Need advice on Hearing Aids

None | April 23, 2009 | cva66snipe

[cva66snipe]

I went to a long time needed hearing test and I will be needing hearing aids in both ears. I know there is a ping list related to hearing issues and many in here who have hearing loss. I need some to find out some answers. First thing I'll do is give the results. All frequencies are from mild to profound loss. From 125 - 1000 Hz I'm at 40db or mild to moderate loss. At 2000 I'm best starting at 30db from 2000 to 4000hz I drop to severe at 70db, and from 4000 to 6000hz 90db dropping into profound range. The chart looks like from there I jump back to maybe 70db in sever loss range. Left ear is at 40% loss. Right ear is 46%. 60% loss in speech range and 40% loss over all. The loss is due to nerve damage.

I have some other problems that compound this also. I have sensory processing problems both audio and visual. But obviously right now I have to work on dealing with hearing aids VS the audio. I can't tolerate certain sounds or sudden loud noises. It makes me seizure. Simply meaning it causes what is called myoclonic seizures or severe upper torso spasms. Thus one of the reasons I've been dragging my feet on this so to speak. Another issue is the triggers I mentioned generates major anxiety attacks as well. IOW my sensory processing system is also shot. I've been dealing with that for 15 years when it reached being a point of disability.

I understand a considerable amount of sudden loud noises can be filtered through automatic sound leveling. Other annoyances are things like back up alarms on fork lifts at Lowes which set me off or even low level frequencies like someone’s sub woofers cranked up in their car beside me.

I'm thinking about getting a BTE {behind the ear} to get directional sound but that limits a few things like phones. I know because I watched my grandson deal with it. Does Bluetooth technology work fairly well from cell phone to Bluetooth capable hearing aids? That too is a biggie for me I need the phone due to wife’s medical issues so she can contact me. Music is something else important to me. I play an acoustic 6 & 12 string guitar no problem there. But I also like listening to a MP3 player I like to use when doing things like shopping that I will need to work out if anyone has suggestions.

The company I was tested at is an Audibel dealer. I didn't get a second opinion because I know the loss is there and the results he gave seemed to match my loss. That and my grandson was checked by three places and all showed the same results so I’m reasonably sure about the results. . Money is somewhat an object I need to stay below a total of $5000 if possible and still get what I need. I need some input as to what to watch out for etc like inferior products with bad reputations.

Thanks

[library user]

Miracle Ear?

[antceecee]

bookmark

[HiJinx]

My parents sold hearing aids and really liked the tuneable aids from Starkey Labs...

A co-worker wears BTEs with a small tube that goes into her ear canal from the hearing aid - she has no trouble using the phone or listening to her MP3s. She is prone to migraines, and noises such as you describe that bother you bother her as well - I don’t know if she has noise-cancelling features in her aids but I suspect they’re available.

Question - with the amount of loss you have, is the VA an option? The provided a similar set to my boss at no cost...

[Islander7]

All I can say is good luck! I’ve tried three types of in-ear aids. The latest, from the VA, are digital. They are supposed to be adjusted to the particular frequencies of my loss.

I have a ‘notch’ loss, right in the middle where the human voice falls; 70%. Despite what the technician assured me of, these new ones are no better than the older ones. Any sort of background noise is intolerable; defeats the purpose of the aids.

I also have sensory processing problems. It takes about 1 - 1.5 seconds for the sound to translate into something intelligible. I know your frustration.

Hope you have a better experience and results than me. Several of my friends have had excellent results. I supposed it is related to the type of hearing damage.

Regards

[cva66snipe]

From what I can find out Audibel and NuEar, are made by Starkey. Miracle Ear is made by Siemens. The only ones I’ve even been around {maintaining} is Phonak. They are the BTE’s for my grandson. I’ll look into Miracle Ear and see though. Thanks.

