ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Hearing Issues => Topic started by: tenai98 on September 05, 2008, 06:42:01 am
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Well I saw my GP yesterday and she is going to refer me to a neurosurgeon in Toronto. I have another hearing test in 12 days...Now hear (spelling and pun intended..lol) is the situarion....I am at last hearing test 60% hearing from my AN ear....I'm sure that has lowered since..My ENT recommended hearing aid for may AN ear!!! Has anyone done this...hearing aid and then surgery/radiaton????? I worked last night (usually off for summer) and I noticed difficulty in hearing my student in car. I teach driver education....I cant be looking at my student while driving or I may miss a situation and crash....I guess I really have no choice..Another question that I have, does AN cause hearing loss?????
JO
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Hi Jo,
Yes, ANs cause hearing loss, it is one of the most common symptoms. I waited to get a hearing aid until after treatment, in case there were more changes. With modern hearing aids, they have enough range that you could get one before treatment, and have it adjusted if needed after treatment, as long as there was still some useful hearing left. Stopping the decline in hearing was the main reason I got treatment rather than watch and wait. In my book, the best chance for keeping the hearing you have, with a small AN, is to zap it with radiation.
Steve
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Jo -
I'm with Steve on this. Hearing aids are expensive, so I'd wait until after treatment to see what will work best for you.
I also think that CK would be a wonderful treatment option for you - just my opinion - and as we all know, I'm not a doctor, so take it for what it's worth.
Jan
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unfortunately CK is not available in Canada but the closest center to me is Syracuse NY....I would just have to check with CHAMPVA to see if they would cover it and get the codes for it....
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Sounds like a good plan. I've never had CK, but I have been to Syracuse ;D
Hope this works out for you,
Jan
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Hi Jo,
I had an expensive completely-in-the-canal Miracle-Ear hearing aid that I got about 5 or 6 years ago. It made a great difference for me initially, but as the years progressed, and my hearing and word recognition deteriorated, it wasn't as useful. I don't even use it now because I work in a noisy environment, and even with the "great" technology my particular aid has, it still just magnifies the noise.....and no hearing aid like that is gonna help me with the word recognition. If you can get by without one, I'd try to wait. OR, you could invest in one of those really low cost , one-size fits all aids that you see in TV or in magazines(20-100 bucks). My guess is that if my $5,000 aid didn't help, not much would. I am awaiting surgery, they depending on that outcome, perhaps investigating BAHA implant.
-Amy :)
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Hi Jo,
Unless you absoltulely need a hearing aid to do your job, I'd wait. ANs can cause hearing loss as everyone before me has saiid, and is very often a chief complaint.
Amy - Sorry to hear that you were misdiagnosed for 8 years! Did your doctor think it was just sensorineural hearing loss?
Wendy
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An interesting thing I have found: A hat with an adjustable brim that goes all the way around can be tipped to direct sound into your ears, and you may understand speech better. Don't know if this will help you in the car or not; but I actually take my hearing aids out when I wear a hat because then voices are too loud.
Anyway, a hat is a lot cheaper than a hearing aid. $29.95 vs. thousands....
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Just thought I'd mention this in case you were concerned with your ability to hear your students while driving.
For what it's worth after your treatment and the possibility of more hearing loss regarding having to look at your student drivers to "hear" them. My lip reading teacher uses an extra mirror that hangs off of and below his rear-view mirror which is adjusted so he can "see" the lips of his partner seated in the passenger seat. He came up with this nifty tool so he didn't have to take his eyes off the road and works great!
Thought I'd offer this up in case you were thinking about getting one of those "horns" one sticks in their ears to hear! :D ;)
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Steve,
About your hearing aid. Do you have hearing aids in both ears or just the AN one? If just in the AN ear, can you get a matching hearing aid for your nonAN ear down the road if you need it? I have mild hearing loss in my nonAN ear. Are you wearing your hearing aid(s) in your picture? Just kidding!
Nancy
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Hi Jo,
Unless you absoltulely need a hearing aid to do your job, I'd wait. ANs can cause hearing loss as everyone before me has saiid, and is very often a chief complaint.
Amy - Sorry to hear that you were misdiagnosed for 8 years! Did your doctor think it was just sensorineural hearing loss?
Wendy
Yes, Wendy. They thought it was just SNHL of unknown nature. Due to my previous lack of symptoms, and my history of SO MANY ear infections when I was little, I don't even think they were remotely concerned about an AN. It wasn't until the hearing was progressively worse did they want an MRI (that is why I made the appt. I wanted one). In fact, it's partially my fault for not going in more often for audiograms, but nobody really said we needed to watch it or anything.... Just glad we know what it is now...
