Hearing loss issues

Hey again! 🙂
I can't really dive into this right now—so I'll catch up with you guys sometime tomorrow during the day 😉

Hey Ugly....it's me, 🙂
First off... seriously, thanks a million for all the replies 👍

I'm rocking a Unitron Moxi right now, in my left ear—that's the weaker one.
Before this, I was using a Widex CIC 2, an in-the-canal style.
Honestly? Neither of them has done it for me. That first one was tucked deep in my ear, fully digital, but every single time I spoke or even just chewed some food, the thing would practically jump out of my ear. A total disaster. I was hearing sounds I’d never heard before in my life, but as far as actually understanding what people were saying? Zero. Zilch. And to top it off, after every two words, I had to physically shove it back into my ear with my finger 😠
The second one is behind-the-ear, also digital (it adjusts its own volume based on the environment), with that thin little wire running into the ear canal ending in the attachment that delivers the sound.
But... my speech comprehension is still basically non-existent if there's any background noise, or if I'm stuck at a table with three, four, five, or more people (I usually just tune out immediately because I can't keep up), or even when watching TV (I can't even follow movies from the old US regions)... and honestly, the sound was better with my old device 🤷—cleaner and sharper. Look, let's be real... I spent a ton of time over at Microton trying to dial in the perfect volume level for that specific device... but we just couldn't get anywhere near it 🤷
And you know what the absolute worst part is? The folks over at Suvag told me this device was 100% perfect for my specific issue ☕ so I really don't get it—how can someone claim that's the case when it's their entire career, yet after wearing it for just two or three hours, I'm convinced it's actually worse than my old setup 🤷

Amanda Hughes5 said:Hey Ugly....it's me, 🙂
First off... seriously, thanks a million for all the replies 👍

I'm rocking a Unitron Moxi right now, in my left ear—that's the weaker one.
Before this, I was using a Widex CIC 2, an in-the-canal style.
Honestly? Neither of them has done it for me. That first one was tucked deep in my ear, fully digital, but every single time I spoke or even just chewed some food, the thing would practically jump out of my ear. A total disaster. I was hearing sounds I’d never heard before in my life, but as far as actually understanding what people were saying? Zero. Zilch. And to top it off, after every two words, I had to physically shove it back into my ear with my finger 😠
The second one is behind-the-ear, also digital (it adjusts its own volume based on the environment), with that thin little wire running into the ear canal ending in the attachment that delivers the sound.
But... my speech comprehension is still basically non-existent if there's any background noise, or if I'm stuck at a table with three, four, five, or more people (I usually just tune out immediately because I can't keep up), or even when watching TV (I can't even follow movies from the old US regions)... and honestly, the sound was better with my old device 🤷—cleaner and sharper. Look, let's be real... I spent a ton of time over at Microton trying to dial in the perfect volume level for that specific device... but we just couldn't get anywhere near it 🤷
And you know what the absolute worst part is? The folks over at Suvag told me this device was 100% perfect for my specific issue ☕ so I really don't get it—how can someone claim that's the case when it's their entire career, yet after wearing it for just two or three hours, I'm convinced it's actually worse than my old setup 🤷

Microton is my company too... 😉

Regarding that company you mentioned—hmm... I think I've come across that name before, but I don't know much about them, though one of the managers at Microton insists they are a solid company.
When it comes to the big players, Widex is a leader, and alongside Phonak and Oticon, they really are the cream of the crop in terms of options.

As for Suvag, there are plenty of other specialized centers out there. Personally, for all my testing and fittings, I've always gone to the audio center at the local University Hospital—I consider their audiology department to be excellent.
Regarding the issue of separating different sounds—unfortunately, unless it's a technical limitation of the hardware itself, there isn't much that can be done. We're talking about the technological limits of the devices; they simply can't separate all the incoming sounds the way a natural human ear does.
I also find it incredibly difficult during business meetings; in those settings, I spend a lot of time staring at people just so I can try to figure out which voice belongs to whom. Over time, I've learned to recognize certain characteristic traits of people, but that's more about personal adaptation rather than something a hearing aid can fix.
Regrettably, I can't speak to the features of modern digital aids since I personally wear exclusively analog ones: all those fancy little settings for reducing noise, boosting volume, or directional focus—I don't have them, so I can't comment on how effective they are.

