Sudden Hearing loss _{Page 72 of 105}

Hi - I ahve been reading the posts here for last few months having recently lost most of my hearing in my left ear in a matter of 8 hours on the 6th Nov. Is there anyone else from the UK - I can find very little about SSHL in the UK. My experience of the medical profession here is one of - tough get used to it. I attended A&E the day after I lost my hearing and waited 6 hours to be told by a junior doctor - no sign of infection - come back to ENT in 5 days. I went on net and saw that this is an emergency and attended ENT Casualty ina diferent hospital first thing on the Monday morning. Audiogram was flat line at 90db loss. Was put on 40mg prednisone for 5 days and a 5 day course of vaso-dilator tablets. No improvement after this. Had an MRI scan (at my own expense as waiting list here is 3 months at least) and it was clear. I have had improvement in high freq sound back to near normal. means I can hear the hairdryer or shower or some hi pitched sounds on the radio, but not speech. I have constant tinitus which has eased down. It was so loud the first few weeks I didn't sleep and couldn't read or watch tv or concentrate on anything. It is now like a constant aircon sound with running water and odd alien noises - but bareable.The hospital have told me to come back in six months for my next hearing test. No advice about anything.I do worry at times about my other ear going same way. I have tinnitus in it - very high pitched hum but hearing is normal - infact very good.

Hey everybody,

there sure are a lot of interesting (in a sad way) posts scince I last had time to get on.

Edisoar, in answer to your question for us all as to which ear is affected, my right ear is the sshl ear. My left ear is pretty good (thank you God!) My neuro otologist said my hearing threshhold in my left ear is better than his. So, despite the constant tinnitis roar and various chirpings of my right ear I am doing okay if only my L. ear stays the same.

My left ear compensates so well that it skews my audiograms. I got 100% word recognition for one test given by a tester who didn't mask for my left ear. In fact, I think I have zero word recognition with my R. ear. I just hear whether the voice is male or female, the intonations of voices, with my deaf ear. I don't have the pitch distortions that people with Meniere's seem to.

Adavis9999, what is an ECOGs test? Like Mark said there seem to be two main sshl disorders that I recognize. But, there can be so many variables that it gets complicated. MarkLM's symptoms are consistant with mine for the most part except that I think he may have regained more hearing than I as well as had a less severe sshl episode to start with. You had no vertigo from what I remember, Mark.

Well, I should probably just start a new post. But, I want to ask mimeof4 if she has a family history of shingles. Apparently it's familial. Some older generations in my family have had shingles.

I'm ending up having to take a low dose of thyroid medicine..haven't even picked up the prescription yet. The endocrinologist thought my TSH levels were too high. I wrote about that a recent post. Thanks to everyone!

Frogs.

P.S. Luv2ridegal, I'm glad you are regaining hearing. I never did like Aspartane's (sp?)taste much. I still drink coffee..never did quit.

Just a follow up to my previous post - Im female age 44 with no previous medical history. It appears that SSHL is more common in midlife - median age 46 from what I have read.I didn't have any dizziness or nausea -just a sensation that my left ear had popped and that the sound was dulled from that side.(I was attending a meeting in work). My hearing deteriorated over the course of the afternoon until voices were like hi pitched tinny dalek like sound - then even that disappeared. It seems the mid to low frequencies went first and the high frequencies hung on for a few extra hours. Strangley enough it is the high frequencies which I have regained.

Hi scorpiouk,

I'm really sorry about what you've been through, just now reading your posts. Your description of losing your hearing is pretty horrific. I guess I have repeated my story here too often, but I woke up with loud fuzz in my R. ear one day last summer. Many people have the 'pop' in the ear. I missed that, if it happened at all.

My audiogram shows a 'cookie bite' shape. So, that means that I must have some higher range hearing still, in my right ear, but I don't notice it. Mostly I have sort of moaning low sounds coming through as I listen to music and people's voices. I don't even know for sure how much I hear with my R. ear and how much I'm just hearing through bone conduction with my L. ear. When I put the phone to my deaf R.ear I hear a small, distant sound for the dial tone. If I turn up the phone I can understand what is being said. But again this is probably my good left ear filling in...makes it very hard to figure out how much I really hear.

