Hearing Dr's Appointment

[Hydrolastic]

Hello all and merry Christmas eve, I thought would share the results of the hearing Dr's appointment first one since covid started. First a little background 5 years ago My hearing was poor at best. I had only 40 to 50% total hearing in my right ear . Now that may sound functional and i was but thats not enough to hear in stereo. I struggled with direction of noise and even though i thought i understood what stereo was i had never heard sound as coming from the center in front from a dual source. Also with only one good ear the other ear suffered because both ears work together and one side improves the other. With only one ear the other suffers. My job is loud and if you lose hearing you can be put on Leave of absence and eventually result in termination. My hearing was degrading and i had to go to the hearing Dr. knowing that he was going to say i was reluctant to go. I was amazed when the Dr said he felt he could improve my hearing with an operation. which was to clean up debris and scarring from childhood ear infections and installing a tube around the outside of the eardrum. The operation was successful and at the age of 52 i woke up the next day with what is tested as 100 percent normal hearing. YAY!! The only downside was that i could not go into loud restaurants. Loud echo type place drove me nuts. The other thing was words were sometimes garbled because the brain had to relearn what sounds were associated with what words. That was only for a few months though. I had a moderate case of hearing loss so i don't want to make a super big deal out of it. However i now can hear in stereo! Getting the 1960 magnavox concert hall. Recapping and aligning it. Hearing the difference has been great. Back to the Dr's appointment during covid, Debris had built op and the tube was clogged. He cleaned everything up. another improvement. So if it seems like i am super enthusiastic by the sound of something it probably cause its fairly new. I know most of us are getting older and our hearing is degrading. But go to the Dr and do what you have to do to keep what you have. Its a precious thing. One thing though (wait for it) I now hear everything my wife says while driving ... Aaron (Hydro)

[Firedome]

Wow that must be great after all that time. Hearing is a gift for sure and I'm lucky mine hasn't been too impaired (so far) at age 71 after all the loud concerts I went to as a kid when my ears would ring for days afterwards. Just curious and don't mean to pry but what do you do for work that's loud, yet hearing loss could cause firing? Seems like it'd be their obligation to provide protection?

[Hydrolastic]

Hello, I am not allowed to say what company i work for.. I am a 2nd generation aircraft structure mechanic in Seattle. Union member.. Now that you mention it it is a stupid policy. I wear hearing protection all day long. Hydro

[TC Chris]

I recall reading that one reason people don't like hearing aids is that they are not used to hearing all the racket that's associated with normal hearing. Our brains know how to sort it out but apparently lose the skill when hearing diminishes. Then you have to relearn the ability. Sounds like you're experiencing that.

Chris Campbell

[19&41]

Thanks for sharing! All of our senses are precious and it's wonderful to hear of any of them being restored. I've lost my hearing twice and can appreciate it's absence and it's effect.

[Firedome]

I din't ask what company you worked for, but what you did for a living, a different question... which you did answer, and being in Seattle with that job one can pretty much draw their own conclusion. Hope your hearing gets the attention it deserves, and regardless of the stupid policy that your good union insurance will pay for it.

[electra225]

I am also grateful for the senses most people take for granted. I'm learning to talk again after the episode in September. I'll get there, but it may take a year. I still can't talk on the phone.

[danrclem]

Glad to hear that your hearing has improved a lot.

I guess most of us take our senses for granted even though they might not be the best. I have a moderate hearing loss with a lot of tinnitus. Lots of times I like to listen to music very seriously. I love to hear imaging, soundstage and all of the small sounds that I can hear. I'm sure that I'm still missing quite a lot because of my hearing and may in the future get hearing aids and see how much difference it does make. My wife says my hearing is a lot worse than I think it is and that I do need hearing aids.

[William]

Well, I just got hearing aids. I have genetic hearing loss from both sides. Dad's dad was pretty deaf, and Mom's mom had hearing loss but still could hear if you talked louder. For me, as the specialists tell me, I'm backwards from what seniors normally have for hearing loss. My hearing loss is in the lower frequencies. My high frequencies are there on steroids, and, hi pitched stuff drives me nuts. Having said all of the above, I'm still trying to relearn my brain how to hear. Two things that so far are a struggle. Music thru the hearing aids does not sound normal. It's tinny sounding with no warmth or richness to it. When I sit down to play the organ, or, I'm listening to music on a stereo the hearing aids are out. The other thing is they really amplify road noise, which drives me nuts as I want to listen to the radio. I have found that if I turn the hearing aids down it helps to filter out the road noise. Then, I just bump up the volume on the radio about two notches and it seems to balance things out.

I'm very happy for you, Aaron. I hope your hearing continues to be good and you can enjoy your stereo toys.

Bill

[danrclem]

I've read that there are hearing aids that do well with music. I'll probably wind up getting some sooner or later but if possible I want some that will make my music sound better.

[William]

I have had several discussions with the hearing aid specialist sbout music. I told them how important it is to me and they said what I purchased should do the trick. I'm here to tell you, as far as music goes, it sounds better without the hearing aids. They have tweaked them a couple of times and it did help, but still not to what I expected. I'm guessing, since my loss is not normal for a senior, that might be part of the problem.

Bill