About that BTE (behind-the-ear) device—that thin part in the ear is technically supposed to direct sound toward the eardrum. However, it doesn't make sense to me: if they identified the problem as being in the middle ear, how do they expect that amplified sound from the device to pass through the middle ear to reach the inner ear (where the actual hearing cells are located) to achieve comprehension if the issue is in the middle ear in the first place?!?🤷

I still think he’d be an excellent candidate for the Baha system. I actually spent some time chatting with a lady today who uses one, and it was honestly mind-blowing hearing her explain how she can pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from even with just a single device 😛 my deep respect.....

You keep bringing up this issue regarding sound clarity—could you dive a little deeper into that?
See, there is a massive difference between struggling to understand any sound at all (like someone speaking directly to you one-on-one) versus the struggle of picking out a single voice in a crowded room. That second scenario is actually pretty common and usually just comes down to the technical limitations of the device itself. However, if it's the first one—where you simply can't make sense of speech even in a quiet setting 🙄—that's a major red flag indicating the device is completely wrong for you. 👎

Jesse Sanchez90 said:Microton is my company too... 😉

Regarding that company you mentioned—hmm... I think I've come across that name before, but I don't know much about them, though one of the managers at Microton insists they are a solid company.
When it comes to the big players, Widex is a leader, and alongside Phonak and Oticon, they really are the cream of the crop in terms of options.

As for Suvag, there are plenty of other specialized centers out there. Personally, for all my testing and fittings, I've always gone to the audio center at the local University Hospital—I consider their audiology department to be excellent.
Regarding the issue of separating different sounds—unfortunately, unless it's a technical limitation of the hardware itself, there isn't much that can be done. We're talking about the technological limits of the devices; they simply can't separate all the incoming sounds the way a natural human ear does.
I also find it incredibly difficult during business meetings; in those settings, I spend a lot of time staring at people just so I can try to figure out which voice belongs to whom. Over time, I've learned to recognize certain characteristic traits of people, but that's more about personal adaptation rather than something a hearing aid can fix.
Regrettably, I can't speak to the features of modern digital aids since I personally wear exclusively analog ones: all those fancy little settings for reducing noise, boosting volume, or directional focus—I don't have them, so I can't comment on how effective they are.

About that BTE (behind-the-ear) device—that thin part in the ear is technically supposed to direct sound toward the eardrum. However, it doesn't make sense to me: if they identified the problem as being in the middle ear, how do they expect that amplified sound from the device to pass through the middle ear to reach the inner ear (where the actual hearing cells are located) to achieve comprehension if the issue is in the middle ear in the first place?!?🤷

I still think he’d be an excellent candidate for the Baha system. I actually spent some time chatting with a lady today who uses one, and it was honestly mind-blowing hearing her explain how she can pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from even with just a single device 😛 my deep respect.....

You keep bringing up this issue regarding sound clarity—could you dive a little deeper into that?
See, there is a massive difference between struggling to understand any sound at all (like someone speaking directly to you one-on-one) versus the struggle of picking out a single voice in a crowded room. That second scenario is actually pretty common and usually just comes down to the technical limitations of the device itself. However, if it's the first one—where you simply can't make sense of speech even in a quiet setting 🙄—that's a major red flag indicating the device is completely wrong for you. 👎

I don't know... I just get this nagging feeling like they aren't even 100% focused on what I'm actually saying. It’s like—get this—they aren't even listening to the full story before they start jumping to conclusions based on maybe two sentences? And there I am, trying to explain my whole situation from start to finish, but they’ve already decided they know everything—throwing out diagnoses and whatnot—when I haven't even finished describing the damn problem yet. Seriously, what is that? 🤷
Yeah, exactly. The whole mess is actually rooted in the middle ear.

