Hearing Aid For Severe High And Mid-frequency Hearing Loss?

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Melisande

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Will it really be worth it (in terms of hassle and discomfort) to get a hearing aid to help with severe to profound hearing loss above 750 Hz (in one ear only; hearing below 750Hz in bad ear is normal). Also, what kind of hearing aid would help me only with the mid and high frequencies? Ideally, I'd like an out-of-the-ear device so I could hear the lower frequencies normally and not have my ear canal blocked. But do they make out-of-the-ear devices powerful enough to deal with very severe, borderline profound hearing loss at middle and upper frequencies only? Yes, I'm going to go to a professional soon, but am trying to do my homework ahead of time. In the meantime ....

Longer version ....

I was diagnosed with autoimmune inner ear disease this past January after losing most of the hearing in my left ear and some in the right. Since then I've taken immunosuppressant medication which has helped me regain some of the hearing I've lost -- enough that we are now talking about hearing aids for my bad ear whereas back in January this ear was deemed unaidable.

I'm feeling really on the fence about this and I'm not sure why, which makes me suspect that for me it is a complex situation and there is more than one psychological/practical issue at play. I really do want to hear better, but am afraid that the hearing aids will paradoxically make me less happy. Right now, since my good ear is at 100% for everything below about 5,500 Hz, I really don't have problems understanding people in most situations. It's only in really noisy restaurants that I have problems. And I know that hearing aids won't help with this.

However, what I cannot do now and what I think a hearing aid might be able to help me with is birding (the primary hobby that I share with my husband). With my left ear almost totally out of commission in the bird song range, I can still hear the birds just fine, but I have almost no directional hearing. I have absolutely no idea where that Titmouse is singing from. I know, it's kind of a first world problem. But we bird all the time - almost every spare moment that my husband has -- and it's really getting to be a total pain in the butt to be continually asking people "Excuse me? Where is that bird callng from?" I feel like I either don't fully know what is going on or I am annoying people constantly.

So, the idea is that some kind of hearing aid that could compensate for severe-profound hearing loss at 750Hz and above *only* (below 750Hz my hearing is normal). But what would this be? I'm not sure that I want something that fits in the ear canal because I don't want the lower hearing to be blocked. However, I'm not sure that the out-of-the-canal models will be strong enough. I know, this is something to discuss with a professional and I am in the process of making an appointment. But I also want to do my research ahead of time.

Also, I am concerned that I might love the hearing aid and it might make a real difference for me, but it will turn out to be unreliable. Batteries will need to be replaced; the device might keep breaking down; who knows what else? I'm actually pretty content with my life right now and have kind of gotten used to asking people to tell me where the birds are. However, if the HA works, then breaks, I could conceivably be less happy and more frustrated. Also, it might be more difficult for others. At least now everyone knows what I'm capable of (not much). If my capabilities changes depending on the condition of my HA, it could easily confuse or annoy people even more maybe.

Another issue: I really, really hate loud noises. It's almost a phobia with me. I've always associated malfunctioning HAs with overly loud noises and am pretty apprehensive about this.

And finally another reason I should get the HAs. According to one oto-neurologist, it would be good for me to have them since it would help keep the auditory nerve stimulated on the bad side. Then, in case this autoimmune disease ever worsened and I lost all the hearing on that side, I'd have better luck with a cochlear implant.

Ideas?



,
 
Before you spent a ton of money on a hearing aid ask yourself a few questions-
1. Is the hearing loss in one ear causing problems? I have profound hearing loss (my best threshold is 95-100dB) in both ears but have a cochlear implant in my right ear. I wear a superpower hearing aid in my unimplanted ear and get very little benefit from it. I wear it so that I get a sense of directionality.
Your hearing is good until 750Hz, that isn't much to work with.

Talk to your audiologist (a person with AudD) after their name NOT a hearing aid dispenser, and ask to trial a few different hearing aids before buying anything.
 
Most hearing aids are designed and made for high frequency hearing loss, since that is the type of loss most people have. They also are made to help those with mild to severe losses. Profound losses will also be helped but they are still going to miss a lot.
 
I found that my hearing aids do help me a lot. However, since your deafness is just in one ear, you need to decide if it is causing problems for you or not. You might want to ask those around you if they find that you are missing out on too many things that are said. Then proceed to an audiologist for testing.
 