[cva66snipe]

Thanks I hadn't heard of Starkey so that helps me out somewhat. I'll have to have tuneables no doubt about that. One setting definitely for stores LOL. I thought about VA but it's getting to the point I need them now. With my Navy and Army NG jobs I would likely qualify. My worse losses go with the equipment I worked around. High pitched Chillers and in the NG’s 155 Howitzers. I was already on the hearing conservation program when I left the Navy in 1980. I had a slight loss then if/when they would ever locate the records.

[cva66snipe]

Thanks. It's hard to find people that have these type complications. The audiologist understood exactly what I was talking about and about sent me out of the chair a couple times during the test. He was watching my responses. I figure if worse comes to worse I can wear them around the house at least so I can understand what my wife is saying again. Then again if shopping say at Walmart I could leave them in and turn them off LOL. That would be an improvement.

Between the translation lag, misinterpreted signals, and poor filtering it's going to be interesting. But I got to do something though.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I don’t have hearing loss, but I have chronic labyrinthitis (and tinnitus), so I, too, have the problem with tolerance of sound. The bass subwoofers these idiots install in their cars can cause me instantaneous nausea and disorientation (worse is our illegal neighbors bombarding the house with it on a frequent basis and nothing I can do about it) and if it gets bad enough, I can have an attack that causes head to toe shaking (as if I was just dropped in a bucket of ice water) with a lot of even more unmentionable side-effects. It can pretty much destroy having a normal life (you cannot drive or operate any sort of vehicle) and I’ve had it now for about 12 years. The audiologist was amazed I not only didn’t have any hearing loss, but that my hearing was above average. That’s great, but what do you do about balance problems equivalent to being anywhere from moderately to severely drunk ?

[Diver Dave]

Check your FReepMail.

[Quix]

You could also use sound canceling/blocking ear muffs. I think Lowes had some blue ones for around $15.00 or so . . . you could use them in stores . . . though You’d need to be watchful for the forklifts in Lowes—though they should have spotters.

I wore them in church last night sitting in the foyer . . . and it was STILL !!!!LOUD!!! and the muffs take out 23db.

Wheeee.

[Quix]

Contact Pastor Henry Wright’s organization . . . I don’t recall anything in his book

A MORE EXCELLENT WAY

However, he’s been powerful in getting a LOT of unique incurable illnesses 100% healed.

Things like . . . allergies to the point folks had to live in a bubble . . . and a lot of special dreadful diseases industry wouldn’t touch because too little money in it be cause of the numbers of people.

. . . all kinds of cancers . . .

And recently I heard, he’s getting schizophrenia cured IN 3 DAYS! Praise God. Anyway—worth checking out.

Is there any sane, reasonable person in the house next door, or not?

If they are all druggies etc. . . networking until you found a Christian detective willing to do something might be an avenue.

Prayer and fasting by a team of people would be an option. God CAN move them out. Would be better to convert them! LOL.

God be with you. Doesn’t sound like fun at all.

I hate those woofers in cars.

A student of mine had a couple in her extended family . . . the father would throw their daughter in his truck when he got angry and drive around at huge volume. She became brain damaged . . . eventually died. Couldn’t prove it. He got off Scott free. GRRRR.

[Yaelle]

Did you know that there is a hormone that diminishes with age that sometimes gives patients significant hearing return, when it's taken in bio-identical form? Trying to find some info online -- try here: http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james46.htm Follow up with more research on your own. It sounds fascinating. So much of what we call normal aging is really just a loss of a hormone or another, and replacing them bioidentically can help sometimes.

[Lancey Howard]

Eh?

[cva66snipe]

I don’t have hearing loss, but I have chronic labyrinthitis (and tinnitus), so I, too, have the problem with tolerance of sound. The bass subwoofers these idiots install in their cars can cause me instantaneous nausea and disorientation (worse is our illegal neighbors bombarding the house with it on a frequent basis and nothing I can do about it) and if it gets bad enough, I can have an attack that causes head to toe shaking (as if I was just dropped in a bucket of ice water) with a lot of even more unmentionable side-effects. It can pretty much destroy having a normal life (you cannot drive or operate any sort of vehicle) and I’ve had it now for about 12 years. The audiologist was amazed I not only didn’t have any hearing loss, but that my hearing was above average. That’s great, but what do you do about balance problems equivalent to being anywhere from moderately to severely drunk ?