Jesse Sanchez90 said:Microton is my company too... 😉

Regarding that company you mentioned—hmm... I think I've come across that name before, but I don't know much about them, though one of the managers at Microton insists they are a solid company.
When it comes to the big players, Widex is a leader, and alongside Phonak and Oticon, they really are the cream of the crop in terms of options.

As for Suvag, there are plenty of other specialized centers out there. Personally, for all my testing and fittings, I've always gone to the audio center at the local University Hospital—I consider their audiology department to be excellent.
Regarding the issue of separating different sounds—unfortunately, unless it's a technical limitation of the hardware itself, there isn't much that can be done. We're talking about the technological limits of the devices; they simply can't separate all the incoming sounds the way a natural human ear does.
I also find it incredibly difficult during business meetings; in those settings, I spend a lot of time staring at people just so I can try to figure out which voice belongs to whom. Over time, I've learned to recognize certain characteristic traits of people, but that's more about personal adaptation rather than something a hearing aid can fix.
Regrettably, I can't speak to the features of modern digital aids since I personally wear exclusively analog ones: all those fancy little settings for reducing noise, boosting volume, or directional focus—I don't have them, so I can't comment on how effective they are.

About that BTE (behind-the-ear) device—that thin part in the ear is technically supposed to direct sound toward the eardrum. However, it doesn't make sense to me: if they identified the problem as being in the middle ear, how do they expect that amplified sound from the device to pass through the middle ear to reach the inner ear (where the actual hearing cells are located) to achieve comprehension if the issue is in the middle ear in the first place?!?🤷

I still think he’d be an excellent candidate for the Baha system. I actually spent some time chatting with a lady today who uses one, and it was honestly mind-blowing hearing her explain how she can pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from even with just a single device 😛 my deep respect.....

You keep bringing up this issue regarding sound clarity—could you dive a little deeper into that?
See, there is a massive difference between struggling to understand any sound at all (like someone speaking directly to you one-on-one) versus the struggle of picking out a single voice in a crowded room. That second scenario is actually pretty common and usually just comes down to the technical limitations of the device itself. However, if it's the first one—where you simply can't make sense of speech even in a quiet setting 🙄—that's a major red flag indicating the device is completely wrong for you. 👎

Look, if everything is absolutely perfect—I mean, we’re talking one-on-one, sitting face-to-face in a dead-silent room with zero background noise—then yeah, I can catch every single word at 100%. No mistakes, no nothing. But let's be real, who actually lives in those conditions?
Honestly, once there’s more than a couple of people at the table, I'm basically toast—I just can't keep up. It becomes this massive struggle trying to catch every single word someone says, and the second someone jumps into the conversation? Total meltdown. If it's a group discussion... yeah, I'm completely lost. And don't even get me started on trying to hear anything in a loud restaurant, sitting out on a patio next to a busy highway, or being in a club... forget it. Just total white noise. ☕ So, just to clear things up—these are all cases where they aren't using an Apparatus.
And honestly? This apparatus is just straight-up messing with my head—it’s creating total chaos. 😕 So, I’m out here on the road, and man, everything is just... loud. Like, aggressively loud. Every little sound is hitting me at full volume—it’s almost overwhelming. And get this—people are actually telling me that this is totally normal? Seriously? Is there some kind of secret club where everyone just accepts living in a world that sounds like it's turned up to eleven? Because right now, it feels like a lot. 🤷But man, being out in a crowd? That’s where the struggle really hits home again... especially when you're stuck in a room full of background noise and everyone's talking at once. It’s just a total mess.
So, there are times when I just can't make out what anyone is saying—like, at all—and I lose track of where the sound is even coming from. Half the time, I don't even realize someone is talking to me in the first place. It's like I'm totally tuned out without even trying. 😲 Honestly, in a situation like that—I don't know—I might actually be better off without it? 🤷)

Amanda Hughes5 said:I don't know... I just get this nagging feeling like they aren't even 100% focused on what I'm actually saying. It’s like—get this—they aren't even listening to the full story before they start jumping to conclusions based on maybe two sentences? And there I am, trying to explain my whole situation from start to finish, but they’ve already decided they know everything—throwing out diagnoses and whatnot—when I haven't even finished describing the damn problem yet. Seriously, what is that? 🤷
Yeah, exactly. The whole mess is actually rooted in the middle ear.

