ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Hearing Issues => Topic started by: mikjul1 on September 02, 2009, 05:11:44 pm
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OK has anyone hear ever feel like they have to much hearing I guess since I have been hearing for 35 yrs with only one ear that I have to get use to 2 go figure it is like overload makes me tired.Anyone else with this crazy feeling.
Mike
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I think I know what you mean, Mike. I have noticed over the last week that paper is really loud ;D I mean of course when I or someone else crinkles it. I am also amazed how loud the bathroom fan is at work,or when I set something down sometimes I think, "What's that noise, oh.... it's me". Is that what you're talking about?
Lisa
P.S. Thanks for letting me know how to turn off the BP100, I thought I had to see the light to know if it was on or not :P
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Yes Lisa that is what I mean I am so use to listening on my left now when I hear on my right it gets confusing is that crazy or what lol. Like when I am listening to the TV and my wife is on my right "deaf side" it is hard to listen to the TV because now I can hear her so I have it coming in from both sides "WOW" over load my brain is say man I never had this before ;D . No problem on the turning off question.
Mike
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I think you'll both get used to this in time.
Jan
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Yeah Jan,I'm sure we'll get used to it, I'm sure it's WAY more of a dramatic change for Mike since it's only been 3 years of SSD for me,35 for him.
Mike, your comment about the TV makes me laugh. I guess we need a "mute" button for our spouses when we're trying to hear something on the TV. ;D I'm sure my husband would NEVER say that about ME, haha! Yes, gone are the days when we had an excuse for not hearing them :P
Lisa
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Mike: My 'good' ear does seem hypersensitive - I think it's compensating for SSD on the right.
Always good thoughts, Nancy
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I don't have a BAHA (by choice). Prior to the AN destroying the hearing nerve in one ear, I had excellent hearing. I haven't been tested but assume I still have excellent hearing in my functional ear. I doubt it has improved since I've been rendered SSD by the AN. I suspect that, as SSD folks like me depend on one ear more than ever before, the perception is that we hear 'better' in that ear. If that is so, its no surprise that an SSD person utilizing a BAHA would perceive their hearing to be super-sensitive. Like the posters before me, I believe that hyper-sensitivity will abate in time as the BAHA wearer becomes acclimated to their enhanced hearing. Of course, I could be wrong (but I doubt it). :)
Jim
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What you are describing sounds like a type or level of hyperacusis ...... see http://www.hyperacusis.net/ DHM on this forum talks about having an extreme level of sensitivity to sounds. I have it and it seems to be worse with certain higher frequencies, like paper crinkling, plates clanking together, etc. I'm not sure if there is a connection or not but as my tinnitus has gotten worse, so has the hyperacusis. At the symposium, one of the roundtable discussions was on advances in treatment for tinnitus. I need to check into the possibilities because this is really wearing me out!
I do not know if BAHA wearers experience as much or more hyperacusis than SSD people.
Clarice
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I was told that this is also a form of tinnitus!
TJ
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I was told that this is also a form of tinnitus!
TJ
I'm not sure I follow this. What is a form of tinnitus? Hyperacusis?
I am a BAHA wearer and don't suffer from either tinnitus or hyperacusis.
Jan
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I do not know if BAHA wearers experience as much or more hyperacusis than SSD people.
I don't think there's any connection between wearing a BAHA and either tinnitus or hyperacusis. I wear a BAHA and have mild tinnitus ... but I have it whether or not I'm wearing my BAHA. And BAHA wearers are SSD.
Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)
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Totally agree.
Jan
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Well I am finding this post VERY interesting
One question I asked at the symposium was, “IF I get a baha would my hyperacusis become worse?â€
No one had an answer… but perhaps Mike’s experience is providing one for me…
SO what is the difference between hyperacusis and tinnitus? Hmmmm…
Tinnitus is constant for me. No matter how quiet it is I can hear that solid constant high frequency ring.
Hyperacusis is an over sensitivity to sound. For me certain sounds, in my case base sounds or low rumbles like air systems in buildings, make the sound perception in the dead ear increase. Sometimes I use the parallel that it is like talking with a Microphone and you accidentally get in front of the speaker and get feedback. Tinnitus is constant (no matter what the sound around is) but hyperacusis is reactionary to noise.
