Day one

That video is awesome. I think it is definitely the best way to go. Of course my Audi will give me input but I think it will be the best based on what I have seen. The video may have sealed it. Thanks!!
 
theatregrl said:
Then I asked the worse case scenario. He said he doesn't like to talk in worse cases and I told him I needed to be realistic. He didnt want to tell me but i pushed.
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Please note, that the reason why he didn't add more to what he said was because you were forcing him to guess...which is what it really comes down to. An MRI will likely reveal nothing; I'm amazed your insurance will pick up the bill and OK'd this exam for hearing alone. Whether this runs in your family or is due to exposure to loud noises, age, bad luck, is really anybody's guess, including your doctor. It sounds from your post like you wanted him to confirm your negativity. Again, you need to take it a step at a time. Don't view what's happening to you as gloom and doom. It's called life and it happens to everyone.
 
Lau2046 said:
Please note, that the reason why he didn't add more to what he said was because you were forcing him to guess...which is what it really comes down to. An MRI will likely reveal nothing; I'm amazed your insurance will pick up the bill and OK'd this exam for hearing alone. Whether this runs in your family or is due to exposure to loud noises, age, bad luck, is really anybody's guess, including your doctor. It sounds from your post like you wanted him to confirm your negativity. Again, you need to take it a step at a time. Don't view what's happening to you as gloom and doom. It's called life and it happens to everyone.
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Not really. There are particular diseases out there that will cause hearing loss. I'm not surprised her insurance covered it since things like tumors can cause hearing loss and that has to be ruled out, so technically it's not "hearing alone".

Theatregrl, my loss is due to otosclerosis, an hereditary disease that causes progressice hearin gloss. If they find that you have that there is actually good news there!! There is a procedure called a stapedectomy that can be done that will return hearing loss, but it only works for otosclerosis and if it's only caused conductive losses. But not to get your hopes up too high about it it's a fairly common disease, I think something like 1 in 100 people get it and there's tests for it that your doctor probably already did that ruled it out.
 
Lau2046 said:
Please note, that the reason why he didn't add more to what he said was because you were forcing him to guess...which is what it really comes down to. An MRI will likely reveal nothing; I'm amazed your insurance will pick up the bill and OK'd this exam for hearing alone. Whether this runs in your family or is due to exposure to loud noises, age, bad luck, is really anybody's guess, including your doctor. It sounds from your post like you wanted him to confirm your negativity. Again, you need to take it a step at a time. Don't view what's happening to you as gloom and doom. It's called life and it happens to everyone.
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Your right I was asking him to confirm the worst. I wanted some sort of answer. Of course I really didn't get one. I am not sure if the insurance will cover it. He put it through because I am trying to get answers but your right it may not be covered. I think calling it "life" is making a little light of the situation. I understand that this happens and there isn't always answers but losing my hearing, maybe all of it someday isn't just life. It is going to alter who I am as a person as well as what I do for a living. If it happens I wont be able to teach. I don't sign so teaching at a deaf school is out and if I can't hear my students I can't teach at a hearing school. I will have to find something else to do. I know I am nowhere near there yet but it may someday become my reality so calling it "life." I don't know if I would just say that. I am not all gloom and doom. I am just taking it one day at a time but hearing that 3 weeks ago you had mild-moderate hearing loss in one ear and now it's in your other ear too. . . that's kind of a knock in the gut. I am 31 years old. Old enough to have lived and made a career. Old enough to know that I love what I do and wouldn't want to do anything else. I don't know what will happen. When he first said progressive I thought. .. .. .that's a long time away. Now I had a pretty big drop in my left ear and I was a little scared. I am embracing this as much as I can but to want to know what might happen. . .I don't think there is anything wrong with that. That is called being human....humans are inquisitive creatures and I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to know as many possibilities as I could.
 
ambrosia said:
Not really. There are particular diseases out there that will cause hearing loss. I'm not surprised her insurance covered it since things like tumors can cause hearing loss and that has to be ruled out, so technically it's not "hearing alone".

Theatregrl, my loss is due to otosclerosis, an hereditary disease that causes progressice hearin gloss. If they find that you have that there is actually good news there!! There is a procedure called a stapedectomy that can be done that will return hearing loss, but it only works for otosclerosis and if it's only caused conductive losses. But not to get your hopes up too high about it it's a fairly common disease, I think something like 1 in 100 people get it and there's tests for it that your doctor probably already did that ruled it out.
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However, for me to get a stapedectomy would be much riskier because my stapes is fixed from birth, not due to otosclerosis. I think there's something like a 45% chance of any complications and a 10% chance that I would lose my hearing completely. The numbers are a lot lower for otosclerosis patients
 
theatregrl said:
When he first said progressive I thought. .. .. .that's a long time away. Now I had a pretty big drop in my left ear and I was a little scared. I am embracing this as much as I can but to want to know what might happen. .
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It's very scary, yes indeed. I went from hearing normal to getting an ear infection. Then one month later, I went from hearing normal to having hearing aides in a matter of ten days. I think a majority of us here who have had hearing and then lost it got scared. We all asked questions. That's what this board is for. And the place is the best to get that info is here. From those who have experienced it, those who have lived it.

