Did you every have a car pass you, or pull up next to you, and the volumn and vibration of their music could be felt in your car? Did you ever think to yourself, "When they get my age they won't be able to hear anything!". Well you may be right! This is not a knock on young people or their loud music. This is the story of my own hearing loss. Three years or so ago, I started to notice that I was not hearing all of the conversation. Or that I was not understanding it correctly. I told my Doctor about my problem in my yearly exam. She said that we needed to get my hearing tested. The nurse checked my hearing in the office. Then the Doctor came in and told me that I needed to go to a Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist for further testing. With my appointment made, I go not really knowing what to expect! I must say that testing is not the same as when we were children in school. After being tested, the Audiologist came in to discuss with me my hearing loss. He told me that I have what is called Nerve Deafness. I won't get into the intricacy of how they determind this, or how it was explained to me. But I was told that my loss was probably genitic. I also have what is called tinnitus ( a constant ringing in the ears ). I have since been tested twice more, and have been fitted for hearing aids. The first pair that I wore were of the smaller type. I had a lot of trouble with those. It was hard to turn the volumn up and down, and there was quite a lot of sound distortion. I have since went to digital hearing aids. The sound is much better. I have a simple remote control to adjust volumn and such. I can again enjoy music, the sound of birds in the tree's, and I do hear most conversations, although I do still have some difficulties. I have a harder time with womens, and childrens voices. I am greatful that I can hear the sounds of my grandchildren's voices. And as a plus I can turn them off when it is necessary! Ha! Ha!
There are still some things that I will always miss, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves in the trees, and water babbling over rocks, just to name a few. I also realize that with my type of hearing loss, it will only get worse, it already has. That is the most frightening thing I have to look forward to in the future. Lossing more sounds, or possibly going deaf. I am only 42 at the time of this writing. I have had problems for at least 3 years. Unless there are a lot of tremendous advances made in the future, the possibility of me maintaining realitively good hearing into my 50's, 60's, and beyond, is quite slim. With this in mind I urge anyone out there who is experiencing any trouble hearing, please get a hearing check done! They can be done for free! Don't delay, and don't think that you are to young. Hearing loss can occur at any age for many reasons. Parents please encourage your teens and young adults to turn the volumn down just a little. Or they may not be able to hear at all later on! Below are some links to places to find information on hearing loss. I also have included a graphic with the American Sign Language in it.
*Miracle Ear
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*Hearing Loss
*Home Page
*Children with a hearing loss
*FAQ about People with Hearing Loss
* NOISE AND HEARING LOSS
*The Consumer Handbook on Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids
*Searchwave - The search engine for audiology hearing loss hearing aids and the ear
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Page last updated on : Monday, October 07, 2002 03:47