Look, if everything is absolutely perfect—I mean, we’re talking one-on-one, sitting face-to-face in a dead-silent room with zero background noise—then yeah, I can catch every single word at 100%. No mistakes, no nothing. But let's be real, who actually lives in those conditions?
Honestly, once there’s more than a couple of people at the table, I'm basically toast—I just can't keep up. It becomes this massive struggle trying to catch every single word someone says, and the second someone jumps into the conversation? Total meltdown. If it's a group discussion... yeah, I'm completely lost. And don't even get me started on trying to hear anything in a loud restaurant, sitting out on a patio next to a busy highway, or being in a club... forget it. Just total white noise. ☕ So, just to clear things up—these are all cases where they aren't using an Apparatus.
And honestly? This apparatus is just straight-up messing with my head—it’s creating total chaos. 😕 So, I’m out here on the road, and man, everything is just... loud. Like, aggressively loud. Every little sound is hitting me at full volume—it’s almost overwhelming. And get this—people are actually telling me that this is totally normal? Seriously? Is there some kind of secret club where everyone just accepts living in a world that sounds like it's turned up to eleven? Because right now, it feels like a lot. 🤷But man, being out in a crowd? That’s where the struggle really hits home again... especially when you're stuck in a room full of background noise and everyone's talking at once. It’s just a total mess.
So, there are times when I just can't make out what anyone is saying—like, at all—and I lose track of where the sound is even coming from. Half the time, I don't even realize someone is talking to me in the first place. It's like I'm totally tuned out without even trying. 😲 Honestly, in a situation like that—I don't know—I might actually be better off without it? 🤷)

Hmm... Microton is a company that was the first of its kind in this area, so naturally, they established themselves as the primary hearing aid dealers a long time ago. The thing about being the first is that it brings in a massive amount of business, but over the years, you can start to develop that typical American corporate burnout—focusing entirely on quantity rather than quality. 🙄
I've actually had some friction with them lately myself. Even when Phonak headquarters tells them it isn't impossible to connect certain components of the device, I don't get the impression that Microton is particularly impressed by that information.

As for your second point... that really comes down to the technical limitations of the hardware. You have to keep in mind that to achieve what you're describing, the device would need the ability to localize sound, which clearly isn't happening. To do that effectively, you really need at least one healthy ear.
And what you mentioned about being in cafes? That’s completely understandable. Again, you need a healthy ear that has specific groups of hair cells for every frequency, reacting accordingly to the stimulus. Hearing aids simply don't have that capability, nor can they replicate the incredibly fine-tuned processing of the human ear—especially in our local spots where they blast music like we're in a nightclub instead of just sitting down for a quiet soda, beer, or a cup of coffee where you should be able to read the paper in peace.

Ultimately, the big difference between BAHA and a standard hearing aid is how the sound travels. A standard aid amplifies a signal that still has to travel from the outer ear, through the ear canal to the eardrum, then through the tiny bones to the inner ear, where it's converted into a nerve impulse sent to the brain. That entire pathway is prone to sound dispersion and loss, so the question is always how much of that signal actually reaches the critical spot where it gets encoded into an impulse for understanding. With BAHA, it's a different story—you bypass a huge chunk of that dispersion because the sound doesn't have to travel through the outer ear or the canal to hit the eardrum. This ensures that the sound retains more of its original intensity. Just cranking a standard aid up to the maximum input won't help; once you cross that threshold, the device can't pull anything more out of the signal, and even the best ear won't be able to make sense of such distorted amplification.