I was an emotional wreck. But in order to survive, I decided that I'm going to go at this the best way that I can without letting myself fall into a depression. THAT is human. THAT is part of life. Whether or not it be for hearing loss or any kind of loss, adjustment and surviving is part of life.
 
I am not all depressed I am looking for answers. Yes I know there may not be any other than genetics. But for someone to insinuate I should stop asking questions or looking for answers bcuz it's part of life is a little absurd to me. That's all I was saying. You are 100% right I need to face this head on and accept it. Which I have. Most of the people here have helped me find answers and do that.
 
I am not saying that you are depressed, I'm just saying how I handled it in order for me, myself not to fall into a depression.

And yes, I agree that you should ALWAYS get the most information as you can! ALWAYS be informed!

I hope you didn't think that I was saying to stop educating yourself on the issue because it's part of life. I'm just saying that adjustment and survival is human nature and thus, a part of life. :)

(I hope I made that more clear and less confusing!)
 
theatregrl said:
Your right I was asking him to confirm the worst. I wanted some sort of answer. Of course I really didn't get one. I am not sure if the insurance will cover it. He put it through because I am trying to get answers but your right it may not be covered. I think calling it "life" is making a little light of the situation. I understand that this happens and there isn't always answers but losing my hearing, maybe all of it someday isn't just life. It is going to alter who I am as a person as well as what I do for a living. If it happens I wont be able to teach. I don't sign so teaching at a deaf school is out and if I can't hear my students I can't teach at a hearing school. I will have to find something else to do. I know I am nowhere near there yet but it may someday become my reality so calling it "life." I don't know if I would just say that. I am not all gloom and doom. I am just taking it one day at a time but hearing that 3 weeks ago you had mild-moderate hearing loss in one ear and now it's in your other ear too. . . that's kind of a knock in the gut. I am 31 years old. Old enough to have lived and made a career. Old enough to know that I love what I do and wouldn't want to do anything else. I don't know what will happen. When he first said progressive I thought. .. .. .that's a long time away. Now I had a pretty big drop in my left ear and I was a little scared. I am embracing this as much as I can but to want to know what might happen. . .I don't think there is anything wrong with that. That is called being human....humans are inquisitive creatures and I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to know as many possibilities as I could.
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Why not learn to sign while you have time? Then you'll still be able to teach after your loss has fully progressed. I've been deaf since 8 but was raised orally, so I'm just now learning ASL at 24. A lot of deaf are raised orally and then learn ASL in college or from the Deaf community as an adult. It's pretty normal unfortunately, because of the big push behind oralism.

And I agree "It's just life" is a very insensitive way to put it.
 
theatregrl said:
Ok so I went to the mall and didn't take the hearing aid out. I felt like everyone was staring at me. The girl behind the counter at the restaurant helped me on the floor and I know she saw it and then started just staring. I know I am not being paranoid. . . She even started over enunciating. I just ended up leaving. Don't know why I wore it at the mall. I can function without it. . . .I just figured its part of who I am and I should embrace it. . . well I think I went a step too far.
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I'm just starting reading this thread from the beginning but when I looked at your photo, I saw nothing. I had to enlarge the thumbnail to see something (and I know about hearing aids so that probably helped me see something).
My first pair of hearing aids, which I got when I was a teen, were big behind the hear aids.
Even now I wear even bigger BTEs that are bright blue but do you know how many people notice them?

Almost nobody. And I wear my hair in a ponytail.

Relax and try to get used to your hearing aids.

PS this http://www.flickr.com/photos/eclarep/8283403902/in/photostream/lightbox is how my hearing aids look right now but they are about an inch longer because of FM system.
 
I was actually saying you were right. . .I am trying to deal with it similar to the way you did. I was really commenting on what the person said about it just being life. . . .I think that was insensitive. :) I am trying to adjust and survive. Right now. . . .this is part of my new reality. I have lost some of my hearing. It is a reality and I am dealing with it. When/if it gets worse I will deal with that too. I am going to wait on the ASL thing just because I think that is a lot for me to handle right now. At some point if it gets worse. . .I will look into it. I have never been very good at languages so I am not sure. From today on I am just waiting till the test on 4/23. I will be ordering a BTE for my right and probably my left. The hope is that it will last me a while since the one I will order is good for mild to severe hearing loss. I am done with the ifs. I am just going to wait and see.

In A Cloud... said:
I am not saying that you are depressed, I'm just saying how I handled it in order for me, myself not to fall into a depression.