It has to be quite strange to hear such sounds as a hair dryer but not hear human voices! It's telling that phones transmit no sounds above 3Kz (I read that at an academic site.) It's horrible to be affected right in the range of verbal communication, as most here are. So, you had no vertigo/nausea. Everyone has such an individual experience but there seem to be some general things in common. Is your good ear now hyperaccusive/hypersensitive, scorpio?

I've had excellent health most of my life (athletic and all) but became very rundown in the course of a 2nd marriage (to a possesive/controlling psychopath. I was still naive when we met.) My health began declining when I developed severe insomnia around that relationship years ago then started taking pain pills so that his yelling didn't get to me so much. I have no doubt that stress in your personal life can impact your health over time! I feel like a surviving POW. Anyhow, all four of my grandparents have lived to be ancient. I have a 97 year old grandpa still living and a 93 year old grandma died recently...so my longevity genes should be good. But a hard life can trump everything.

I'm not from the U.K. I'm from WA state in the U.S. I hope you find some good support in the U.K., scorpio. It's hard to find here too. You have to demand respect for what has happened. After sshl, you look the same to others even though you are far from it inside your own skull. Good luck, scorpio. I will look for your posts.

Sincerely, Frogs.

UPDATE:
Lost hearing in left ear 1/19. Started on course of oral steroid 1/20. No improvement at all. Scheduled an appointment with my 4th doctor for the trans-tympanic steroid injection for 2/19. I went on a work assignment in Nashville ( I live in Chicago), and while there the nurse called and said I should not wait that long for the injection. I found a doctor in Nashville (Dr. Matt Speyer) who was happy to do the injection. Had it done 2/6. On 2/10...I accidentally put my phone up to my dead left ear. Holy crap !! I could hear out of it !!! Kinda quiet, and a little buzzy, but I could hear my wife's voice (what a great sound!!), and could understand her perfectly ! To put it lightly...I was ELATED. I saw my doc at home today, and had another audiogram. About a 45 % hearing improvement ! Doctor and nurses were very pleased. As am I. I had the second shot today, and am even more hopeful. At least I am at the point now, where a hearing aid would be helpful if there is no further improvement. As has been stated here...it's certainly worth trying the trans-tympanic injection for SSHL. Seems about 50% of the ENT's are still not convinced that it works...but I certainly am. There is a time window from the onset of the hearing loss, where the injection is said to be more effective...so if anyone is considering it...please do it. It's worth a try.
Good luck to all. I will be here !

Ed

Hello all,

Three months into my SSNHL with no improvement, I went for a second opinion. The new doc suggested I try a six-week course of diuretic to gain evidence about whether the problem might be Meniere's or hydrops. Not likely, she said, but there's little harm in checking.

Just a few words to address the notion that SSNHL is caused by a virus.

Sudden hearing loss has a variety of known causes, including drug toxicity, tearing of the middle- or inner-ear tissues, brain tumor, Meniere's disease, and hydrolymphatic hydrops (the last two caused by fluid in the cochlea).

So-called idiopathic SSNHL has no known cause, and that's what most people contributing to this forum (myself included) appear to have. The cause is mysterious, but three theories have been proposed.
- viral infection
- autoimmune response
- vascular blockage in the inner ear

The fact is that no one knows. Some cases seem to look like the work of a virus, some act like an autoimmune problem, some like a 'stroke of the inner ear.' Still, treatments geared to one or another of these theories - antiviral drugs, blood thinners, hyperbaric oxygen - have not proven effective in clinical studies. The doctors I've spoken to favor the viral hypothesis when there's no obvious sign of an autoimmune problem (like, the symptoms clear up on prednisone but reappear once the treatment is over). But when challenged, they admit they have no evidence for it.

