Guess I must be getting old... but the thought of putting up with unnecessary aggravation tends to put me off these days. How's that for becoming a grumpy old woman? I do realize that most of the time when I make myself do something that I don't want to do for whatever reason, I usually end up feeling glad that I did it.
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| doing this a lot lately? |
Today I had my appointment with the ENT doctor to have my hearing checked. I hesitated to do this as I didn't want a doctor to tell me my hearing was not good. But ever since the car accident last August, I've noticed that I don't hear as well as I used to. The explosion of the airbag left me with my ears ringing and people sounding like they were in a well. Soon after that I noticed that I didn't quite catch what some people were saying when watching TV. (Now I watch a lot of British and Australian/New Zealand TV, so that is understandable sometimes) But I had to start using the closed caption a lot, so decided it best to check it out.
The doctor said my ears looked fine, didn't think the accident caused any damage, and asked me if I had trouble hearing in a noisy room (like a restaurant). I said, sure... but doesn't everybody?
Apparently not.
Anyway, he sent me on to the Audiologist who ran several tests to check the condition of my ear drums, then put me in this booth to see at at what frequency my hearing was affected. Now I've never had my hearing tested, so this was all very new to me. I was asked to press the buzzer when I heard the beeps. I wonder how accurate this is as sometimes I thought I might have heard the beeps, but maybe not. Sometimes I pressed, sometimes I didn't. Then she said words and asked me to repeat them. This test I know I had trouble with on my left side. I could hear her say 'something' but couldn't make out what the word was. And lastly, she said sentences and had me repeat one word out of the sentence. This one was easy.
So... the result was that yes, I have some hearing loss. Apparently I fit right in with the beginning hearing loss of someone 'older'. My loss ran on the graph she showed me from mild to severe. Both ears apparently had loss, but the graph looked like a DNA strand where the left and right ear overlapped each other. Interesting, yes? I was told that I was a candidate for a hearing aid, but if I wanted to wait, it was OK.
I chose to wait. I can hear fine for the most part... except for some TV voices... and when you're not facing me talking. I can handle that. Thank goodness for closed captioning.
And the next time my hearing aids are checked, I'll have him crank them up another notch.
ReplyDeleteSo...Joanne, you have hearing aids? Any comments or suggestions for when I'm reading to take the plunge?
Deletethat's "ready" not reading
DeleteMy mom had relatively minor (according to her) hearing loss and a couple of years ago she opted to get hearing aids before things deteriorated. I remember talking with her shortly after she got them, and she said she was driving home, couldn't figure out what the "noise" in her car was. Turns out it was her turn signal. LOL. So perhaps her hearing loss wasn't as "minor" as she was telling me (and herself). I don't know about costs in the U.S., but oh my goodness, the cost of hearing aids is crazy high in Canada, and not covered by our national health care.
ReplyDeleteThat "before things deteriorated" comment fit something the Audiologist said to me before leaving. I think she said something about not waiting too long as the body has a harder time adjusting if you wait. And yes, I haven't checked, but I have heard that the cost is very high... and I have no idea if Medicare here pays for any of it.
DeleteGlad to hear you're on the normal spectrum for hearing loss. Same with me. I'm sure I could qualify for some assistance. But I can do just fine without them, like you. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree, DJan. Right now I think I'm fine... using closed caption when needed and trying to have conversations face to face is not too difficult. Basically I can hear most things, just realize that I do miss some. Hope you are having a wonderful time in Florida!
DeleteTom has something called Hyperacusis, I'll understand if you have never heard of it, we hadn't until he was told. A hearing aid will not do much, so between me losing some of my hearing and his problem there is a lot of repeating going on here amongst other things. lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
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I had to look that up, Briony, and no, I've never heard of it. But I can imagine it's very irritating. (I do remember thinking when I was younger and was working and raising 3 little ones, that life in general was much too noisy.) But it must be difficult (and funny on some occasions) if Tom thinks things are too loud and you can't hear them at all...
DeleteThe cat face is perfect. I was at a friend's house lately and she turned on the TV. I almost came out of my chair it was so loud.
ReplyDeleteI too miss some words, especially those speaking with an accent.
British, Australian, New Zealand accents make it harder... but it's when the American voices can't be deciphered that got me worried. I can hear them - but can't make out what it is they said (sometimes). One of the Audiologist's test checked that out too... making sure that what the ear heard, the brain could decipher. I passed that one fine.
DeleteI get a mailing at least once a week from some hearing aid dealer or another. I wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something. I remember when I went with my husband for his hearing test -- I could hear beeps would be so loud I could hear them outside the sound proof booth and hw was just sitting there waiting to hear something.
ReplyDeleteRepeating the spoken words was so revealing. He very confidently stated the words he "heard" but they had absolutely no relation to the words actually spoken. I had to admit maybe he wasn't just tuning me out because he really had very little hearing left. After that I was amazed at how well he functioned.
But don't wait too long because hearing aids generally work better if you get used to them earlier rather than later.
Oh, Olga, I get those too. And I guess it must be true about not waiting too long. I didn't know this, but now several have mentioned it. I'm still not ready... but I will keep this in mind. And as well as I know hearing loss is real... I still believe there is a thing as selective hearing.
DeleteI flew home on Friday from Newark, and there really was no noticeable change in the security area. I suspect lots of workers are there despite not receiving their pay...they deserve our appreciation and support. Hopefully this shutdown in the US is over soon though I'm afraid neither side is truly willing to budge.
ReplyDeletePerhaps your hearing won't deteriorate any further. But if it does, I'm sure you'll come to a decision when you need to.
Eileen
Glad you had no problem at the airport, Eileen. And yes, those people definitely deserve our appreciation and support. As for the shutdown, I agree that no one is willing to budge... you'd think some sort of compromise could be made?
DeleteDear Rian, one of the possible symptoms of Meniere's Disease, which began for me in 2002, is the total loss of hearing in one or both ears. I've lost a great deal of hearing in my left ear. I can hear that there is sound, but I can't distinguish anything about the sound. With the type of loss associated with Meniere's, a hearing aid doesn't help. So, like you, I am so glad for closed captioning. I watch a lot of PBS that has programs made in England and often I find myself struggling to understand what's being said and while I'm doing that, I'm forgetting to read the words at the bottom of the screen! It's a slow learning process--this learning to deal with the loss of vision or sound. I hope your loss doesn't worsen. Peace.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dee. I'm not too worried about it. I was mainly concerned that the accident had done some damage and I didn't want to ignore that. If it's normal hearing loss for my age, I can handle that. My cousin in New Orleans has Meniere's Disease... mainly causes her dizzy spells. But she has seriously restricted her salt intake and that seems to have kept it under control. You seem to have a more serious case.
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