I've had labyrinthitis about all my life. So bad that I had to have therapy at 7th grade to learn to adapt. At this point in my life I stay off ladders and roofs etc I also now wear corrective insoles thanks to what it's done to my feet and ankles. The shaking is Myoclonic Seizures. Here is a description Myoclonus Fact Sheet scroll down to Stimulus-sensitive myoclonus. It's like getting popped by a cattle prod or like you say a bucket of ice poured on you. Painelss but a royal pain. I'm lucky mine stays above my elbows or I would not be able to drive. The seizures can be several a minute and last maybe 1-2 seconds each.

Cure? There isn't one. Treatment? I highly recommend Xanax. But you must understand how to take it or it won't work right. It taks about .5mg for say a man weighing 175-250 or so taken 4 times a day or once every six hours. This is a very low dosage. Xanax is a coousin to Valium. It tones down the sensory system and reduces seizure activity. Really any Benzo helps. But the trick is a low but consistent dosage in the blood stream. Also try to limit exposures to triggers. You won't build a tolorance and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will not work with this because it is permenant Neurological damage. It will no more help you than hitting your fingers hard with a hammer will build a tolorence to pain.

I'm also amazed you don't have hearing loss. My tinnitus is also my in my worse hearing range. I want to caution you about a few things. Axniety goes hand and hand with this disorder. Many doctors use a SSRI protocol to treat anxiety. Don't let them do it to you. For some reason folks like us are prone to a severe adverse reaction called Serotonin Syndrome. It's like taking LSD. Benzo's like Xanax also help prevent some OTC cold medications from setting it off. I've seen it first hand this isn't Tin Foil. It happened to my wife who is a quad and has Neurological damage. It darn near killed her and the doctors didn't catch on. I did. BTW this might help you too COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF VESTIBULAR DISORDERS

They know more now than they did 15 years ago. The way I got started getting the right answers was a book called Phobia Free by Harold Levinson MD. In the 1970's he accidently discovered the Vestibular and anxiety link.

[leprechaun9]

I have a family member who has worn several different manufacturers hearing aids over the last 20 years. It is difficult to make comparisons due to the different causes of the hearing "loss".

An important parameter of hearing is COMPREHENSION level. That is, if a sound is detected, can it be understood? In our case, the COMPREHENSION level is 90% in one ear, but only 10% in the other. Thus having an Aid in each ear was self defeating.

Presently the hearing aids are wireless for the following resons:
1. Due to the low comprehension level in one ear, we decided to focus our efforts on the better ear.
2. The amount of hearing loss (detection level at different frequencies)was similar, but significantly different comprehension levels.
3. The initial pair of hearing aids were a waste of money, although they were a very popular brand.
4. When we decided to concentrate on assisting the better ear, the microphone was placed in the weaker ear and wired through the eye glass frame to the hearing aid in the other ear. This physical separation also eliminated oscillations due to feedback.
5. The eyeglass frame also contained a coil for telephone reception (old rotary phone which we still use). When this coil was "switched" in, it disconnected the microphone and only the coupled sound from the phone was input to the hearing aid.
6. When we switched to contact lenses, a wireless pair of aids were selected. This pair has the microphone with a transmitter in the worse ear and a receiver with the hearing aide in the other.
7. We also looked at the hearing loss, which two different audiologists diagnosed as "irreperable nerve damage". We pursued for about a year, the use of holistic medicine. We felt this was quackery, but a very good friend had achieved significant improvement with this effort. Based on our respect for and knowledge of this friend, we dicided to try it.
8. The holistic approach believes that the hearing nerves are not dead, but something was stopping them from functioning properly. The cause was linked to the lead in the fillings in the teeth. EVERYONE IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION THAT WE DISCUSSED THIS WITH, TOTALLY REJECTED THE LINKAGE OUT OF HAND. The holistic approach leaches the lead out of the system throught the use of various supplements.
9. The results were mixed. Every friend and family member (after about six months) told my family member of the improvement of the hearing. For example, the repeated use of the word "WHAT" diminished significantly, including with use of the phone. However, the person with the hearing loss never felt the improvement. Due to other problems, the remedy was discontinued and the hearing problem has degenerated to the initial levels.
10. We also have a family member who suffered from severe migraine headaches for a long time. He eventually had all his fillings removed and refilled with a non-metallic material. He has not had a headache since (7 years now).
11. Starkey has been the choice for the past 12 years.