My best hopes for recovery to all,
Ted

Here's this for anyone interested,

'The phone company decided years ago that the 180 Hz to 3.2 kHz range would be sufficient for speech intelligibility while allowing them to multiplex many ...'

Sorry, to those who may not be fascinated. My dad's a chemist. I was born at Stanford and I like to find out facts. I appreciate it when other people post interesting info. to do with hearing(often!)on this forum.

Frogs.

Hi Frogs
Thanks for your suppport - it is nice to talk to people who understand. Most people really have no idea what it is like to hear with only one ear - the balance of sound is different and as for appreciating music in stereo/surround sound - that has gone completely. I also find that I have great difficulty making out speech in noisey places e.g shopping malls,restaurants,shops,pubs etc - which is awkward. I now have started to adapt by positioning myself to the left so I can hear with my good right ear and sitting in restauarants well away from speakers or noisey large parties. For the first 6 weeks I found that my right easr was overwhelmed by sound - everything sounded odd and off balance. It really freaked me the first few weeks and I didn't want to go out much because I found it so odd and dis-orientating. I noted your comments on stress before the onset of SSHL. I had gone through a stressful time in work a few months/weeks before my episode. But having said that, I have had more stress in the past so I don't know if there is a link. I had been feeling tired the week before it happened and the night before it happened I had been out drinking with work colleagues and had quite a lot of wine and was drunk - I had a hangover the day of my hearing loss.So I often wonder if that triggered something - mini stroke/ interuption to blood supply to inner ear. The doctors didnt seem to think this was the case.

Hey Scorpio,

Way back on page 62 a frenchwoman, 'saucix', asked us all if we were stressed or depressed at the time of our sshls. She said that Europeans (Germans in particular)think mental outlook is a big factor in sshl. I just know that stress has been more a part of my life than I once expected. Losing most of the hearing in my right ear certainly has made that worse! The fear is huge. I can accept the hearing loss that I have now but if I were to lose more I'm not sure how I'd deal with it.

I have nightmares that I cannot hear with either ear. The sensation of deafness is horrible in these dreams. From everything I've read on this forum it's a really common fear. It is really strange to have such an imbalance within your own head. I'm learning to position myself so that people are on my hearing side and I use my eyes much more to see what my ears may be missing so I don't get run over etc. It's a relief to talk to others who actually know what it feels like to have such a rare and bizarre problem. I really appreciate this forum. I feel like I can't respond to everyone as I want to though. So, I pick out people who I have something in common with to post to. I can relate to many things you've written, scorpio.

The whole thing with replaying the events that led up to your sshl to try and figure out what,on God's green earth,you might have done to contribute to what's happened to your ear(s) is something I really understand. I'm sure the doctors are right about a night out drinking and hangover not being the cause of your sshl. It might have been the straw that broke the camel's back..but not the cause. Plenty of people drink like fish and never ever have anything like this happen. But, at the same time, it's good to think about something you can avoid that might have really contributed..like a bad prescription drug or something. From now on I research the dickens out of any drugs I have to take.

It's really hard to have something that's basically ideopathic. If you have a definite cause then you feel more secure because you can just work to avoid that cause. My neuro otologist said that if I'd had a brain bleed (I'm not sure but I think this is true of strokes too) he would have had to have given me an MRI within a few days of the sshl to see that. He also said that he'd only seen two such bleeds in his career. Both regained little or no hearing.

Are you going to get a BAHA or other hearing aid?I feel like my brain is adjusting as long as my hearing stays exactly the same, especially my L. ear. My good ear is still really hypersensitive though. I'm 7 months out now. I still cannot believe this has happened to me. It really means a lot to have such a good forum to talk to each other on.

I always thought that the English were sort of progressive when it came to things medical. I guess lame doctors exist the world 'round. I feel very lucky that I got the young woman PA(physician's assitant) at the ER that I did. She was open minded and willing to recognize that I had a real problem. Take care, scorpio:-)

Frogs

P.S. I am statistically correct for an sshl age-wise..not old and not young. I feel paranoid to state my age because I have already told so much personal that is identifiable. Especially complaining about my kids's dad.

