help with a question please

[joanne8]

Hi everyone.

I am due my MRI and IAM  scan this Friday, a question i would like to ask you good people is since i had my hearing test two weeks ago i am currently loss of hearing on my left ear, with fullness tintinitis a severe virtigo and balance probs, anyway since the hearing test i have noticed that if i hear say a car alarm outside to me it sounds in a different direction when in fact someone would say no it is in the opposite direction, now thinking about it before i seen the ENT i was also getting bizzare moments we have a friend who very often pops around after work as he finishes late so i am aware of this yet on most occasions  when i would hear the knock on the window it sounded always the front window when it fact it is the back window which i should of known that he mostly knocks on the back. can anyone give me any clue to what this is, i did not talk much to my ENT on the day of hearing test as i really forgot a lot of things that has been going on with me iand i did feel quite unwell in which he addressed me about that, ask if i was ok, luckily for me he is sending me for the scan.  hope all you good peeps are having a good day.

Jo x

[Tod]

Jo,

If you have lost hearing on one side, this is what is like. You now only have sound "coming in" to your brain on one side. Directionality is essentially gone. For example, one night I was walking around middle high school football track. I am deaf on the left side and I was walking counter clockwise, thus my deaf ear was to the handful of young men playing ball in the field. At one point, when they were yelling and talking at each other, I became momentarily confused because I could see them, I could see their mouths move, but it seemed that the sound was coming from the opposite direction. I turned to look and there was no one there.

It can be confusing and disorienting.

I hope this helpful, good luck with your MRI,

Tod

[leapyrtwins]

Jo -

SSD (single-sided deafness) often leads to loss of directionality.  That is, it becomes difficult to decipher where sound is coming from.

This is very common.

Jan

[joanne8]

Thankyou Tod, to be honest i am feeling quite scared of it all, as i have started to realize that i do indeed have some sort of prob with my left ear, i am a driver and since the deafness i have noticed when taking a left turn in the car i am hitting the wheels all the time i am misjudging the corner, this morning when i came down stairs from waking up the computer was off, and it is quite noisy when on with the fan, i realized how bad my left ear felt, the noises tintinitis was so severe i just sat and cried, and my ear feels so strange like i want to pull it off, or just want it to pop all i get is crackling noises or even feel like sticking a bud in it driving me crazy, it just dont feel right. like my ear dont belong to me anymore if that makes any sense.

Jo. x

[joanne8]

Thankyou Jan, common for what lost of hearing is it normal.

[lori67]

Jo -

You're now hearing life in mono instead of stereo sound.  It is very odd, to say the least.

I've "trained" my family to not just say "I'm in here" when I ask where they are because I can't tell where "here" is - they have to say "I'm in the kitchen" or something specific.  I've been known to walk around in circles throughout the house to find my kids.  I could have sworn I heard them in the living room, but darn it, they're not in there!    It was frustrating at first, and I'm convinced my kids have used this situation to their advantage at times, but eventually you just learn that it's all a part of the fun they call single side deafness!  

And speaking of using it to your advantage, I've found that having my 7 year old, who talks incessantly, walk on my deaf side, while I just nod my head and say "mmmhmmm" every now and then, can really be helpful!    Do I really need to know what every kid in her class had for lunch that day?  

So, in answer to your question.... it is quite normal to be abnormal.

Lori

[joanne8]

Thankyou Lori, yes that does make sense how you have described that, i am so confused because at the E.N.T. appointment i really was in a world of my own so i didnt really understand what was going on, but i meant to ask him if my hearing would come back and what is causing i am fully aware that i wont know until my M.R.I. scan comes back, i know we cant speculate until we know but where at first i really didnt think much if it now i am really beginning to think that my symptons do seem more txt book to a A.N. i think reality and nerves are setting in now as it only 2 days till scan.

Thank you so much for all your support Jo. x

[valerie_g]

Hi Jo,

At first mono hearing is very strange but, I can say after a year I got use to it and it doesn't distract me as much now. Tinnitus and being deaf in on hear are more challenging to me. Like Lori said we all develop some tricks to deal with it. I have two son one 4 and the other one 7 years old and they are learning that mommy can't hear them both at the same time because she only got one ear.... With AN what I learn is what ever I was tinking didn't go that way. I know it is easier said than to actually do it but wait until your result are in. This is a wonderful group of people that really cares so you won't be alone.

Take care

Valérie

[joanne8]

Thank you Valerie.

I have just looked at my letter for the scan, it say`s i am to have a M.R.I. and  i.a.m  scan, im not sure what that means, i know what a M.R.I. is but not the other, any info would be most appreciated.

Than you so much Jo. x

[HeadCase2]

Hello Jo,
  For people with hearing only on one side, as the other forum members have stated, it's common to perceive sounds as coming from an incorrect direction.  I think our brains try to compensate for mono hearing by still trying to place the sounds spacially.  I sometime marval that when I subconsciously expect a sound from some direction, that is the direct that I think I hear it from.   If I hear an unexpected sound, I'm more likely to have no idea where the sound is coming from.  Even with single sided hearing (SDD) we can place sounds to some extent from small clues, like the fact that a sound lessens in volume as we turn away from it.  But this rudimentary sound placement can be easily fooled.
Regards,
  Rob
PS: Good luck with your MRI.  Be sure to have them do the MRI with and without contrast if they are screening for AN.

[Jim Scott]

I have just looked at my letter for the scan, it say`s i am to have a M.R.I. and  i.a.m  scan, im not sure what that means, i know what a M.R.I. is but not the other, any info would be most appreciated.

Jo ~

I'm not a doctor but I suspect that the i.a.m. scan refers to 'internal auditory meatus'.  This link should help explain it.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_auditory_meatus

Jim

[dalern]

The internal auditory meatus is a part of your skull. It carries the nerves from in your skull to the middle ear and inner ear.  I think that iam refers to where the MRI should focus.  It is in the temporal area of your skull, which is on the side of your head, just above your ear.

I had sudden SSD and they did an MRI thinking I might have an Acoustic  neuroma.  I did not and they called it a a sudden onset idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss.  The first thing I noticed (other than not hearing on that side) was loss of directionality.  Someone would call my name and I would turn in circles until I saw where they were.  It is still a problem, 11 years later.  I have learned to accommodate pretty well and it's a part of my life.  Since you do not have stereo hearing anymore, it becomes an issue.  Hope that helps.  I will say, I have gotten somewhat used to it, even though I don't love it!
~Dale

[joanne8]

Thankyou Dale, yes that does make sense, on the letter it reads M.R.I. and I.A.M. both , i am just so happy that they have addressed this issue so soon as other sories i have  read it has been a long road, although going back i have had quite a few of e.n.t appointments but always been happy with the outcome but i did not loose my hearing then altogether it would be blocked with sinus or other conditions so was happy to except that as i knew it would clear and hearing restore back to normal, but the last six months has been a lot different and to be honest this was the first proper specialist i have seen , years of horrible condition with ent, and now bless they are going to sort it out for me tomorrow 8:30 am, cant wait to get it all over with and  carry on the best i can if it ends up with i have to live with it sort of thing, as long as it is not more serious.

thankyou so much for the info.   jo. x