r/HearingLoss

TLDR

I am looking for some feedback.

My boyfriend (M60) of 15 months gets very frustrated when he has to repeat himself to me (F55), which is quite often, and ends up practically yelling at me in a curt or mean voice. I have diagnosed hearing loss at the lower pitches and he has a very deep voice. Additionally, I have a hard time processing things say, which may or may not be from the hearing loss or something else. I end up saying "what", or "excuse me", or "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that" quite often. If I am next to him or looking at him, I can usually hear him fine, but if I am doing something else and he says something, I generally do not hear or understand him. He is also a low talker and had a stroke last year which slightly effected his speech, so with the deep voice and lower volume, it is extremely hard. He gets frustrated with me and ends up slowing his speech down, speaking very loud and sometimes feels mean. He gets irritated with me and sometimes states he gets tired of repeating himself. I have told him that I do have hearing loss at the lower pitched and also sometimes have a hard time processing speech if I am doing or concentrating on something else. Sometimes he has apologized and said he wasn't trying to be mean, but it is frustrating for him to have to repeat himself so much. I have considered not having him repeat himself and try to guess from context what he is saying, but I don't think it would work because he is very sharp and astute to my body language and would definitely know if I was "faking" it. I feel like he has no empathy in this situation and doesn't seem to make any effort to initially speak up to a level I can hear, slow down so I can process, or at least make sure I can. I certainly do not like being yelled at for something that is out of my control!! My late husband (M53) who passed away almost three years ago (married 30 years) also had a deep voice and was a low talker. He too would get super irritated with me about repeating things, until I found out that I do have hearing loss. Then he was more understanding and made adjustments in his volume of speaking.

Hi,

I am trying to buy a hearing aid for my father with severe hearing loss and my final choice at Costco is Either Philips Hearlink 9050 or Rexton reach. Which one do you think has better sound quality and durability / reliability ?

For some uncommon knowledge Philip Hearlink 9050 is almost the same as outside Costco as Oticon intent 1. Rexton Reach is almost same as outside Costco as Signia Pure Charge&Go IX

Thanks

I developed diplacusis in my left ear about a week ago after a sinus infection. It started with tinnitus, then muffled hearing, and eventually the sound in my left ear shifted to a higher pitch.

Now when I listen to voices or music, it sounds like two people are speaking or singing at once, which is really disturbing and makes it hard to enjoy sound normally.

My ENT prescribed high-dose oral steroids as well as HBOT. I’ve been reading online (mainly Reddit) that some people are given antibiotics instead, so I’m a bit confused about whether steroids are the right treatment for this.

Has anyone had a similar experience with diplacusis after an infection? Did it improve over time, and what treatment helped you?

I'm looking for some advice on what headphones you all suggest for hearing aids that go BTE, but for someone who also wears glasses.

I deal with sensitivity to things pressing against my temple, so the cup headphones may not be the best idea. I'd like to still be able to wear my hearing aids with the headphones, too.

Yes, my current hearing aids have Bluetooth, but the sound quality for certain things aren't the greatest, volume wise.

First I don’t mean any offense to people that have worse issues than I do. I understand there are people that have it worse and may envy the level my issues are at. My heart goes out to ya’ll.
Second I think this is more of a hearing loss post than much else. I don’t believe mine is as severe as I can find many like minded people.

Backstory - lived in the south whole life. Go dawgs! Lived life around music and one of the most important aspects of life. My dad plays and sings. I play guitar and sing. I’ve had tinnitus since I was 18 working construction. Never bothered me because it was small and I only ever heard it in very quiet rooms. Never had issues sleeping stress never heard it though the day. Joined military at 19 been around loud machines a such.

Fast forward 6 years later work in law enforcement in the community I grew up in. Last September and old friend stopped by showed me a new .44 magnum he had and I knew better but I shot it without ear protection. Context I grew up shooting guns like that on occasion and it’s never did anything than make my ears ring for a couple hours. I thought hey one gunshot isn’t gonna hurt my hearing seriously I mean my ears already ring in quiet rooms what’s the worst that could happen. Wasn’t as educated on hearing loss as I am now and now i do realize I was a dumbass. It immediately changed “something” like the tinnitus I already had became significantly louder in left ear and my humming sounded different. Like not centered in my head. Immediately half concerned cuz for one loud noise make ears feel weird. About a week later I forgot about it. Tinnitus was louder at night but nothing that kept me from sleeping. Playing games with headset sounded normal. Music sounded normal.

Fast forward a month took my new girlfriend to our first SEC football game. DID NOT REALIZE HOW LOUD THAT STUFF WAS. Great game. One of the best memories I will have hands down. One issue. During the game everytime the crowd roared my left ear would scream with hyperacusis (lol new term I learned last month). Never experienced noise feedback like that. After the game it felt like my left ear didn’t exist, my humming was completely one sided, And music was pushed more towards the right ear. Immediate concern that I brought it up to my girlfriend. She said get a doctors appointment and I put it off like whatever. Tinnitus didn’t really change. Driving around in a car music still sounded off in my left ear. It was like I could hear the music louder with my right ear. In my gaming headset audio was very slight right sided. But eventually over months I gotten used to it I guess or it got better idk. Stopped worrying me and I forgot about it 99 percent of the time. Was more cautious about my ears at this point because I’m noticing changes.

Fast forward to April. Got sick and the tinnitus in my left ear was horrible. Had sleeping issues. It was like it was screaming at me. Went away about a week. I still remember the day I stepped out the shower and was like I CANT HEAR IT and the amount of euphoria I got from it. Realized something was wrong though. Never had ringing ears when sick. Was very cautious about hearing.
A few weeks later Went to the between the hedges country concert and brought ear protection. Didnt want to experience what I did again or make it worse. Went to the concert, wore the protection for most of the concert.

