Hearing loss

Has anyone here actually gone through hearing surgery? Or maybe there’s someone who can walk me through what the deal is with that—what should I realistically expect? My hearing hasn't been great for quite a while now, but I’ve reached the point where I want to fix it. At least, I want to try. Is that even a viable option? And if surgery isn't on the table, does anyone know much about hearing aids? I’m looking for something practically invisible. I did some digging and heard that Cochlear Implants are an option, though they seem pretty intense. I also heard people talk about those glasses with built-in hearing tech, but I'm assuming you can't even find those here in the States? Does anyone actually know anything more about this?

William Taylor74 said:Has anyone here actually gone through hearing surgery? Or maybe there’s someone who can walk me through what the deal is with that—what should I realistically expect? My hearing hasn't been great for quite a while now, but I’ve reached the point where I want to fix it. At least, I want to try. Is that even a viable option? And if surgery isn't on the table, does anyone know much about hearing aids? I’m looking for something practically invisible. I did some digging and heard that Cochlear Implants are an option, though they seem pretty intense. I also heard people talk about those glasses with built-in hearing tech, but I'm assuming you can't even find those here in the States? Does anyone actually know anything more about this?

Maybe your ears are just clogged. Just grab some earwax removal kits from a CVS or Walgreens to clear the channels. It'll probably work.

It really depends on what you mean by hearing loss... is it caused by an infection? Or maybe otosclerosis? Without knowing the specific cause, there isn't much anyone can tell you for sure.

Noah Vaughn3 said:It really depends on what you mean by hearing loss... is it caused by an infection? Or maybe otosclerosis? Without knowing the specific cause, there isn't much anyone can tell you for sure.

But what if it’s nerve damage? That’s my main concern. I’m going to go over everything with the specialists at the Mayo Clinic soon, so we'll see. But let's say—hypothetically—that the nerve is the culprit and the damage was caused by medication. What does the outlook look like then? Would surgery even be an option for something like that?

😠So, I guess I’m one of those people...
To start off, my hearing is pretty messed up. It wasn't this bad when I was born—it was around 35 dB in both ears back then. But during puberty, things changed incredibly fast. Now, my left ear is at 80 dB and my right is at 85 dB. What’s even worse is that it feels like the loss has gotten worse just in the last few weeks, so I have to go back for another audiometry test. I don't even need to say how much this slows me down in daily life; because of the way I talk (people say it sounds 🙄), they usually assume I have a piercing, braces, or something. Because of that, I dealt with teasing growing up, though I've moved past all that now. The hardest part, though, is that even though I can hear great with my hearing aids, I honestly don't understand anything anyone is saying. I'm just thankful I have the ability to lip-read, which helps me get by. Lately, talking to people has become exhausting. I mishear things and start talking about something completely different, only realizing after seeing everyone's confused looks that I totally missed 🤣. I also hate the buzzing from the aids (they're high-powered, so the buzzing is loud) which is just so irritating. People can even hear it if I turn my head the wrong way while chewing or laughing, which has basically forced me to become this perpetually stiff, serious person 😠. The toughest thing is when people don't get it. They try to make it a joke—and no, it really isn't funny. Just try dealing with something constantly buzzing in your ear while trying to stay tense so others don't hear it 😠. Then there's my old lady yelling at me because she gets frustrated if I didn't hear or understand her... and yeah, there's a million other examples, this is just the tip of the iceberg. So, what I want to know is: is there any kind of surgery available? I'm willing to pay whatever it takes because this is becoming unbearable 😢. Just so you know, the hearing loss is due to nerve damage, and I know those kinds of cases are the hardest to treat 😢. Please, if you only have advice or support for "accepting" it, just skip this thread. I can't accept this as part of who I am. I tried, but I really can't. Thanks

Sadly, I’m one of those people dealing with hearing loss too. I was actually born with perfectly fine hearing, but things started sliding downhill after my second pregnancy, and honestly, over the last 15 years, it’s just kept getting worse. For the longest time, I couldn't even bring myself to tell my friends I was deaf. I’d wear a hearing aid in one ear and try every trick in the book to hide it—partly because of how it looked, but also just for practical reasons. I know it sounds silly, but I’m fully aware of how people react when they realize someone can't hear. As the years went by and things got tougher, I was basically forced to "come clean" about my situation. And even then, I only told my inner circle. No matter what people say about being inclusive, there’s still such a huge stigma surrounding deafness. But the absolute biggest hurdle? It’s work. Trying to function in an environment where everyone else hears perfectly while you're struggling just to understand basic conversation is exhausting.