few weeks I have re-awakened my interest in ASL and deaf culture and started learning for real. Since then I've started paying more attention to my own hearing...what I hear and...what I don't hear that I should. I have for years felt like the tv was quiet when watching a film with my family, but I guess I assumed I just had trouble concentrating since I could technically hear it, just had to work harder at it. I never thought much of it when I had to cup my hand around my ears sometimes to really get it, or concentrate so much while on the telephone and communicating with my 17 year old brother since his voice changed (it seems to be softer deeper sounds that I have trouble with) and he doesn't breath deeply or speak clearly. I noticed recently a couple of times when he said something and it just sounded like mumbling even when he was a few feet away and looking right at me. The same with my sister/best friend...in person it's fine, but I have a really hard time on the phone with her (she changes her voice slightly on the phone, softer and less "outgoing") and have to keep asking her to repeat everything!

The other day one of my co-workers said something to me from across a table and I literally heard NOTHING. Didn't know she said a word 'til I looked at her and she told me. Then yesterday my right ear hurt and today my left ear hurt along with a headache. I've taken several hearing tests online and each one told me I need hearing aides. Maybe it's nothing...but I'm a little scared and going to call my dad's (he's been HOH for years) audiologist tomorrow to see about getting a real hearing test done. I do NOT want hearing aids...I think I'd rather just be deaf and use ASL...I think. Just wanted to tell someone.
 
Well this is the place to tell people if you need to get that stuff out. Don't worry too much about the hearing loss, life goes on... and it could be much worse. I started losing my hearing about 5 years ago due to an accident. I can hear with a H.A. but even then, it's like catching shadows of words. I don't use the H.A. unless it is to work. Other than that, I rely on lip reading for the most part. I can't tell you how many people told me " Oh I don't know what I'd do if I woke up and couldn't hear!" Well guess what? It's not the worst thing out there. There are people with much harder things to deal with other than a lack of hearing. =P Coming from me, and being 26... losing my hearing later on in life... I'll tell you, it does change you a bit... but honestly, I think I've made a change for the better, and I couldn't be happier. =) All the best luck to you at your audiologist appointment tomorrow. Just remember, you can handle anything anyone throws at you. :P You just have to have the will power to stand up and do it! :D
 
aaronlaura04 said:
I am loosing my hearing and am struggling to get my family to understand. they just keep making fun of me for saying "what?" all the time, and turning the tv up, or not wanting to go places and do things I used to do. I need to find new friends that will actually understand that I cannot hear them completely.
I just got my first pair of hearing aids this past year and although in the audiology booth with zero background noise my auditory understanding is 80%, if you add in background noise(like in any public place) I can barely understand anything. If someone is looking at me I am pretty accurate at speech reading, but people either don't care or don't think to look at me when they talk. It is very frustrating.
My two kids are the only ones who accommodate my hearing loss and they are 4 and 7 years old. We have even been learning sign by watching the signing time DVDs. My 4 year old daughter loves it and signs everything she can, and my 7 year old has figured out that if he asks me something and I say "what", he then signs it. Kids can be so accommodating.
I hope I can meet people that understand what I am going through.
Laura
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Little kids are great that way. They just take it as it comes and work with it. Even the misunderstandings are different with kids. I wish adults could be more like kids.
 
KikLove said:
I'm wondering how you leave the water going in the first place. Maybe my loss isn't as severe as her's...but I've always thought to look and make sure the water is not going. I know the use of relying on audio cues as I still use them a lot of them but the main thing is to make a routine to check and make sure stuff is off.

Even before I had hearing loss there were times you may not "hear" it going. I can understand leaving something going once - I left iron on once and that doesn't require any hearing to use and boy did it burn when I realized it was still on. :giggle:

I guess the main thing is you have to realize only you can put forth the motivation to learn through your hearing loss and get comfortable with what residual hearing you have left..if you rely on audio cues so much.

The main thing is to seek help if you cannot adjust to the hearing loss, like Bottesini said, seek counseling.
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True story. I care for my grandson daily while his parents work. Just this past week, my grandson tells me, "Granny, the water is running in the kitchen sink." It had been running for ten minutes or more. It happens.
 
ceelynncee said:
Little kids are great that way. They just take it as it comes and work with it. Even the misunderstandings are different with kids. I wish adults could be more like kids.
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You're so right. I love kids.



On a somewhat related note, I got fired from waiting tables. I was so ready to go. The chef was such a dick. Everywhere was too noisy and I couldn't hear the orders unless it was totally quiet. And what restaurant is quiet?? They said there were too many complaints about my messed up orders. I hated it but at least it paid well enough.

Started my office job again at the school. Better than waiting but I have to wait a month for my paychecks to start coming in and I won't make rent this month. Thankfully, my landlord gets it and is cutting me some slack.

I dunno...having a rough time right now. 1 step forward, 10 steps back, you know?
 
