I saw an MD/ENT today due to my own perceived hearing loss. Did a hearing test which included bone conduction and tympany I think (was not sure exactly what it was). He said he doesn’t think I will benefit from HA because my loss, such as it is, is mostly in the upper registers. But I sort of thought that is what happens to most people when they begin to experience hearing loss. However, compared to many people I am sure my hearing loss may seem minor. I have loaded my audiogram, but if for some reason it does not appear I will attempt to edit and reload.
I am having difficulty, for sure. I ask people to repeat themselves, use the closed captioning for streaming, I can’t hear tinny little lap top speakers anymore unless they are all the way up and there is no background noise, and if someone is not in the room with me, speaking in a normal register, I don’t understand them. I can generally understand day to day vocabulary, but if I am having a technical conversation or one that draws heavily on some kind of arcane language or subject matter I have to ask people to repeat themselves, when in the past I never did. Sometimes I have to ask people to spell words. On the other hand, I can hear noise around the house, traffic in the street and the sound of a neighbor’s lawn tractor or a chain saw a block away. I also have raging tinnitus in my left ear which I was hoping might be helped with an aid.
I asked him if the brain loses the ability to distinguish sounds it no longer hears and he said there is controversy about that. In his opinion, wearing aids early on was not going to help slow progression. But what about actual word/sound recognition? His advice was to get OTC aids which he says are tuned for higher registers and that should do the trick if I felt I needed something. Otherwise, ask people to speak up!
I was not looking forward to buying hearing aids, but I was looking forward to improving my hearing; however, now I am starting to feel like a hypochondriac. I had actually planned to look at some good aids but with this diagnosis am wondering whether I should just start with some OTC like the Bose or something, or not bother at all.
Time for a second opinion. Also, what were the results of the testing of your ability to discriminate speech? This is more important than the audiogram.
Maybe it’s just my experience but I find ENTs pretty hit and miss when it comes to hearing issues. I’ve had the best luck with ENTs that actually specialize in hearing. For this reason unless I had reason to suspect a pathology causing my hearing loss I stick to Audiologists or a good hearing aid fitter.
Definitely get a second opinion, ideally with someone who can offer you a trial so you can decide for yourself if it’s worth it or not. Lots of folks here like Costco for heating tests and fittings if that is an option for you.
ENT has their place to rule out things like tumors in some circumstances but most HCPs know when to send you to them. I agree audiologists and HIS folk do a great job with helping once your diagnosed.
Yeah, my original comment before I decided to be more diplomatic was that ENTs tend to only care about pathology, everything else gets a hand wave But then I remembered I had a couple that actually did seem to care about hearing in itself but I only got to them after a sudden drop in my hearing during my teens and maybe they just were interested in the mystery.
Still this ENT takes the cake, I don’t understand why they would be trying to talk someone out of a hearing aid with an audiogram like that. Sure it’s mild to moderate at this point but why miss out on things if you don’t have to?
I had a similar experience with a similar audiogram, which I’ll get around to posting one of these days. I experimented with some OTC options, and while most were better than nothing, I eventually bought higher-end aids on ebay and figured out how to program them myself. It’s been life-changing. It’s not that I couldn’t get by without them, but following conversations takes so much less effort now. Because of that I’ve got enough mental energy left over to interact with people in a much better way. I had no understanding of how much effort I was wasting on this until I didn’t have to do it anymore. It’s made a big difference in my job.
If I’d known about Costco when I started down this road, I’d have gone there before taking matters into my own hands. They may be able to set you up with a better aid and better service for the same amount you’d have paid for an OTC aid. If not, then you still have all the same options you had before, so no harm in trying.
You’ve answered your own question. Your hearing loss is significant enough to interfere with your ability to function. You need hearing aids.
Nothing wrong with trying OTC hearing aids. I tried Sony CRE E-10 over the counter hearing aids last summer and thought they were terrific. For only a few hundred dollars more, you can purchase a pair of hearing aids from Costco, which will include a free hearing test and the services of a hearing care professional.
There were 25 words and missed 2 in left ear and one in right. So overall in the 90th percentile. But these were simple one or two syllable words. Already this morning someone was standing 15 feet away and I had to ask them to speak up… I think some of the problem is my tinnitus is so loud.
I don’t have personal experience with tinnitus affecting my hearing (I have it but it just the low rumble type when my HAs are out, not constant and not bothersome to me) but I’ve heard there are tinnitus masking options in some HAs. Also, my tinnitus goes away with my HAs in and I’ve heard this is true for others - it decreases or goes away with HAs.
I don’t think the Costco techs can help with tinnitus - if you go the Costco route and are still getting tinnitus with your HAs in you may want to follow upwith an Audiologist that has experience working with tinnitus.
Thanks for the responses. I am definitely going to check out the Sony OTC’s that were mentioned. I will probably check out Costco. My husband is thrilled with the tech there, his aids etc. Can’t hurt.
I wonder if anyone can tell me what this test is? It was not explained. The writing is that of my ENT. I just noticed it was different between the two ears.
