I suppose it must be over a year now. After a virus / cold or some such thing I found that my hearing had suddenly deteriorated such that I was unable hear most conversations, most television programmes unless the volume was high enough to render the whole household deaf.
I couldn't hear the mobile (suspended from my neck) ringing. I became clear to me just how isolated you becoming so quickly.
The possibilities of misunderstanding are endless. For example, my wife was out and the phone rang. I eventually heard it and answered, hello I said, explaining I was partially deaf. The lady at the other end was telling me that the acid my wife had ordered was available for collection. We had a difficult conversation and I said my wife would call later. Turned out the call was from our vet telling us that our dogs' ashes were available for collection.
Whoops.
Anyway my hearing problem lasted about 3 months. A very big improvement seemed to be due to usage of a simple gadget known as the Otovent. Look it up in Amazon for more information.
Best wishes.
Pete