Partial hearing from 24 years old

[Htims46]

I was standing at the kitchen sink washing up and my left ear clicked and I

could hear nothing with that ear I was 24 at the time. I thought the hearing

would return but it never did. I have to say the NHS were useless, they told

me it was nerve deafness and said there was nothing that they could do.

Many years later I had a head CT scan because the hearing suddenly went

in the right ear. I saw the consultant for the results who said I had glue ear

In the right ear. I asked him about my left ear and he said the nerve was intact

and the problem was in my brain. I asked him could anything be done or had

a hearing aid been developed that would help. He said no there is nothing

that would help you. It has had a big impact on my life I am 71 now and I

avoid social situations like the plague. Unless people are facing me I cannot

hear what they are saying, even then any background noise I cannot hear a

thing except the noise in the background. Fortunately the hearing returned

in the right ear after a few weeks. However the lack of hearing that I have

has blighted my life, I have just had to make the best of it. Why is there no

help from the NHS for people like me?

[Stokesie]

Nearly 50 years ago unfortunately. Medicines and hearing aids were VERY different then.

If you were 24 again now, things are very different within the NHS and privately. Without seeing your audiogram, nobody on here could give you a clear answer I’m afraid.

I’ve been a Hearing Aid Dispenser since 1994.

[Htims46]

Thank you for your email. The CT scan and audigram were done in 2014

when the hearing went in the right ear. The consultant told me that the

nerve in the left ear was O.K. I asked him if there was

a hearing aid that would help. ‘No there isn’t I’m afraid’ As you say

medicine has advanced a long way since the 1970’s but not for me it

seems as far as my hearing goes.

[Tabby-Cat in reply to Htims46]

About six years ago I suffered Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in my left ear. Having had perfect hearing all my life, in the space of three or four seconds I went totally deaf on the left. I have had a Bonebridge bone conduction implant fitted to my skull under the skin behind my deaf ear . There are a number of different bone conduction implants available, but they all work on the same principle - a processor with a microphone on the outside of your head (can be hidden under your hair) takes in sound from your deaf side and passes it through the skin to the implant attached to your skull. The sounds are converted into vibrations, and those vibrations are conducted by the bone of the skull across to the hearing ear on the other side. So I hear sound from my deaf left side in my right ear. It doesn't solve all the problems of being single sided deaf, but it makes a huge difference as to what you hear. Wouldn't something like that help you?

[Htims46 in reply to Tabby-Cat]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. Since I wrote this I have

Visited the audiologist at a well known spectactle

supplier.

To cut a very long story short they are only allowed

to supply on hearing aid. She said I would need two

and the way it would work sounds very similar to

what you described. I have done some reserch and

With the cost being somewhere between 2k and 3k

they according to what I have read do not perform

very well.

I have read about the type of aid that you have and

from my readings seems to be what would possibly

help me. I don’t believe these bone anchored aids are

available on the NHS. The prices I have seen seem to

be in the order of £10,000, and by any ones standards

that’s an awful lot of money.

The audiologist said my only hope of getting two hearing

aids would to be referred to the ENT department by my

G.P. so that’s what I may ask him when I next have an

appointment with him in March. It was very interesting

to hear from someone that has the same type of hearing

loss as me. You don’t realise the implications that it

has on your life when you only have hearing in one ear.

[Tabby-Cat in reply to Htims46]

Bone anchored aids ARE available on the NHS, I got mine under the NHS! There are a number of different kinds available and hundreds of single sided deaf people have them fitted. Some people with bilateral hearing loss have them fitted on both sides. Mine is one of the most recently developed kinds, and it didn't cost me a penny - thank god for the NHS! My GP referred me to the hospital ENT and I had an overnight stay a few months later and went home with a bone anchored hearing aid. Another option available on the NHS is a Cross aid, which sends sound from your deaf side to your hearing ear via in-ear hearing aids. The hospital audiology dept lent me a Cross aid to try for a month. It wasn't bad, but I decided to have the implant instead because I preferred not to have something in my ear. With the implant I can't feel anything and forget it's there. Ask your GP to refer you to your ENT dept - it's definitely worth getting assessed and discussing your options with the consultant.

[Htims46 in reply to Tabby-Cat]

Thank you Tabby-Cat for your reply, I will certainly ask my G.P. to refer me to ENT when I next see him. Pleased to hear that you get on well with your bone anchored system.

[Steverino]

Hi

I have moderate to severe hearing loss in one ear and am deaf in the other, also I am impacted by Tinnitus pretty badly.

It is possible to to source crossover hearing aids through the NHS, whereby the noise from the deaf side gets streamed to the other ear via a transmitter. I tried this option on and off for a couple of years but it ultimately didn't work for me as it required that I wore a closed moulded hearing aid in my better ear and caused a pressure sensation behind my ear drum that was unbearable.

It could be something you could try, as you have identified a referral to your audiology facility via the ENT department is the best path to follow

[Htims46 in reply to Steverino]

Hello,

Thank you for offering your personal experience of crossover hearing aids. I am sorry they did not work for you, how are you managing now? I will definitely be asking G.P. to refer me to ENT department, but as I said the consultant at the ENT depart:ent in 2014 said ‘no there is nothing available that will help you. I shall try and be a bit more pushy this time around. I would have thought that someone with your hearing problems would qualify for one of the bone anchored hearing aids. The NHS do provide them but of course you have to reach a certain criteria to get one. Being deaf in one ear and not much hearing in the other ear I would have thought you would pass their criteria. All the best. Christina

[Htims46]

This is a follow on to the post above, I am 74 now and have just been told by a rude arrogant ENT doctor that my deafness is a complete mystery to them as everything is healthy reading from my CT scans they cannot see anything abnormal at all. So he said you will just have to manage with one (ear) . Hearing aids which Iv tried make no difference whatsoever. Has anybody got any ideas what I do now? Or has anybody else had experience of this.