And yes, I agree that you should ALWAYS get the most information as you can! ALWAYS be informed!

I hope you didn't think that I was saying to stop educating yourself on the issue because it's part of life. I'm just saying that adjustment and survival is human nature and thus, a part of life. :)

(I hope I made that more clear and less confusing!)
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What you do for a living does not decide who you are as a person, it's decided by how you handle adversity.

You can be sure, the people on here, giving you advice, have gone through exactly what you are going through now.
 
I am a teacher. My career is who I am. I do everything for my students and they are a part of my life. A job is what you do to make money but a career can be part of who you are if your career is fulfilling. My career makes me smile 1000 times a day. It is stressful but it is at the very center of who I am as a person. It took me a long time to find something that made me as happy as I am teaching. I know it is not the same for every job but what I do is not just a job. I have been handling adversity my whole life and I know this is just another bump in the road. The fact is though that I don't know what I would do if I couldn't teach and that is one thing that scares me more than anything else. I understand that the people on here have been through what I have been through and I do thank everyone for their help. My career does not define me that is true but it is at the center of who I am and I love it more than anything.
 
theatregrl said:
I was actually saying you were right. . .I am trying to deal with it similar to the way you did. I was really commenting on what the person said about it just being life. . . .I think that was insensitive. :) I am trying to adjust and survive. Right now. . . .this is part of my new reality. I have lost some of my hearing. It is a reality and I am dealing with it. When/if it gets worse I will deal with that too. I am going to wait on the ASL thing just because I think that is a lot for me to handle right now. At some point if it gets worse. . .I will look into it. I have never been very good at languages so I am not sure. From today on I am just waiting till the test on 4/23. I will be ordering a BTE for my right and probably my left. The hope is that it will last me a while since the one I will order is good for mild to severe hearing loss. I am done with the ifs. I am just going to wait and see.
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Most hearing aids these day have features that only work with 2 HAs. I'm no nothing about Siemens HAs but I know Phonak do, so you may want to check up on that.
I don't know from what you read if you are planning to wear you CIC aid for left and the BTE aid for your right or you would just wear one HA for a while until you get two.
 
I going to wear the cic until I get two. Also if the BTE doesn't fit tight and/or breaks. I have something. That can help at least a little.
 
You're nowhere near this point right now, but progressive hearing loss is no longer the career death sentence it was. If you do ever lose enough hearing to get down to the profound level, a cochlear implant is an option. Mine greatly helped me. I can hear people much better now than I have been able to in the last 20 years. I've had progressive loss all my life.

Anyway, I think all of four or five strangers have noticed the implant over the course of the sixth months I've had it. And it's a lot more noticeable than your hearing aid, being a giant honking BTE device combined with a shiny metallic looking headpiece stuck to my hair.

You're nervous about leaving the house with them right now because they're new, and that's is likely drawing some attention to yourself. You'll get used to wearing it around soon enough, and people won't pay any attention to it. Keep in mind everyone has a bluetooth these days so it's not like people aren't seeing strange objects in everyone's ears.
 
theatregrl said:
I am a teacher. My career is who I am. I do everything for my students and they are a part of my life. A job is what you do to make money but a career can be part of who you are if your career is fulfilling. My career makes me smile 1000 times a day. It is stressful but it is at the very center of who I am as a person. It took me a long time to find something that made me as happy as I am teaching. I know it is not the same for every job but what I do is not just a job. I have been handling adversity my whole life and I know this is just another bump in the road. The fact is though that I don't know what I would do if I couldn't teach and that is one thing that scares me more than anything else. I understand that the people on here have been through what I have been through and I do thank everyone for their help. My career does not define me that is true but it is at the center of who I am and I love it more than anything.
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I don't quite understand why you are so scared to lose your career, yet don't think learning ASL now to secure your career in the future isn't important? Don't wait for it to get worse, learning ASL takes time. It takes 2 years if you go though a college. I am a preschool teacher. Up until I got my implant, I wasn't allowed to be alone with my students because I couldn't hear an accident. I'm in the process of learning ASL and getting my teaching credential in deaf education. You have to help yourself, complaining without acting is useless.

And ditto PP that once your severe-profound you can get a CI.
 
DeafAlex said:
I don't quite understand why you are so scared to lose your career, yet don't think learning ASL now to secure your career in the future isn't important? Don't wait for it to get worse, learning ASL takes time. It takes 2 years if you go though a college. I am a preschool teacher. Up until I got my implant, I wasn't allowed to be alone with my students because I couldn't hear an accident. I'm in the process of learning ASL and getting my teaching credential in deaf education. You have to help yourself, complaining without acting is useless.

And ditto PP that once your severe-profound you can get a CI.
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Not entity true...not everyone who is severe-profound can get a CI and there's people on this forum in that position!
 
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