:aw:needsleep, get what you mean regarding the waitstaff job and chef.
Sometimes things seem like a lot of mess, difficult I know....
I had a boss who said I needed to listen better. I was subsequently let go.
glad to see your landlord is kind-
 
Liane said:
Wirelessly posted (Schr250)

Hi im new here and not sure what to do yet-i am a newly deaf person i had a good job and once i lost my hearing i got "layed-off" they used another reason but i know why- i had to deal with customers on a daily basis-and i was really suprised to see how angry and frustrated people became with me when i had to ask them to repeat themselves over and over again.what are people like us to do?i dont feel like i fit in anywhere anymore - it is a daily struggle -when i am so different then anyone else.[/QUOTE/]

Oh geez, I have had the same issues since I went deaf. Finding a job has been a real bitch. Fortunately my hubby is on a fixed income...otherwise we'd be screwed. :aw:
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Hey everyone. I was born hearing and it has been slowing going my entire life. I didn't really even notice until my early/mid twenties. There were clues once I thought about it, but I never picked up on them at the time. Anyway, I had two hearing aids for years and each year when I got my hearing test both ears dropped more and more. 10 years later I am deaf in my left ear and my right ear is pretty bad. Probably be deaf in my right ear in 5 or so years based on current progression. Doctors did every test, didn't find anything.

Talk about a life adjustment. I am fortunate to have a great supportive wife and a company that has accommodated me so far. Being social is a huge challenge. I tend not to hang out with people much at all. Just had to find different hobbies to keep occupied. Life is definitely not easy being severely HOH in a hearing world. Everyone wants to talk to you. My wife and I are learning ASL but that is not easy either. And I dont know anyone else who knows ASL at this point.

HOH life is hard but it is just best to choose to be happy. On the positive side it can totally change your outlook on life and make you a better person. Did for me anyway.
 
Hi

I hope it's ok that I post here. I think you all are much better qualified to relate to what I'm experiencing than anyone I know irl. :)

I am in my mid thirties. I had some ringing in my ears 5 years ago and got a hearing test with an audiologist and the test was normal. A month ago, I had some weirdness in one of my ears (was inconsequential - probably sinus/allergy related) that caused us to do another hearing test last week and I have the hearing of a 65 year old in both ears. Completely unexpected side discovery. Best case, hearing will continue to go at a more normal pace and I'll have hearing aids in 20 years. But if it continues to go at the rate indicated by the space between those two tests, I have much less time.

The ENT dr diagnosed it as early onset age related hearing loss. Clearly progressing more quickly than regular age related hearing loss. He did a really detailed look at all of the parts of my ears with scopes and lights and everything appears to be physically normal. Nothing visibly wrong with tubes, ear drums etc.

I'm more than a little freaked out. I have so many questions about how my life will change. I'm a single mom, my career is just getting to the good stuff, I'm just finally starting to accomplish some life goals. All of that feels up in the air now. The unknown - how quickly or slowly it will progress is terrifying. I have definitely been in self care mode to get through some lowered feelings and anxious thoughts.

I'm combatting lowered feelings by focusing on doing what I CAN do to protect the hearing I have.... learning to use ear plugs, learning which sound levels I need to protect my ears from etc. I also intend to get a second opinion. I'm also looking for resources like this forum to get some sense of normalcy about this process of losing hearing so that it's not a big bad thing I'm afraid of.

I'm a little dumbfounded that there are no treatments or further testing required.. it just is a diagnosis and there it is. So, I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you guys can point me in the right direction for.

1) Are there other tests that should/could happen to identify possible other causes? I'm intending to ask for a second opinion but I have no idea what an in depth second opinion should look like. Are CAT scans something that should happen? Or... ??

2) If it is age related hearing loss, does it always progress to deafness? To my knowledge there is no treatment for this type of hearing loss - does anyone know of anything I should explore?

Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for any advice.
 
cnorwood said:
I hope it's ok that I post here. I think you all are much better qualified to relate to what I'm experiencing than anyone I know irl. :)

I am in my mid thirties. I had some ringing in my ears 5 years ago and got a hearing test with an audiologist and the test was normal. A month ago, I had some weirdness in one of my ears (was inconsequential - probably sinus/allergy related) that caused us to do another hearing test last week and I have the hearing of a 65 year old in both ears. Completely unexpected side discovery. Best case, hearing will continue to go at a more normal pace and I'll have hearing aids in 20 years. But if it continues to go at the rate indicated by the space between those two tests, I have much less time.

The ENT dr diagnosed it as early onset age related hearing loss. Clearly progressing more quickly than regular age related hearing loss. He did a really detailed look at all of the parts of my ears with scopes and lights and everything appears to be physically normal. Nothing visibly wrong with tubes, ear drums etc.

I'm more than a little freaked out. I have so many questions about how my life will change. I'm a single mom, my career is just getting to the good stuff, I'm just finally starting to accomplish some life goals. All of that feels up in the air now. The unknown - how quickly or slowly it will progress is terrifying. I have definitely been in self care mode to get through some lowered feelings and anxious thoughts.

