Recently I went to an otolaryngologist. You know, an ear, nose, and throat doctor, for a hearing test. For several months my hearing has become more of a problem to the point that I need to see your mouth to be able to hear what you are saying. My son’s teacher thinks he needs a hearing test because he repeats “what?”, “what did you say?” and “look at my face” – all repeating of what I say…. On the phone I hear a woman say Frank, not Hank. I hear my husband say keep, not sheep. I get headaches from loud noise because of how hard I’m my brain is concentrating so hard to catch what someone is saying. I avoid conversation in restaurants, I’m shy at large gatherings and parties, and my husband avoids conversation with me by phone. I used to use speakerphone to hear better with both ears, but received complaints about it being “rude” so I stopped.
So I told them what issues I was having, history in trauma to the face/head/ears, they found some blockage in about half of one ear, and after testing found that I have about 15% loss of hearing in my left ear with great difficulty not in hearing sound but in hearing the spoken word. I was put in a soundproof booth where first I was tested for sounds (which I’ve always passed) but a test new to me with a man’s voice speaking words…and I can’t hear his voice I misunderstand most of the words he says…
There is enough of a concern after establishing this baseline that I have another appointment in 6 months. I am 34 years old, I have a 45 dbHL (decibel hearing level) word recognition with 15% decrease in hearing in my left ear – considered on the cusp of “moderate hearing loss.” I guess I don’t need a hearing aid yet, but in time, I may need one…