Hi, it has been a while since I have been here. Life has been busy and did not leave much time for anything else. I am sad to report no changes whatsoever in my hearing, it has been a little over 1 year since I suddenly lost my hearing in my left ear.

I will continue to check in from time to time, and I wish everybody the best in their journey, good luck with coping with the loss and the adjustments we have to make!

Hi tdgrnwld,

reading about how viral infection can affect humans and other species I gather that doctors assume that because many viruses can cause deafness when there's an obvious and glaring case of viral infection, such as the measles, that viruses can also cause deafness when subclinical(or clinically undetectable.)

Like I was saying to scorpio, I've thought a lot about what was happening around me in the weeks before my sshl. My youngest son was going to summer school. He got sick shortly after eating another kid's homemade sandwich at lunch. That kid had had some sort of spinal surgery I recall. I got mad at my son for eating strange food. Anyway, it wasn't long after that I lost my hearing after having a bad headache one day and then taking a nap. I took my temp. and it was really low. It stayed low for days after my sshl(like 96 and 97 degrees.) So, one of MANY possible contributors to my hearing loss was potentially a virus. I had so many things going on last summer (and throughout my entire life for that matter, with some ear infections and other stuff) that any and all could be causes. I will probably never know.

But, I read that you can get the herpes virus quit easily..from sharing a drinking cup. I've never had a cold sore but that doesn't mean I haven't been exposed. When lab guinea pigs' inner ears are exposed to the herpes virus they quickly go completely deaf. Many different viruses can cause viral meningitis. Only 20% of adults with viral meningitis end up with neurological damage (including hearing loss.) Most healthy adults fight off viral meningitis quite easily..many not even knowing they were sick aside from a really bad headache and stiff neck. Bacterial meningitis is much more serious.

I dunno, it's a lot to think about. Losing hearing will make you think! Apparently viruses can be very mysterious...sometimes no big deal and other times do tremendous damage. I think I am correctly remembering all the info. I read.

People having had sshls seem to be a smart bunch. I have learned a lot reading others' posts. Thank you, Ted.

Frogs.

Hi, Frogs...I just realized I haven't responded to your question about whether I have had shingles in my family. The answer is not to my knowledge. I used up my Valtrex and still have pain in my deaf side. I've cut down on the carbemazapine the neurologist put me on to see if that would break the pain cycle (going on 5 months now). Hasn't worked yet. I think I'm stuck with all I'm stuck with at this point. I might try another neurologist (my ENT sent me to the first one) although I really liked the Harvard-educated MD I went to first. Not sure I'll learn anything new. I'm not sure who said it, but yes, I think we all live with the fear of our 'good side' going out on us, also...especially since we have no idea what made our bad side go deaf in the first place.

Noisy places (restaurants) are the pits!

Hello All,

I just got back from my 6 month check up - wow - how time flies when you can't hear !

I had another audiogram. It was EXACTLY the same as my last audiogram that was taken after 6 weeks. So, for me, I was totally deaf on Day 1, started regaining hearing on Day 4, and I would estimate that I regained 'all' my hearing after about 2 weeks. No improvement after that. I now have OK hearing in the lowest frequencies and then it heads steep and deep downhill to the point of no hearing at the highest frequencies. My word recognition is about 30%.

Even though I knew my hearing wasn't any better, I still felt pretty bummed as I left the doctors office. Not sure why - I suppose just the concrete verification that my hearing is crappy - and will likely stay this way - just hit home again. The upside - and I always look at things on the upside - is that now when I try some alternative therapy - accupuncture, homeopathic medications, or ??, I will know that any improvement is due to the new treatment, and not just a normal recovery.