The crumpling of a bag is a total killer… it makes a weird resonating sound in my deaf (100% dead) ear that hurts. :o :'( My husband's voice is a bass and his voice it painful for me to listen too- if I do not wear a filter in the good ear.
I am heading to an ENT today… I’ll let you know his opinions. :-\ I am also getting an audiogram of the good ear to see what has changed since pre-surgery.
In this thread I am thinking that not enough is understood about hyperacusis. Even by specialists. :-\ One audiologist told me (at the symposium) that it is somehow related to the cerebral cortex perception of sound.
I woke up with the hyperacusis with in the good ear, after my surgery. I am wondering if the e-stim to the facial nerve, that was performed during surgery- because the alarm bell went off when my surgeon nicked the facial nerve, may have sent some sort of shock to the good side’s nerves (#6 & #8)… perhaps involving the nerve that goes to the stapedius muscle on the good side. Only a “theory†:-\ of mine … I wish I had more than a theory to share but that is what I have at this point... like you I am searching for answers too...
DHM
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I also appreciate the discussion about hyperacusis, though I don't think that is what Mike is experiencing. I think he is just discovering all the sounds he has been missing.
When I first got my hearing aid, I couldn't believe all the high pitched sounds that I had been missing for years. Paper bags, door locks, neighbors fans, birds down the block, all sorts of things were popping up as new to me.
My favorite was a little tip-tap sound that came and went as I walked around the house. After much puzzling over it, I first figured out that it happened when I walked, and stopped when I stopped. I finally discovered that I was hearing the plastic tip of a loosely tied shoe lace tapping on the floor when I walked.
Now they all seem like normal sounds and I don't notice them unless I focus on them. Instead it seems unnaturally quiet when I don't have the hearing aid on. It took a while to get used to it, though.
Steve
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DHM
Thanks for clarifying the hyperacusis/tinnitus issue. That is truly a bummer for you.
I had the BAHA put in during the original surgery, since they knew I would lose my hearing.
The constant shrill tinnitus interfered with the BAHA sounds and I had it unscrewed from my head.
Really- the doc just went to get his screwdriver , sterile of course, to remove the abutment.
( I still have the implant in the skull and can try again later, but it was too much chaos at the time, and it kept getting irritated/infected)
So that's my story, but every one is different.....Have you tried the demo BAHA yet?
Maureen
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.....Have you tried the demo BAHA yet?
Maureen
Tried it at the symposium. It was awesome. ;D I found the older model better than the newer model.
Will it be the cure to my hyperacusis? ??? :-\ ... I thought it might be until I read this post. :'(
What to do? What to do? What to do?.... :-\
DHM
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Hyperacusis I do not have that I am just not use to all the sounds now that I got my BP100 it is going to that some getting use to after 35 yrs of not hearing out of my right ear. I do not know if it will help your Hyperacusis or not sorry I can not help you there but I will say this the Baha is great. ;D
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I also appreciate the discussion about hyperacusis, though I don't think that is what Mike is experiencing. I think he is just discovering all the sounds he has been missing.
This is my take on the situation also.
I don't know if a BAHA will make hyperacusis worse or better, but I do know that according to my neurotologist a BAHA will have no impact on tinnitus. That is, if you have tinnitus, a BAHA won't cause it to go away. And on the opposite side, if you don't have tinnitus a BAHA won't cause it.
Jan (thankfully both tinnitus and hyperacusis-free)
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So tonight I wore my BAHA out to dinner with friends. I had no trouble hearing the conversation at the table, but whenever I plugged my good ear,( I do this frequently to see how the BAHA is working), I could hear people's forks hitting their plates from surrounding tables. It seemed to be as loud as the voices at my table. When both ears were open, I could not hear these other noises as much. Is this normal?
Lisa
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Lisa -
I have never tried this, so I can't say if it's "normal" or not. Generally when wearing my BAHA I know it's working from the sounds I'm hearing - not by having to plug my good ear.
So, the fact that you had no trouble hearing the conversation at the table, to me is the best sign your BAHA is working.
Jan