The bottom line is each person has to fully understand the nature of the hearing impairment and realize that there is no "magic" aid that will solve all problems. Good luck!

[cva66snipe]

I’ve done that. At the grandkids birthday parties I plug my ears :>} But that don’t help me hear what I need to hear away from those places.

[cva66snipe]

Thanks. This is definately nerve damage. Some of it caused by life long sinus allergies & some by the loud high frequency enviroments I worked in too. I’m 51 and the fun started sometime around 3 I reckon.

[cva66snipe]

Huh? He says what? He says he know ye!!!! I doubt you ever heard the joke that goes with it :>}

[fieldmarshaldj]

Thanks for the advice, but I’m a bit dubious of some aspects of that sort of faith healing (separate that from praying for conditions and problems to be alleviated, that I do believe in). My condition was caused by a nasty viral infection and wasn’t helped because of chronic health problems and the fact that I was unable to get it diagnosed for a long time. That is, unfortunately, only just one of my conditions.

The audiologist/ENT essentially said to do certain types of exercises (but that seemed more for people who had only a temporary condition) and all it did was make me feel dizzier (and it’s the dizziness that I’m trying to alleviate). I already had the condition for 8 years by the time it was confirmed. I initially thought it was Meniere’s Disease, but they ruled it out. If it had been Meniere’s, I might’ve been able to have surgery to correct it, but apparently there isn’t anything available for Labyrinthitis.

With respect to the illegal neighbors, I wouldn’t dare approach any of them. Their behavior since they took up residency in the house in July ‘06 (yeah, I practically count the days) has been horrible. We’ve called the cops on numerous occasions, but it does little good. They’ve never even fined them or done squat. It’s hard to relay to the police that when they crank up that music, it is, to me, a literal physical assault and battery. Like being attacked in your own house. And because of the sound waves, there’s nowhere in the house to escape it. It passes through walls like they don’t exist. In fact, even if I was deaf, I could still FEEL the sound waves, which make me nauseous. It’s the vibrations that make me sick.

The former neighbor lady still owns the property, but she claims there is nothing she can do about the tenants, there being a single clause in the rental agreement that is grounds for kicking them out, and that’s failure to pay the rent. I’ve contacted her repeatedly. I’ve lived in this same since the day I was brought home from the hospital over a third of a century, and I feel like I’m being forced out by invaders. Fact is, we probably should’ve brought a lawsuit against them as soon as they started up with their crap. They’ve ruined the yard, trashed it, destroyed the backyard to make a huge parking lot for work trucks (which has damaged our yard in the process, since the ground comes down at such an angle it can flood our patio during rainstorms). People come in and out all the time.

Several weeks ago, two of the drunken cretins came out in the backyard, one saw me, looked right at me, and pulled down his pants, exposing himself, pissing towards our property, let out a scream that he was proud of his behavior and casually walked back inside. I should’ve called the cops, but knowing their response time (and sometimes not bothering to respond at all), I would’ve had to have identified who did it, and frankly (and I don’t care if this sounds racist) the little pigs from a distance all look alike (and again, I have no idea how many are living in the house).

A few weeks after that, I was walking up my front steps and heard more hooting and yelling from their front porch, and a group of them were congregated and screaming at me mockingly (they sounded drunk, and it wasn’t noon yet) “Loco ! Loco ! Loco !” I didn’t make eye contact with them and quickly went back inside. This used to be a respectable neighborhood until this trash turned it into a slum. Real nice, huh ?