Regrading the cause of our SHL that has been bantered about recently, I really think that the medical community is pretty unsure and I think there are multiple multiple causes - stress, blood clots, viral, Meniere's, previous ear damage, mercury poisoning, etc. For myself, I think mine was viral. I had a deep sinus head cold all day on Wednesday, and while sleeping Thursday night / Friday morning I completely lost my hearing. When I had the cold (which only lasted one day), I remember thinking that this cold is really wierd. I had a slight head ache, plugged up sinuses - but my nose was nice and dry. For me, this is quite unusual. A day later I was deaf in one ear.

On a different subject, here's one recent observation I just noticed. Many have posted about the hell associated with loud places, crowded restaraunts, etc. While I totally agree, I have also found that it's the echo effect that makes this horrible - even if it's not very loud. I was in a friends basement with no furniture or carpet. It was an echo chamber and it was horrible - even though there were just a few of us in the room. I think the sounds bouncng around the room is just too hard to for the the mind to deal with when only one ear is working.

That's it for now.

Peace and strength to all,

Mark

Hi Ed, glad to hEAR all is going fine. do you have any tinnitus? Catch Ya, Trish

Hi, I carry ear plugs in my purse. i just pop one in my bad ear when I'm out (resturant, movies, casino I wear one in each ear )I always wear plugs when I use a hair dryer too. It makes a big differnce! good Luck ! ps I hate tinnitus.Catch Ya, Trish

Yes, luv2ridegal. I still have the tinnitus. That seems to be about the same level as before I regained some hearing. I had my second shot last Thursday, and have seen no additional improvement. Still hopeful.

Thanks,

Ed

Hi Frogs

No, I am not planning to get a hearing aid as I can more or less cope with just one working ear. I am adapting to the imbalance of sound and yes it is difficult in noisey places and with multiple conversations, but I can manage ok. I have no sense of sound direction so have to ask work colleagues whcih phone is ringing. My main worry is how would I cope with any loss in my good ear. That thought has given me nightmares where I have woke up and checked my hearing. So far I have seen 5 different doctors over 5 appointments at the ENT clinic. No continuity at all. And none of them seem to be able to offer advice about hearing aids. One told me that an aid wouldnt help my bad ear as my loss is so bad 70 -80db.The another one said that a powerful aid would help but would exaggerate all noise.Generally little sympathy and no interest in tinnitus. They just don't want to discuss it. The NHS here is free, but there isnt the time or staff to give good one to one care.Its like a conveyorbelt. Generally I have do my hearing test and have had less than 5 minutes with the doctor after. If I didnt ask questions - I wouldnt be told anything.I actually live in Belfast, N.Ireland and I would guess there are so few cases over here with our small population that most doctors have never come across SHL before.

to frogs: i'm a man not a woman :-) !

Hi everyone,

first, saucix, I'm sorry dude, lol. I was worried about that after I had already posted the reference! It was a good question that you asked way back. There seems to be a real variety of people stricken with sshl here. Mark is very fit riding his bike miles and miles to work with one ear the day of his sshl. Aussi, who I don't know if is around anymore, is fit sounding. I was born sports loving and naturally fit but have had a more difficult life than I planned. I was really into juggling when my sshl hit. I was learning some tricks I never thought I'd master. I have virtually quit now. Anyway, you naturally want to figure out what made you and others victims while most people are fine. One funny thing, I read that sshl sufferers are slightly more likely to have blue eyes. My eyes are so blue that if I were a rat they'd be pink. Your pigment is originally made of the same stuff as the nervous system, as the embryo developes in the first month.

Mimiof4, I didn't get any antivirals at all. MarkLM might remember that I had a hard time getting in to see a good doctor. My first ENT after the ER was a B.(pardon, but true.) If they hadn't given me prednisone at the ER I don't think I would have gotten any within time to make a difference. Shingles are extremely painful. My grandmother had them. Also, a great grandfather had them and they say he never was the same man after. Back in those days he probably didn't get much for pain. So, maybe that's why you have so much pain, Mimi. Perhaps sshl with the shingles virus is more painful? I do have some pain. I noticed pain in that ear the day before the hearing loss. But, it doesn't sound like I suffer the pain that you do. Shingles runs a limited course from what I understand so maybe you'll suddenly feel better one day! I hope so. It's enough to be deaf and all of the other symptoms of sshl without pain!