I'm combatting lowered feelings by focusing on doing what I CAN do to protect the hearing I have.... learning to use ear plugs, learning which sound levels I need to protect my ears from etc. I also intend to get a second opinion. I'm also looking for resources like this forum to get some sense of normalcy about this process of losing hearing so that it's not a big bad thing I'm afraid of.

I'm a little dumbfounded that there are no treatments or further testing required.. it just is a diagnosis and there it is. So, I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you guys can point me in the right direction for.

1) Are there other tests that should/could happen to identify possible other causes? I'm intending to ask for a second opinion but I have no idea what an in depth second opinion should look like. Are CAT scans something that should happen? Or... ??

2) If it is age related hearing loss, does it always progress to deafness? To my knowledge there is no treatment for this type of hearing loss - does anyone know of anything I should explore?

Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for any advice.
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If you're going to another ENT have them check for otosclerosis, just to rule it out. If it is otosclerosis. If they think it might be and start talking about MRIs or CTscans, don't bother with an MRI (they did that crap to me) you'd need a scan for bones, because it's a bone issue. If it is otosclerosis and you have just bone conduction loss and no nerve damage this is actually good news. There's a surgery you could have, a stapedectomy that would restore almost all your hearing. Not to get your hopes up too high about it. A doc wouldn't be able to "see" otosclerosis just by looking in your ear.
 
ambrosia said:
If you're going to another ENT have them check for otosclerosis, just to rule it out. If it is otosclerosis. If they think it might be and start talking about MRIs or CTscans, don't bother with an MRI (they did that crap to me) you'd need a scan for bones, because it's a bone issue. If it is otosclerosis and you have just bone conduction loss and no nerve damage this is actually good news. There's a surgery you could have, a stapedectomy that would restore almost all your hearing. Not to get your hopes up too high about it. A doc wouldn't be able to "see" otosclerosis just by looking in your ear.
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Finding out you have hearing loss sucks but it could be so much worse.
I found out I had moderate to severe SNHL when I was 17. I had a major drop in hearing when I was 20. Two years ago I lost all functional hearing in my left ear.
So within the past 10 years I've gone from pretty normal hearing to profoundly deaf.
I have it good compared to people who have sudden hearing loss and go from having normal hearing to deaf overnight (though my left ear had sudden deafness).

Hearing aids aren't the worst thing.

And ambrosia is right. Otosclerosis that only involves the middle ear bones is one of those diagnoses you hope for. A pretty simple surgery can completely restore hearing.
I have two friends who had otosclerosis and had surgery and ow hear perfectly.

They started loosing their hearing years after me and only ever had mild hearing loss but it was hard for them. After surgery, their lives changed.
I can't help being jealous that they have a cure.

Basically cnorwood- nothing is predictable. I went to bed on my 25th birthday with severe hearing loss in both ears and woke up the next morning without hearing in my left ear.
When I was diagnosed with hearing loss, they told me that it wouldn't progress.
 
For those who experience gradual loss...

Did any of you feel like you were just losing your mind at the beginning? I keep asking myself if, maybe, I hear perfectly but that I'm just going crazy. I do so well one-on-one and sitting in a quiet house by myself. This is insane (either that, or I am).

*sigh* Finally figured out the new audi situation. Got her voicemail yesterday but at least the ball is rolling. Now that I've sat and let it percolate, I'm really, REALLY pissed off at my last one. My teacher (also speech path.) thinks he flubbed my audiogram intentionally. What the hell was his problem?? I'm so angry and am having such a hard time being able to trust myself or anyone else on this now. Damn him and his bullshit! He's 90% of the reason I think it's in my head.

I hate this! :tears:
 
:aw:needsleep, I'm sorry you're feeling so upset.

I've had similar feelings. I -often- do well one-on-one and in a quiet house, but not always, it really depends on if a person is facing me, if I'm tired and so on.
Sometimes I seem to hear better than others. I miss a lot of consonants and beginnings of words.

We always have the captions on, although hubby <severe hoh/deaf> doesn't use them, as he doesn't see well enough or read quickly enough to use them, and he feels distracted by them>.
 
Thanks. Just feeling like no one understands what I'm dealing with. Frustrated. I use captions too. Love them. The boyfriend is great about always putting them on and making sure I can see people's faces when we're at a live something-or-other. Just yesterday h
HE asked ME if I wanted to switch seats during a funeral so I could see the priest.

Thanks again for just getting it. I'm so mixed up these days!
 
I too have Meniere's and know exactly what you go through. I feel like I am stuck in the middle between Hearing world and Deaf world.
 
needsleep said:
Thanks. Just feeling like no one understands what I'm dealing with. Frustrated. I use captions too. Love them. The boyfriend is great about always putting them on and making sure I can see people's faces when we're at a live something-or-other. Just yesterday h
HE asked ME if I wanted to switch seats during a funeral so I could see the priest.

Thanks again for just getting it. I'm so mixed up these days!
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Looks like he is very understanding and compassionate. Something this world is extremely short on these days.
 
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