Seriously, huge thanks 😉👍
I honestly don’t even know if I’m smart enough to figure this out myself... I’ll just keep an eye on things for a bit—see what else I can piece together 😉
That whole thing with the Bah situation is hitting me pretty hard. For real.

Amanda Hughes5 said:Seriously, huge thanks 😉👍
I honestly don’t even know if I’m smart enough to figure this out myself... I’ll just keep an eye on things for a bit—see what else I can piece together 😉
That whole thing with the Bah situation is hitting me pretty hard. For real.

Of course—it's entirely up to you...
Everyone knows best what works for them. For instance, I actually tried out a BAHA device today that you can wear on a headband instead of having it surgically implanted. Though... that might be a slightly tricky sell for a guy... 🙄
I'm not sure how things work locally (sometimes when they only have one model in stock, you don't get much choice), but in a place like New York, for example, it's totally standard for them to let you trial a device for at least seven days. That way, you can test it under all sorts of different conditions to really get a feel for its performance and decide if it’s actually worth dropping all that cash...
Good luck! 👍

Thanks so much for all the kind wishes 🙂👍

Cheers

I’ve been dealing with Otitis Media since I was a kid. Every single winter, I found myself back in the hospital for microscopic middle ear cleaning. It was just a constant cycle of purulent infections. As a child, my ears would bleed constantly. When I turned 19, they scheduled me for a septoplasty to prep for ear surgery, but things went sideways—I actually suffered clinical death during the pre-op prep, so they had to cancel the ear procedure entirely. A friend of mine, an ENT, advised me never to undergo ear surgery because it can actually further diminish your hearing. Now, I can barely hear anything in my left ear, though my right side is perfectly fine. At 26, I contracted bacterial meningitis caused by those ear infections. Fortunately, I pulled through without permanent damage. Once I moved to the States about 12 years ago, I saw an ENT who identified a rare, prehistoric bacterium typically found in elderly, ailing patients; I treated it with Ciprofloxacin. That cleared the infection, and ever since, I haven't let a single drop of water touch my ears, as that's the primary trigger for inflammation. While the infections have stopped, I've been struggling with vertigo for five years now. I don't touch my ears or clean inside them because it's just too risky. I wear earplugs every time I shower and I never swim without them and a swim cap. Unfortunately, you can't fix the hearing loss once it's gone, but you can certainly prevent future infections...
Good luck, and try to stay positive

Finally, let's get into this, because honestly, it’s such a struggle finding anyone who actually gets what I mean when I say, "I'm out in public, everyone is talking, but I can't understand a single word they're saying." 😬 It’s basically the same deal for me—I have a hard time following conversations, especially if someone drops a fancy word or some slang that isn't used much. Then you’re just sitting there praying they’ll repeat themselves. And honestly? I’m kind of terrified about what happens when I eventually have kids. I don't want to be that parent constantly asking my own child to repeat themselves i980239483'2 times, especially since I barely catch what kids are saying as it is. For me, it's a mess; I've got nerve damage from an insanely high fever when I was just a few months old.

Peter Cooper5 said:Finally, let's get into this, because honestly, it’s such a struggle finding anyone who actually gets what I mean when I say, "I'm out in public, everyone is talking, but I can't understand a single word they're saying." 😬 It’s basically the same deal for me—I have a hard time following conversations, especially if someone drops a fancy word or some slang that isn't used much. Then you’re just sitting there praying they’ll repeat themselves. And honestly? I’m kind of terrified about what happens when I eventually have kids. I don't want to be that parent constantly asking my own child to repeat themselves i980239483'2 times, especially since I barely catch what kids are saying as it is. For me, it's a mess; I've got nerve damage from an insanely high fever when I was just a few months old.

Why is that? 😕
It sounds like a classic case of sensorineural hearing loss.

