Poor speech discrimination: I have very poor... - Tinnitus UK

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Poor speech discrimination

jojomac23 profile image
16 Replies

I have very poor speech discrimination in one ear and no matter how loud I turn up my hearing aid I still cant make out what people say

I also have tinnitus in the same ear

My ENT consultant has not been helpful

Does anyone have any tips, Can this condition even be helped at all?

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jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23
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16 Replies
doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973

Hi jojomac. I have the same problem . Deafness & tinnitus in one ear. My hearing aid amplifies sounds but doesn't clarify speech. I'm still waiting for ENT. I've read a book about hearing loss - Living with Hearing Loss by Don Mcferran. He says that hearing aids are not useful for profound hearing loss - in terms of speech. I'm just grateful for the other ear 🙂

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to doglover1973

Hi

Thanks for that

Like you my other ear is not as bad but I can't rely on the bad ear at all

Sometimes when someone is speaking to me I just give up after they have repeated it 3 times and I have still not understood

As for ENT they only suggested listening to audio books . What is the point of that

I already wear headphones when watching Netflix on my laptop and it has done nothing thanks jojo

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to jojomac23

I know. It's a problem . I try to get people over to my left side otherwise I can't hear what they're saying. I don't know why ENT think audio books will help .. What did they say about your deaf ear? Did they check for AN?

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to doglover1973

Yes I have had mri which thankfully was clear . ENt don't really helpI also had severe vertigo this year and ENT didn't help

I got help privately from a vestibular therapist and also a chiropractor

With this sort of thing unless anything obvious they don't know what to do

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to jojomac23

That's good news about your MRI scan and I'm glad you've found help from somewhere too. It's a puzzle why people go deaf in one ear for no apparent reason.

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to doglover1973

Hope you get on OK at ENT . My NHS hearing aid clinic said they only do speech discrimination tests on people with cognitive difficulties . This is absolute nonsense . They haven't a clue. I got my speech discrimination test done privately and they said it was very poor in that ear and said to see ENT who were equally useless

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to jojomac23

Thank you. That's silly . Anyone with serious hearing loss is going to struggle with speech discrimination. A hearing clinic would surely be aware of this . I think I'd better lower my expectations of ENT .

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to doglover1973

Hopefully you have a better experience at ENT . Apparently my hearing loss is moderate in both ears but only one ear has speech discrimination problem thankfully I can hear better in other ear

TinnitusUKPat profile image
TinnitusUKPatPartner

The rationale behind using audiobooks is well-intentioned, I think - healthyhearing.com/report/5... - but from what I can tell it's a practice best used in conjunction with a hearing therapist's support, which might not be the most immediately accessible thing to access at this moment in time.

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to TinnitusUKPat

Thanks . How do I access a hearing therapist . What do I ask for

TinnitusUKPat profile image
TinnitusUKPatPartner in reply to jojomac23

I suspect that you've answered your own question, jojomac - usually an audiology service at your hospital would be the best place to start out with, as they're likely to have such a person within their network of contacts.

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to TinnitusUKPat

My hearing aid clinic didn't even un derstand speech recognition problems so I don't hold out much hope there

TinnitusUKPat profile image
TinnitusUKPatPartner

Not sure where you are in the UK, jojomac, but speech discrimination tests are fairly standard fare for audiology teams - it's unfortunate that you've encountered trouble getting support from your local area's services.

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to TinnitusUKPat

I am in glasgow and they told me they only do speech recognition tests for people with cognitive problems like people with dementia which is just not true. I had to get a test privately and now have no where to go with this

TinnitusUKPat profile image
TinnitusUKPatPartner

It might be worth checking in with Alan Hopkirk, who runs the Glasgow and West of Scotland tinnitus support group - invizear.com/tinnitus-support/ - for his take on where to get help with this situation.

jojomac23 profile image
jojomac23 in reply to TinnitusUKPat

That's great Thankyou for your help

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