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Nancy,
For now I just have a hearing aid in my AN ear. My other ear also has some hearing loss at high frequency, so I am considering getting another one on the right. I hear high frequency really well with the hearing aid, but only on the left, so it is often hard to tell where the sound is coming from. When I am outside I am always looking every which way, trying to spot the bird or other source of high pitched sound I just heard.
Here is what it looks like. The second shot shows the gray "behind-the-ear" part of the hearing aid.
(http://stevegerrard.home.comcast.net/hearing-aid.jpg)
Steve
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Steve -
thanks for posting your pictures.
For some reason, maybe your obvious BAHA-envy ??? - I thought your hearing aid would be much more noticeable.
It's actually very discreet, which impresses me a lot - and that's hard to do :D
My mother really needs to get a hearing aid or two and has been hesitant to do so because she's imagining large, bulky aids. I'll have to show her your pictures.
Thanks again,
Jan
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Thanks for the pictures, Steve. I agree with Jan. They are very discreet. It is nice to know that a regular hearing aid is an option if one retains at least 50% of hearing in the AN ear--right, or at least that is what my AN doc said. Are you able to wear your hearing aid in most situations, Steve? I know water sports would be out, but how about hiking (sometimes I lose my balance), biking (have had some "wipe outs), snowshoeing (I slide down hills a lot), etc. In other words, when do you have to take the things out besides when you go to bed? I know hearing aids are expensive, and I would think one would want to take precautions to see that they don't go popping out! Nancy
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It is a pretty small device, neatly tucked into and around the ear. It sits next to my glasses just fine, and is light enough not to cause any pressure.
I think Carrie (CMD) had a type that is water resistant, which can be worn around a pool and will survive a splash, but not a dunking. Water is a problem, even sweat can be. I take it off to mow the lawn, I don't really need to hear the mower louder anyway.
It does not have any tendency to fly off with sudden head movement, it is light enough and the wire is wrapped around the ear enough to hold it in place. It also seems to take being dropped on the floor without a problem. The bigger issue is any event that would actually crush it, like landing on the side of your head, or having it fall off and then stepping on it. It did come with a two year service policy that includes full replacement in the event of total loss.
I have been on a few hikes, and slipping around doesn't send it flying, so that seems okay. I would probably not wear it if I was snowshoeing or anything really active like that. I have also noticed that putting up the hood on a sweatshirt, or wearing any sort of hat or helmet that covers the ears, will tend to produce feedback, so I would take it off in those situations as well.
Glad you all like it. :)
Steve
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Thanks for all the details, Steve.
I didn't think it would randomly fly off, but it's always good to know when I'm correct ;)
Refresh my memory, please. Are you SSD? or just have diminished hearing on one side? Reason I ask is I'm wondering if this aid would work for someone like my mom who just has diminished hearing.
Another question, is there a specific name for your hearing aid so I can encourage her to look into it?
Thanks again,
Jan
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I'm not sure if this helps or not, but the last time I was at the audiologist for my usual post-BAHA follow-up, we got to talking about trying to hear in noisy environments or at a meeting or even when the kids are in the way back of the van. He was telling me about an FM hearing device (I'm sure there's a more technical name for it) that looks a little like Steve's hearing aid - very small. Then there's another microphone portion that you can either give to the person running the meeting or class (it's small too), or you can put it in the middle of a table at a restaurant, or he said he even has one lady who velcros it to the headliner in her minivan so when she's driving kids around, she can hear them talking to her from the back. ( Big plus here is that you can also turn it OFF! :D).
The cost was about $1700, which included everything, the fitting for the earpiece (which goes in your good ear) and the miscellanous hardware. I don't really need it at this point, but it's something I may look into at some point when I go back to work.
Something like this might help in the drivers ed situation. Well, this and a lot of valium, which is what I'd need after teaching drivers ed! :o
Lori
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Thanks Steve for the info. If I ever have to get a hearing aid, I will be especially careful with snowshoeing since I have been known to plant my face in the snow--by accident. My neighbor told me she has a friend whose dog ate his hearing aid! What a bummer. Nancy
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teaching those 16 yr olds are great...they keep me young...lol...I was just recently mistaken for my oldest boy's sister...lol
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Like Steve, I have a behind the ear hearing aid for my "good ear". It's a Widex Inteo and goes for $2,700. It's great when there isn't a lot of noise around -- in a car. But in noisy situations, it amplifies all the noise. I would think a Hearing Aid would be perfect in your occupation. You may also want to consider a CROS system -- not sure which ear you said the AN was in. But I agree with the others, wait till after your surgery to determine your need. Modern hearing aids are extremely sophisticated and are customized to your level of hearing or lack of it.
