muddled

[Kate Thomas]

i just need to write this out
i find myself suffering  from a sudden loss of hearing. to say this is devastating  is an understatement. i was already had a 90% loss in the right ear. and tinnuitus (a ringing in the ear). now to have this loss makes things extremly dificult. add to this the fact that much of my work deals directly with audio in performing arts is further cause for distress. 
clarity is the real issue. even when listning to talk radio or phone conversation everything gets muddled together into a scrachy fuzz. turning it up does no good as then i just have much more fuzz.
anything other than a face to face conversation in a quiet room is very dificult.
each day seems to be worse. i hope to find a tutor for ASL (american sign language) 
pepole suprise me by appering when i least expect, as i seem to have lost the abillity to sence their approch. then i must turn my left ear directly  at them (yes i have hearing aids)
my conversations of the past with specilists say apart from hearing aids there is not much to to be done except learn how to deal with it.
sorry i just needed to get all that out.

KateAlice

[Annie Social]

KateAlice...

Well, that really stinks! I have a fair amount of loss myself, probably from my years working around loud bands and such. I know what you mean about the 'muddling together'; you can hear the sounds, but can't separate them into understandable words and phrases. I don't have tinnitus, and my loss isn't as extreme as yours, but it worries me all the same.

I have recently become friends with a person who is profoundly deaf, and have started trying to teach myself ASL. Fortunately there are some good resources on the net; message me if you'd like me to send you a couple of links.

And good luck...

Annie

[Alexandra]

if you haven't seen a doctor, see an EMT asap . . . there might still be things that can be done. If not you'd be a canidate for a Cochlear Implant. It worked for that stupid blowhard Rush Limbaugh and he's still doing well on the air.

Unless you have friends and family who are also going to learn sign language, the "ASL" route is a non-starter.  However, if you are going to learn some kind of signed language, you are really looking for is one of the signed English methods . . . ASL in fact is entirely different from English having its own syntax and grammar, not to mention that the signs are actually French, but that is another story.

good luck.

[Kate Thomas]

Alexandra/Annie
thanks for your replys and your concern.

Alexandra
i hope you meant ENT ear, nose, throat. i did see my Dr last week about some lightheadedness
and he ajusted my heart meds, only later did i realise that the LH and HL might be linked.
i will check with him again as soon as i can get an appt. ther are no ENT's on the island if he wants me to i will take a trip to the big city.


Annie
Thanks for the links. Ispent so much time on the first one i never had a chance to check thesecond one out.

[Alexandra]

Yes, ENT! 

   

[jan c]

that is a nightmare! I really really hope and pray - miracles? - that this works out for you and it's not all lost!
I have to use my hearing all day, I had like three earaches this winter, one infected and I was TERRIFIED. Headphones for hours is causing it, and I can't always go with lower gain.
(Give me blindness instead for a test.)