I have experienced some ear damaging events in my life that probably contribute to otherwise excellent hearing for most of it–a lightning strike while on the phone that practically blew the receiver out of my hand, a terrible experience scuba diving where I couldn’t normalize pressure and it felt like chopsticks rammed into my ears, and a many months long course of high dose NSAIDs. He discussed this test with his tech (of course I could not hear what they were saying in soft voices although they were practically seated in front of me) and then moved on to another topic.
Most tinnitus sufferers find properly fitted HAs help immensely with their tinnitus. I go from it bothering me most of the time with HAs off to a couple percent of the time while wearing them. Sometimes it just rages. When they are off, I have noisemakers that help. Quiet is your enemy when you have tinnitus. My top of the line Phonak audeo p90r aids have a tinnitus function, but I don’t have it enabled right now because my particular receivers are incompatible with it. I had it enabled for a while between when I was initially fitted and when I got the new receivers, the help was marginal. My audiologist programmed a calm situation program with a pink noise sound at a pretty low level. It was OK, better than a sharp stick in the eye. Best thing to help me was a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy program. Basic line is learning to distract yourself from the noise, and accept that it is there and decide it doesn’t bother you. Hope this helps!
Because of your tinnitus, I’d suggest going to an audiologist at a clinic, rather than Costco.Costco does not have any tinnitus programs enabled on their aids. Different brands of
hearing aids have different programs for tinnitus and a good audiologist can help you determine the best aid for both your loss and the tinnitus. A friend of mine went to an audiology clinic owned by a local hospital, and has had great results. She was fitted with a Widex hearing aid (Widex is known for their tinnitus programs). My friend said it felt like the tinnitus sound moved to the far end of the room - such a relief! A hospital related clinic or one in an otolaryngologist office is probably your best bet. Don’t go to anyone who only sells one brand of hearing aids. You need to have a choice to fit your particular needs.
I have an app on my phone that does the Widex zen program. It streams to my ears via bt or Roger. It is pretty good, but you don’t have to have Widex aids to get some of the features.
The ENT is not wrong that you are borderline for hearing aids, and everyone else is not wrong about ENTs not knowing much about hearing aids. Some people with loss like yours don’t notice enough of a benefit from hearing aids to make them worthwhile, but others certainly do and you don’t know which group you fall into until you try. Given your functional difficulties, it’s worth a try. The ENT is also not wrong that hearing aids will not prevent changes in the progression of the hearing loss at the level of the ear; eat well, don’t smoke, use appropriate hearing protection and that’s all you can do to protect the ear. However, when the auditory system isn’t getting the stimulation it expects it starts to change. Hearing aids help to change it back, but we do not know yet to what degree and what the limits are on how long you can wait, etc. Still early days in this research (but some really fascinating stuff coming out). Anecdotally, all clinicians would tell you that people who wait a long time struggle a lot more. We also have some animal data showing that sound-deprived cats reach a point where their auditory cortext doesn’t really normalize once sound is restored. However, your hearing loss is mild enough that I would focus more on whether you can get functional benefits and not worry too much about auditory cortext changes at this point.
Do the Costco thing as a starting point if that’s your preference, OTC is probably a waste of your money. Unless your tinnitus is bothersome enough that you feel that you need counselling/support to be able to manage it, you are unlikely to need a masker.
The tympanograms you posted just indicate that your eardrums are moving normally (the mechanical portion of your middle ear is working as intended).
Were you holding the phone to your left ear when you were hit by lightning?
@SigoEsperanza Your audiogram looks a lot like mine.
I now have 3 years of wearing HAs to “help hear speech more clearly” and yes, HAs have done this for me. I personally classify my hearing loss as “Mild”
If I knew now what I learned from this forum, I would have gone to Costco instead of an expensive audiologist and selected lower-cost hearing aids aimed specifically at dealing with my high frequency loss.
I agree with this point about going to an audiologist for tinnitus. Costco simply doesn’t provide that.
Sligo.Esperanza, do you have insurance coverage for hearing aids? Some insurance policies substantially reduce the gap between sticker price and Costco. There are also on line hearing aid retailers like Hearing Revolution, Zip Hearing, and others who will sell you hearing aids at significantly reduced prices but will also set you up with a local audiologist for initial fitting and follow up.
I should add to my last comment, that not all audiologists are good at treating tinnitus. It’s worth investigating the background of any audiologist you choose.
The ENT’s I have seen do not fit hearing aids. They have referred me to an audiologist.
If an individual is having trouble understanding speech, it should be examined for medical issues and then possible treatment by a good audiologist that you trust.
A couple of years ago, my hearing was damaged by hyperbaric chamber treatment for post radiation treatment damage after cancer surgery did not entirely eliminate the cancer.
The ENT and her office audiologist said that my hearing had become so bad that it could not be treated by hearing aids.
Fortunately, I went to an audiologist that I had been seeing for many years. He was able to restore most of my speech comprehension via HAs.
Always get a second opinion if you are not receiving help.
But then I remembered I had a couple that actually did seem to care about hearing in itself but I only got to them after a sudden drop in my hearing during my teens and maybe they just were interested in the mystery.
