Severe hearing loss

[Dawnie55]

Hi my name is Dawn 55yrs old I contracted Meningjitis pnuemoccial in May this year it caused me to have a stroke and a brain absess also caused me to lose hearing ing right ear only partial in left I was convinced hearing would come back but now been told highly unlikely so am not at a good place at moment I know I have to accept it but I'm struggling I was a very outgoing person before this happened I'm now wanting to stay in because it's so difficult with even a couple of people I've been told to go hearing loss groups but not sure of where to turn any help or advice would be great thanks Dawn

[Robina23]

Hi Hun

You poor thing am really sorry to hear you have been through a lot.

You just have to try and be strong take baby steps. It will get easier. I promise it's just that it's going to take time.

My hubby got Meningitis and septacimia he's not the same he has also got loss of hearing

He went to have his ears tested who advised him to have an hearing aid put in.

But he's going to see how he copes. If his hearing loss doesn't get worse he should be okay may not need a hearing aid.

So fingers crossed see how you go.

Hope your feeling better soon

Make sure you get out don't be locking yourself away you will feel worse Hun.

All the best Robina. X

[Dawnie55 in reply to Robina23]

Thankyou for that Hun it so helps , I had only moved in a month before with my partner and transferred my job so had not really found my feet so never really got chance to make friends like you would after a while , my partner has been brilliant but it's been a strain on him , I hope your husband continues to recover, I will try and find a couple of associations for severely hard of hearing and see how I go thanks again Dawn x

[Enjoy in reply to Dawnie55]

Apart from making sure the hearing aid/s are comfortable and doing a good job, I recommend you contact your local Council to see if there are any lip reading courses in your area. They are not cheap but not astronomic.

With the help of lip reading it will supplement what you do hear and make conversations easier to follow.

I have had my "aids" for 40 years and they are part of me like people who wear specs. Do make sure they are comfortable though as some are not. My current ones I can fall asleep in, they are so nice.

[Robina23 in reply to Dawnie55]

Hi you just stay positive I wish you luck. Xx

[tjaybanx]

Hi Dawn, I'm a new be hear also and it's lovely to hear from people who offer advise and emotional support and most importantly can empathise with us all as we are all experiencing the same symptoms, deafness .

It's very scary and frustrating and like yourself I find it difficult being out with friends or crowded places and constantly missing the thread because I can't bloody hear, there are only so many times you can ask people to repeat themselves 😊 There must be many support places out there and lip reading also would be benificial if your hearing can not be restored.Try and Stay posative although it's hard if you can, also an aid would be worth trying, I have Otosclerosis and am going to see audioLogy next week to get fitted, I'm not happy about wearing one but if it improves my hearing enough then it's worth it, if not I have the option of surgery.

Ask your GP for support advise as they should be able to put you in contact with the support needed, keep your chin up lovely, it hard and another bloody card delt to deal with, I'm worried also and trying aid first as my last spine surgery I had a stroke also in recovery so I'm scared of having the surgery done, I made full recovery but may not be so lucky if it happened again !

Keep posted, it's great to off load and get support in this group, don't let it take over your life, only let it be part of it 😉

Tracy

[Dawnie55 in reply to tjaybanx]

Hi Tracey it's nice to hear comments back, I forgot to say that I have been fitted with NHS hearing aids they have given me one for both ears I got them two weeks ago I have been given the behind the ear ones they said that they didn't hold out much hope for it helping right ear but worth a try,it's not doing anything for me the left one not bad when I can finally get it in they have the plastic moulds very fiddly to fit,I will percivere and carry on , I have also been looking at lip reading groups to see how I get on thankyou to everyone for their support, and Tracey who made me chuckle over commenting can't bloody hear xx

[GRboyRiches]

Hi Dawn, sorry for your problem, there are two ways you can look at your problem, and as a young 50's lady, and you have a fair time to go, this is my best advice...1. you can isolate yourself and over a fair amount time you will get accustomed to your problems and cope with what you can cope with. 2. You can roll your sleeves up and make what you can, and seek advice on what "I can do about it", which is what you are doing about it, this is the way to go, now what can you do about it, reading through your replies I see you have been fitted with a NHS hearing aid, in your better ear, this is fine, but now your hearing is lopsided, and all information is coming in through the aided ear, lots of people do cope fairly well using one aid, but it is not really the answer, although I do not know your test results, but it seems your bad ear is practically deaf, in these cases you could be looking at what is known as CROS aid system, very quickly what this is.... you have a normal hearing aid in your aided ear, and in or on you deaf side you are fitted with a transmitter, that will collect sound information on your deaf side and transmit it to your hearing side through your hearing aid, thus giving you sound coming in on your deaf side..... may I suggest you seek some information on these, the NHS do or may do this system for you but in all probabilities it will be a BTE (behind the ear) system and it will be wired, but that you can find out about that, of course you can purchase this system privately where there would be no wires and that system is available in the ITE (in the ear) type, then you have nothing behind the ear, this maybe more cosmetically better for you as you are a fairly young lady, a company called PHONAK and other do this type of system, I suggest you check there websites for information, or google CROS hearing systems, if you do deceide to look futher please don't jump, check prices very carefully, a ball park figure would be around £1500 £2000 depending on the technology , if you find something check the models what they are and phone around a few for prices. hope this helps.

[Dawnie55]

Thankyou for your advice I will ask about the cros system and I'm going to stay positive ,at the moment trying to work out what is best for me, I know I'm going to have to learn lip reading and go from there. Thank again x