Hey Mark, I'm always glad to hear from you again. I'm sorry that you haven't had improvement at your 6 mo. appt. Let me know if any alternative therapy is helpful. I pay close attn. to your reports and decisions because you do seem to think like I do. You are really right about echoing being a problem. It just makes it that much harder to tell where any sound is coming from. It is definitely the higher pitched sounds that I can't figure out. One night, early in my hearing loss, my black cat, Coal, was meowing and meowing outside my bdrm. window and I kept whispering to him to be quiet and go play. Well, he turned out to be trapped in my bathroom. But, my cat doesn't think I'm retarded:-). He actually seems to understand I have a limitation.

Scorpio, I'm just making this a long post, it sounds like you have about the same hearing loss that I do at the worst. A hearing aid would probably just interfere with my good left ear. It sounds like there isn't much understanding for sshl there in Belfast. I would say that you just haven't seen the right dr. but you've seen 5 at the same ENT clinic. Also, you've had to spend for your own MRI. It sounds like Canada. My sister lived and worked in Canada for many years and complained about the poor quality of socialized medicine..long waits for important procedures and a lack of interest in the individual patient. Still, she would find the right dr. where ever she worked in Canada and then stick with him/her. Once you find a dr. who remembers your name and cares you feel much safer.

Maybe I'm not understanding NHS. I can't imagine that they make you do your own hearing test. When I finally found my Neuro otologist, Dr. Hodgeson in Portland, he spent at least a half hour talking to me and my oldest son. He tried hard to reassure me that he will be there if anything more happens to my hearing. I'm sorry that you can't get more caring from a dr. there so far, scorpio. Even if they have never seen an sshl before it doesn't take much to imagine how traumatic it must be to just lose hearing in one ear one day. It's the dr.s' job to discuss your concerns and help you if they can! I just hope all our good ears stay the same because sshl has been so hard on us. Well, I'd better end this post. Take care, scorpio. You've been very proactive for yourself despite not getting very much understanding from the medical proffession there in Belfast, N.Ireland. Don't give up on finding a better dr.! Thank you for replying to me:-).

Sincerely, Frogs.

Hi Frogs

I misworded my previous post - I meant that when I attend the ENT clinic, I do the hearing test when I arrive and then wait to see the doctor after ( 5 mins max of his time if you are lucky). Unfortunately at the ENT clinic you can't choose a doctor and stick with that doctor. You get an appointment and that is with whoever is on duty at the outpatient clinic that day and it seems to be a different doctor each time - hence zero continuity. The NHS has some good points, but can be slow for getting tests/ treatments. Therefore alot of people now use the NHS as the primary provider but if there is something urgent/important that needs done quickly then they use the private sector either by paying for the treatment themselves or through a private healthcare scheme.

Hi, everyone
I've been keeping up with the posts. To those of you who mentioned hearing aids, I have been pleased with my aids (see post on page 72), but the price was scary, and I really appreciated (sarcasm) the way insurance will hand out mobility scooters to everyone, but not one penny for hearing aids! I hope they all go deaf! So much for my rant.
In an attempt to personalize this blog, I'm attaching a photo taken 3/17/08, about 3 months before I lost my hearing in my left ear. My name is Doug, and I'm 65. I hope others will follow my lead, as it is nice to see faces attached to posts.

(This post contains an image. To view the image, please log on.)

Hi brokenear !
Nice to put a picture !
I'm quite new to sshl and tinnitus but you said that you had tinnitus for 30 years and I am just curious to know how you get this tinnitus ? And do you think it is related to your recent hearing loss ?
Thanks !

I have been on this forum since my 2nd SSNHL experience in Oct. 2006. I am coming up on 2.5 years since then, have added supplements to my daily intake that cover the Viral/Virus/Autoimmune possibilities. I haven't had a recurrence, attribute it to the supplements plus meditation and massage.