Have you had any professional audiological evaluations done yet? 😉

Hi everyone.
I thought I might share our experience to help you out a bit. My husband struggles with hearing loss (not just when he's listening to me, haha🙂), tinnitus, ringing in his ears, and trouble making sense of what people are saying. He’s been through almost everything here in the States—from Mayo Clinic to various specialists and local hospitals. Nothing works, nothing improves, and frankly, it feels like none of our doctors really take this seriously.
He finally got the chance to go to Los Angeles to visit one of the top hearing clinics in the country for testing. We met an amazing doctor who explained things clearly: one ear has some hearing loss (in terms of pure volume), but speech clarity is still okay. However, the other ear is a disaster in both volume and clarity. He told us that the fix for the speech comprehension issue is a cochlear implant, but they don't perform the surgery while the other ear is still functioning well because the difference in sound quality can be incredibly disorienting for patients. As for just "boosting" the volume? That's what a hearing aid is for.
Bottom line: a hearing aid doesn't actually help him understand speech better; it just makes the sounds louder.

Susan Rodriguez4 said:Hi everyone.
I thought I might share our experience to help you out a bit. My husband struggles with hearing loss (not just when he's listening to me, haha🙂), tinnitus, ringing in his ears, and trouble making sense of what people are saying. He’s been through almost everything here in the States—from Mayo Clinic to various specialists and local hospitals. Nothing works, nothing improves, and frankly, it feels like none of our doctors really take this seriously.
He finally got the chance to go to Los Angeles to visit one of the top hearing clinics in the country for testing. We met an amazing doctor who explained things clearly: one ear has some hearing loss (in terms of pure volume), but speech clarity is still okay. However, the other ear is a disaster in both volume and clarity. He told us that the fix for the speech comprehension issue is a cochlear implant, but they don't perform the surgery while the other ear is still functioning well because the difference in sound quality can be incredibly disorienting for patients. As for just "boosting" the volume? That's what a hearing aid is for.
Bottom line: a hearing aid doesn't actually help him understand speech better; it just makes the sounds louder.

Actually... 🙄

I think I should add some nuance to that point above—it really all depends on the specific type of hearing loss you're dealing with and where the damage actually sits.

For instance, if you’re dealing with conductive hearing loss, simply boosting the volume *does* lead to better understanding. This is because the sensory apparatus—those tiny hair cells responsible for processing specific frequencies—remains intact. In this case, the issue is just a "delivery" problem along the standard auditory pathway. If you can just crank up the volume enough to get that sound through to the inner ear, you're golden: more volume equals better comprehension.

On the flip side, sensorineural hearing loss is a different beast entirely, caused by damage to either the auditory nerve or those frequency-specific hair cells. In that scenario, the original claim holds a lot of weight: cranking up the volume doesn't necessarily mean you'll understand speech any better. However, unless every single one of those cells is completely wiped out, increasing the volume can help stimulate the remaining healthy cells, which allows your brain to piece together what was heard.

Otherwise, wearing hearing aids wouldn't be of any use at all!

I’m trying to wrap my head around what this actually means, specifically how it stacks up against someone with normal hearing:

The tone audiogram shows bilateral moderate hearing loss, with the right ear sitting between 50 and 60dB, and the left between 45 and 60 dB.

The actual loss is 53dB on the right and 56dB on the left.

----

So, basically, what’s life like for everyone else versus what it's like for me? What's the real difference here? Mind you, this test is from 2006, so I'm planning to get a fresh one done at the start of 2010.

Peter Cooper5 said:I’m trying to wrap my head around what this actually means, specifically how it stacks up against someone with normal hearing:

The tone audiogram shows bilateral moderate hearing loss, with the right ear sitting between 50 and 60dB, and the left between 45 and 60 dB.

The actual loss is 53dB on the right and 56dB on the left.

----

So, basically, what’s life like for everyone else versus what it's like for me? What's the real difference here? Mind you, this test is from 2006, so I'm planning to get a fresh one done at the start of 2010.

So, what you’re really getting at is that the line representing your hearing threshold being "closer" to that 0dB mark is a good thing—even though, honestly, 10dB is still a perfectly solid number. It's all about those tiny nuances. It isn't quite like how most people typically perceive the difference between raw numbers; it's more about where you sit on that specific scale.

