Gransnet forums

Health

Single sided deafness....a solution?

(12 Posts)
Grannyparkrun Tue 12-Feb-19 07:42:51

My sympathies Gracie, becoming deaf on one side later in life must be very hard and a big shock. I’ve had a lifetime to learn all the little tricks & manoeuvres that get you through a day! I can post about them later, but for now, good luck with looking at aids. I tried cros aids for a while recently but gave up & got a refund. They gave me headaches and itched constantly. I decided that as I’m retired now, they aren’t so necessary, and instead applied for a sound support dog from the hearing dogs charity, (these are dogs that don’t quite make the grade as full hearing dogs but can support those of us in the twilight zone).
We now have a beautiful wonderful dog living with us who brings so much joy and fun, & she also tells me if there’s someone at the door or the cooker timer is bleeping or my husband wants a cup of tea, damn. Good luck with your search, if you do want to learn some ‘tricks of the trade’, or coping mechanisms, I’m happy to write a post later & im sure there will be plenty more from others. We walk amongst you!

Gracie1957 Mon 11-Feb-19 19:11:09

I have recently become deaf in one ear due to Bacterial Meningitis. I am beginning to explore what hearing devices are available and would love to hear from anyone who currently has a device for SSD.

minesaprosecco Fri 08-Jun-18 19:40:39

How wonderful for you grannyparkrun smile. I have a friend who is deaf in her right ear and will let her know about this.

Grannyparkrun Fri 08-Jun-18 18:47:19

Quite amazing! We walked down the street chatting, my husband on my left, deaf side. I could hear everything he said loud & clear through my right ear, very discombobulating! We went to meet a friend in a noisy supermarket cafe, the background noise gave me a headache, but I was getting stereo sound in a mono ear. Although not brilliant, I could hear my friend much more than usual, & didn’t feel as anxious as usual about where she sat.
They seemed to work best when we walked down a quiet street between tall buildings, & not so effectively in the supermarket. After an hour I felt quite ‘spaced’, the audiologist said it was my brain getting used to something I’d never heard, & would soon normalise. Well , I have ordered some, they’re not cheap, but I can pay monthly by direct debit, & the novelty of hearing my husband from my deaf side is irresistible! I’m imagining being in a large group in a noisy restaurant, & not having to explain to the person on my deaf side that I won’t hear a word they say!

Grannyparkrun Fri 08-Jun-18 12:58:31

Were not we’re

Grannyparkrun Fri 08-Jun-18 12:57:38

Also, Boots do free full hearing assessments with an audiogram for free. They obviously want to sell me hearing aids but we’re very impartial.

Grannyparkrun Fri 08-Jun-18 12:55:36

Thanks for the responses. I’m just setting off to try them out for an hour in town. The audiologist suggested going to a noisy cafe with a friend & to sit chatting with them on my deaf side. This is something I’ve always avoided, & can’t quite get my head around! I’ll post later how it goes. The audiologist said profound single sided deafness, where the acoustic nerve is dead, is fairly rare nowadays because of the MMR vaccine, as measles & mumps both can cause it, so more common in older generations. Today, children with SSD would get support in school, an IEP, visits from a teacher of the deaf, the works! In the 60’s & 70’s I was just laughed at for being a daydreamer! Hey ho!

lemongrove Fri 08-Jun-18 10:00:41

Thanks for posting this Grannypark as I have had much the same problem from being a young child, and have a badly scarred left eardrum.I may have a hearing test and talk to the experts about it.
Could be though, that like Teetime’s DH it may not benefit me.
Hope it improves your hearing.smile

cascats Fri 08-Jun-18 09:23:04

I also suffer from deafness in one ear and have done since a child. The reason for it has never been found, so this was of great interest to me.
The link shows this type of aid and allows you to search for audiologists who can test you for it including some Boots. It may be of some help.
www.phonak.com/uk/en/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-in-one-ear.html
I'm assuming here you are in the UK Grannyparkrun, so apologies if this is not the case.

Teetime Fri 08-Jun-18 09:12:54

DH was advised that his one sided deafness due to a scarred eardrum and narrow scarred Eustachian tube would not benefit from a Crosaid - not sure why? I expect it depends on the cause of the deafness and your anatomy. Let us know how you get on with it.

silverlining48 Fri 08-Jun-18 07:18:09

Dh and I both have hearing problems. Have never heard of this system but maybe someone else has. I will google but is it nhs? If not do your research. We looked at cochlea implant fir my husband but he wasnt suitable, good luck parkrun.

Grannyparkrun Thu 07-Jun-18 22:11:39

I have been profoundly deaf in my left ear since I was a young child, probably caused by mumps.
I have always 'just managed', but it has been a blight through my life, & a social hindrance, often causing embarrassing mistakes & misunderstood, awkward conversations. But I have just heard about Cros aids which relay sounds from your deaf side to a receiver in your good ear, and am going to try them out tomorrow. Does anyone know about these, & how useful they are? I'm worried about a sudden overload of sound in my hearing ear, & how to judge sound direction. Any experience or advice please?