I have moderate to severe loss in my left ear, and severe to profound in my right. I use Widex Clear 440 (or Fusion as it's sometimes called). Widex has a Super 440 model for profound range too. I've been happy with mine and the clarity has really been fantastic. Dream 440, which my Dad has, is for people with high frequency to mid range loss. He loves his hearing aids for the first time in his life (he had Starkey before which he hated) and they've really helped him so Widex gets two thumps up for me.

Laura
 
hi melesende
have you thought about or are you learning sign?
 
Just so you know, hearing aids aren't that good at helping with direction either. Your two ears still wouldn't be balanced. As someone who wears two aids I can tell you this is still my biggest issue, even though I have a matching set left and right with special programs to help with direction.

There might well still be a bunch of good reasons to try the aid, but locating a sound seems unlikely to be something it will help with.

You'll probably find a personal preference for type of aid, but it's likely you'll be able to get some which leaves your low frequency about normal and a reasonably open ear. The better aids have options to protect you from really loud sounds and from "impact" sounds like slamming doors. Give them a try, see how you get on!

Cros aids are another option when you have a 100% ear and a profound ear, but that would mess with your directional hearing even more, and wouldn't help keep your nerve working hard.
 
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

I made the plunge this past Monday and now in a 1-month trial of a pair of Phonak Audeo V90's. I saw the audiologist associated with my specialist ENT. She was extremely professional and spent almost an hour just discussing various options with me during my consultation a few weeks ago. I felt no pressure whatsoever to buy.

The first thing she suggested was the CROS system because of the severity of the hearing loss in my left ear. But, as others have said, it doesn't stimulate the auditory nerve and doesn't give the bad ear a chance, as it were. So, we decided to try the above-mentioned top-of-the-line model (unfortunately the most expensive they offered, $5,000 for the pair which does include insurance for 3 years and a 1 year supply of batteries). She was honest enough to say that I really shouldn't expect much with the left ear.

In any case, today I did my own testing at home for the first time. The results were surprising for me, but looking back on everything that she said and that I have read, they should not have been.

Results:

Right (good ear -- normal hearing until 5,300 Hz, then severe HL above that threshold; 100% speech recognition unaided):

I had hesitated about even trying a hearing aid with this ear. HAs are expensive and my hearing in the speech range is normal. So, really, why bother? But, I am a birder and had hoped to be able to hear the higher pitched bird songs and calls again. Success!! I noticed a real difference here. Before I did some controlled, relatively objective testing this morning, I noticed that the higher pitched Cardinal chip notes sounded like they used to sound (round, high-pitched, metallic), not like quiet, dry ticking. This morning, this result was totally borne out when I went through various bird song sound files this morning. Ex: I could clearly hear all four notes of the Chickadee song rather than just the lower two. I could easily hear the Cape May Warbler's very high-pitched song (most of the song is between 8,000-10,000 Hz) whereas before I could only hear it faintly if I jammed the iPad speaker right up to my ear).

Left (bad ear -- normal hearing until 750 Hz, 80-95 Db for all frequencies after that).

First, it turns out that the HA fits uncomfortably in this ear. The eustachian tube in this ear is smaller than normal and curve (it is normal in the other ear). The audiologist found me the smallest ear-piece she had and it is still uncomfortable (ache-y & irritated), but eventually I stop noticed what I focus on other things.

Immediately, I noticed that I was hearing a lot more with this ear with the HA, although the quality was often strange (weird, loud knockings and tappings with running waters and other things for example). My own voice sounds louder, but often distorted.

I had my hopes up with I tested the speech recognition this morning. For the test, I listened to an episode of Parks and Recreation with my good ear blocked and my eyes closed (so as not to accidentally lip-read). I listened first with the HA, then without and different volumes. It was very hard to tell the difference between the two experiences. I might have about 10% more recognize with the HA, but I am really not sure. I'm planning on doing some different kind of self-testing tonight.

Well, there you go!
 
I have profound hearing loss in the middle/upper range and need "Super Powered" HA's. On my right ear is a Phonak Naida S III SP. The main issue will be that the mid/upper is so far gone that HA's alone may not be able to assist much. Mine were programmed in a way to take the higher pitches and convert them to a lower pitch so I could better understand. I have a CI on my left ear and will be buying a Resound HA because it will be compatible with my CI and the devices I have for it.
 
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