How much of your hearing has actually been recovered thanks to the hearing aid? I’m planning on showing my follow-up audiogram once I've been using the device for a while, as I'm expecting to see a positive trend in the results.

Hi, Bokić!

I joined this group hoping I might find some support for my hearing issues, or maybe just pick up some fresh guidance... I’m 32 years old, and about two years and three months ago, things started slipping away. It actually hit me just five or six days after I gave birth, which was strange because my hearing had been perfectly fine before that—I used to pick up on things that people with better hearing today wouldn't even notice. I've gone through all the standard tests.
My recent audiology report shows bilateral perceptual Hypoacusis, with my left ear sitting somewhere between 40 and 95 dB and my right ear between 40 and 105 dB. My BERA and MRI results were normal, and my neurological exams came back clear too.
Thinking back over these last two years, I realized that during my pregnancy—specifically around week 32 when I was hospitalized for bed rest—I was taking Klavocin to manage high CRP levels, along with Voltaren and Ibuprofen for some tooth pain that cropped up. I can't help but wonder if that combination of medications might have caused the damage, especially since there's nothing in my family history to suggest a genetic issue...

I would really appreciate any help in figuring out if those meds could be the culprit, and if anyone has suggestions for other tests I should look into that aren't on my list yet.

I am currently wearing two Ear aids, and while they help me hear sounds, I still struggle to understand what people are saying sometimes...

Thank you.

Michael Reed12 said:So, I hit up a club this past Saturday, and it’s been two days now and my ears are still ringing like crazy. Usually, that buzzing dies down after just a few hours, you know? But this time? It hasn't stopped. Honestly, I'm starting to freak out a little—what if I actually caused permanent damage since it's been going on for forty-eight hours straight?

On top of the ringing, my hearing feels super sensitive lately. Even normal talking or moderate noise feels way too loud and jarring. What should I even do about this?

Bokić,

your first priority really should be seeing an audiologist if you haven't already done that...

Best,

As far as I know, none of those medications you mentioned are actually ototoxic. Is there any chance you dealt with a viral infection during your pregnancy or maybe right after giving birth?

Lawrence Wells William Taylor74 says...
As far as I know, none of those medications you mentioned are actually ototoxic... I was wondering if you might have dealt with a viral infection during pregnancy or maybe sometime after giving birth...

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly...
Actually, this pregnancy was much smoother than my first one... I didn't have to deal with any fungal issues or inflammation or anything like that. Things only started getting complicated around the 32nd week when things began to progress... Unlike last time, I made sure to stay on top of my dental checkups and handled all those little cavities right away, nothing too major or scary...

I've dealt with cold sores since I was a little girl, though I actually managed to avoid them entirely during my pregnancy...

I was reading somewhere that those medications can sometimes cause issues with your kidneys or even your inner ear... I was wondering if anyone here has any insight on that...

I just stumbled upon this thread and man, I really wish those of us dealing with hearing loss could all just hang out online somewhere, you know? Just a way to swap stories and actually connect.
My name's Mark, and I've been living with profound hearing loss since day one—we're talking about 90dB in one ear and 89 dB in the other.
So, I've had my new gear for about a week now, these Phonak Naida 3 SP models. http://surdoline.ru/images/PHO006166AI.jpg When I first got them fitted, honestly, everything was just a blur of noise and speech sounded totally terrible. I guess the thing is you really have to train your brain to handle a whole new spectrum of sound; these digital devices definitely require some serious getting used to. It kind of takes me back to being a kid, trying to pick through maybe thirty different analog models back then just to find the one that let me hear even a little bit better.

To be real with you guys, my hearing issues hit my social life pretty hard, and I usually end up staying in because when everyone heads out to noisy coffee shops or loud clubs, I just can't make out what anyone is saying. I used to just tag along with my old school friends, but I eventually got tired of the struggle and started preferring just chilling at home.
Now, I'm starting speech therapy once a week over at Suvag in the city to help me get better at navigating life with these aids, and maybe even tweak them if I need to fine-tune how I perceive certain sounds.