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Jan, if I was SSD, don't you think I would have a BAHA by now? ;D
I have about 55 dB hearing loss in the left ear, my AN side. The loss spans from low to high frequencies. My word recognition, once the volume gets turned up, is still about 85% on that side. I also have some high frequency loss on the right side.
I imagine this kind of hearing aid would work for most levels of diminished hearing, as long as your word recognition is still in the usable range, above 50% . The hearing aid can't help with recognition, only volume level. It just makes a word that sounds like "aflac" sound like "AFLAC".
Mine is a Unitron Moxi, Element 16, about $2500 with service. It was picked out by the audiologist. For those with less hearing loss, you can also get it with the open ear piece, which doesn't plug the ear. I think the more expensive ones are worth it, since it takes several weeks to get used to them as it is, and any extra noise management or speech enhancement is worth it. At least I'm telling myself that, since I spent the dough already. :)
Steve
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Jan, if I was SSD, don't you think I would have a BAHA by now? ;D
Part of me says yes. Part of me says you just humor us BAHA users ;D But based on this response, I guess you haven't been just trying to make us feel better - you really do have BAHA-envy.
I think half the battle of getting my mother to look into hearing aids is the cost and the other half is her perception that hearing aids are inferior products. She bases that assumption on the fact that her grandmother worn one many, many years ago and it wasn't the greatest. I've tried to convince her that aids have changed with the times and there are some really good ones out there. I think the solution is just to drag her to my neurotologist's office and have one of the audiologists sit down with her and show her what's available. At this point in time, it's a fear factor on her part, but I think with a little (okay, maybe a lot of) pushing from me she could be convinced to check into aids. She's only 72 and I hate to see her go through the rest of her life with poor hearing, especially since I know know what it's like to be SSD.
Jan
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Jan,
On the cost issue, I figured out that if it works for four years, a $2400 hearing aid is $50 a month. That's less than some people pay for their cell phone or cable TV, and I think hearing well is easily worth that much. But you know that, you have a BAHA.
My father had a pair of the older style hearing aids, which he ended up not using all that often. I think that is a mistake. If you get the small, light, high-tech ones, meaning the expensive ones, you can wear them all day every day, except when snowshoeing, etc. You are far more likely to get used to them if you do that, and then you start to get the real benefit.
The first day they are not so easy to wear. When I left the audiologist's office, I had the little kit in a plastic bag, and as I rode the elevator down, the crinkle sound from the bag seemed ridiculously loud, and I was tempted to return it right then. My keys, my door lock, every sound seemed to jump out at me. But the brain can adapt to that, and now my voice sounds weird to me when I don't wear the hearing aid.
I hope you can manage to get your mother to give them a real shot, I'm sure she would enjoy them if she can get past the initial adjustment and the cost.
Steve
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Steve I totally understand what you are saying about the amplified sounds. It's frightening. When I heard my cat meow for the first time it sounded diabolical as if she had been possessed. Now I'm not sure what is real sound and what isn't. I actually don't wear mine at home -- it makes things too loud. The great thing about a hearing aid is if you are bothered by a noise or someone talking loud or annoyingly, you can always turn the hearing aid off. I do it frequently on the train. Electronically manipulated peace.
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Buttinsky here,
Curious regarding all of the devices talked about here....seems they amplify the sound, and wondering if they help in restaurants or large, open areas or by amplifying the sound makes for more confusion?
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Buttinsky here,
Curious regarding all of the devices talked about here....seems they amplify the sound, and wondering if they help in restaurants or large, open areas or by amplifying the sound makes for more confusion?
Hi Karen,
In the case of my Miracle Ear aid, it is designed to amplify human voice over background noise. It has an unbelievable amount of channels that are tweaked using computer software. It did pretty well for the few times I had it tweaked (I was lazy and should have worked with it more). Places like movie theaters were way too loud, and i didn't need it there. But, sometimes at work, it amplified too much background noise and became more of a nuisance since I was having trouble with word recognition as well.
-Amy :)