I am humbled by the stories of those that have not had recovery. I have had recovery (albeit tinnitus since Aug. 2005), and after the 2nd attack, and Prednisone/Injection intervention, have worked to reduce stress (which was present before my 1st attack in terms of looking at retirement, etc.)as well as the supplement additions.

I only wish the best to all who are still suffering.

Hi saucix,
I think my tinnitus was caused by working on computers in the late 1960's and 70's when they had loud vacuum column tape drives and 1400 card per minute card readers that were also extremely noisy. One morning I woke up to what I first thought was the sound of crickets, but because there was snow on the ground I quickly realized I was hearing things.

My SSHL happened just a little after midnight 6/23/08, at least that is when I first noticed it. Nothing unusual during the days before that I can recall, no altitude changes, no loud noise, no emotional or physical upset.

Glad you like the picture. All one has to do is downsize a digital picture to about 60KB. I used Windows picture & fax viewer edit mode stretch and skew, but any photo editing program should enable the downsize.

OK thanks for your answer... And was the tinnitus and the SSHL on the same ear ?

Hi everyone,

Hi scorpio, I combine my very good primary Ins. and Medicaid makes up the difference. If I didn't have good primary insurance I would have to go to Medicaid approved doctors and dentists (very second rate care the poor and disabled get for dentistry in WA state..it's a terrible class bias.) I feel very fortunate to have good primary insurance. The whole topic of medical/dental elitism in the United States makes me mad. Before I understood how my dental ins. worked I made the mistake of taking my youngest son to a state subsidized dentist (Seamar). There they diagnosed cavities that, when I luckily changed dentists before further dental work, did not exist in my son's mouth according to the new dentist.

The lack of continuity you describe sounds not only bad for your care but also rather wasteful for the system because it may take more time and resources to get to the bottom of a medical problem. Hopefully it's not too hard on you to have to pay out of pocket. I'm sure there are many who can't pay themselves who just have to wait on tests and procedures. As I said I get steamed about social issues. You don't realize how important your coverage is until you or someone you love gets sick.

Scorpio, do you find that people pick up on your not being able to hear in public situations? Most times people don't know that there is anything wrong with me but today I had a hard time at Starbuck's with the excruciating steam sounds and a very soft spoken girl behind the counter. I really had to look right at her to be sure of what she was saying. Once in a while I will have a hard enough time understanding when it's noisy etc. that I will just say that I have a hearing impairment to whomever I'm talking to. I don't usually go into it and people just accept what I say. Well, scorpio, post how you are when you feel like it.

Hey, brokenear. Is that a black cat on your lap?! Hmmm,the plot thickens. I have a black cat too. And, they look so innocent. Just kidding, I love my black cat, Coal. He really is a nice and smart friend. Pets mean a lot when something really awful happens to you. I'll think about putting a picture up but am embarrassed after all of my revealing personal stuff to do with stress and all. Just imagine regal Miss Piggy, the muppet, with the goldilocks and round face etc., lol, that's me. Thank you for sharing your nice picture. Not everyone will want to do the same because there's a freedom to anonymity. But, it would be nice to see the people who have become friends on this forum too.

I agree totally with your 'rant', brokenear. Stingy ins. co.s should all go deaf for the lack of understanding. I think that deafness is regarded as somehow less important than other impairments like visual and mobility impairments. Being deaf is so much worse than hearing people can imagine. I feel total panic at the idea of losing my good ear..knowing what it really is to be deaf from my bad ear. I'm glad your have had good results from your hearing aids.

Is SANDMANRANCH still around? I think his last post was quite awhile ago. He was with his dad who was in hospice. I'm quite hit and miss. Sometimes people just fade away from this forum and I feel bad not to have said goodbye. SSHL is a life changing event. I have never followed through as a member of any forum as I have with this one. Thanks everyone!

Frogs.

P.S. MarkLM, did you ever straighten out your insurance in order to be approved for a BAHA? As you said, it is better to be approved, even if you don't use the BAHA, because you never know what technology they'll come up with next.