Woke up the next morning everything changed. I had tinnitus in my left ear like I’ve never experienced. I did not know it could get that bad. It was trauma inducing. 24/7 non stop. Could not sleep, could not watch tv. Nothing. I would put on marvel movies and try to distract myself best I could. I was in a stress state 24/7. Ended up having a panic attack a week later. (I’ve never had anxiety issues). This was day to day for me. Hearing changed. Could not hear as clear in left ear. It was almost like the ear wasn’t there. Didn’t have issues conversations but music was definitely one sided including vocals. It’s been about two months dealing with this.

A month into this event I don’t know if the tinnitus calmed down or if my brain is used to it. There are times it’s loud but I don’t generally worry about it anymore. I don’t have sleeping problems or panic attacks anymore. It’s not something I would only hear at night. It turned into a part of my life. Last night had a bad spike but whatever. My thing is now. Since I’ve stopped focusing on tinnitus I’ve payed attention to how my hearing actually is and it’s very different. It’s like my world is right sided. Disorienting at times and this stresses me out now. Even someone talking to me I can hear them louder in right ear than left. Headphones on everything is right sided. Don’t like to play video games anymore because of the hearing difference. I don’t like to sing anymore because I get somewhat hyper accusis from my own voice and I can hear myself different and it’s not centered. I can’t hear certain crickets in left ear. I got a hearing test with the military and hearing frequencies were all normal up to 6000 hz. I did a test with my headphones on and I can’t hear frequencies above 9,000 hz in my left ear. I think my right goes up to 14 hz. I awaiting an appointment right now to get further testing.

My question is if there’s anybody with similar hearing differences and I’m not asking if hearing comes back cuz I’ve recently learned that one’s the cells die they don’t come back. Is that does this difference get easier to deal with. Does life ever feel normal again. Because this difference has thrown my whole perception of sound off. I’m checking my ears 24/7 and I’m stressing bad. I’m hoping I can get used to this difference between my ears but it’s a hard task.

Hello, sorry if this isnt the right place to post this but I woke up this morning with a loud sudden ringing in my right ear and my hearing in that ear feels a bit muffled/“off” compared to my left. It also feels like pressure or a weird “full” sensation inside my head/ear. The ringing comes and goes but the hearing difference has been pretty noticeable since I woke up.

I went to urgent care the same day because I got really worried. The doctor looked inside my ear and said there’s no infection or anything visibly wrong. He thinks it’s probably something like pressure/Eustachian tube issues or allergies and gave me an antihistamine to take for 10 days and told me to come back if it doesn’t improve.

For context, I’ve also been sleeping mostly on my right side for the past few days because my left ear just got pierced and I’ve been trying not to put pressure on it. I also used AirPods while sleeping recently, so I’m not sure if that could’ve contributed.

has anyone else gone through this? Have you made a full recovery? I'm honestly really scared

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out to get some perspective on a professional concern regarding my upcoming DOT physical.

Last year, I barely passed the hearing portion of the exam. Since then, I’ve spent several months driving a school bus route where the noise levels from the students regularly hit peaks of 114 dB.

I’ve been in a difficult position: while I am required to wear my hearing aids, the ambient noise in the bus is so extreme that the devices amplify everything to a point where it becomes physically painful. This distraction and discomfort actually made me feel less safe while driving. To cope, I’ve (admittedly, against regulations) been taking the hearing aids out during those routes to manage the sensory overload and maintain my focus on the road.

I’m now feeling anxious about my upcoming medical exam and have a few questions:

1. Could this prolonged exposure to 114 dB noise levels have caused a measurable decline in my hearing over the past year, even if I haven't noticed a significant drop in my day-to-day hearing?
2. Has anyone here dealt with the combination of wearing hearing aids in a high-noise environment and the resulting DOT medical requirements?
3. Is there a risk that my hearing test results could be artificially lower due to "noise fatigue" if I’ve been exposed to that environment shortly before the exam?

I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Should I be visiting an audiologist independently to establish a "baseline" hearing test away from the environment of the bus before I go in for my official DOT physical?

Any advice or experiences you could share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry for the annoying post, but I’m in my early 20’s, and between the ages of maybe 13-17 or 18 I listened to music full blast for hours a day not thinking it mattered - I’m an idiot, I know. I also go to concerts pretty regularly and didn’t start wearing earplugs until the last few.

I had an actual hearing test a few months ago and they said my scores were great and showed no hearing damage or damage to my eardrums, and during the actual test I don’t think there was a single part I failed or missed. However, I’ve since heard about hidden hearing loss and it’s totally freaked me out. Often when I’m at restaurants I can barely hear the people I’m with. I can “hear” them, sure, but their voices seem so faint that I feel like I’m putting effort into hearing them because the background noises drown them out a little. I was at this dive bar with two friends recently and the music was so loud I felt like their voices were so faint and I was just barely clinging onto the conversation. I was super drunk and even then it freaked me out so bad that it killed the mood for me. Usually when I’m in these situations I’ve started asking people if it’s hard for them to hear and they say no or not really. When I’m in the car with someone and the A/C or music is going or we’re on the highway I find it difficult to hear as well, especially if I’m in the back of the car.

I’ve since applied settings to my iPhone that caps my volume at 80db when I’m using AirPods, but sometimes when I’m listening to them they don’t feel loud enough. I’m a major hypochondriac and I get super into my head about this with my bad anxiety, and I can’t tell if it’s just that or if this a real thing. It doesn’t bother me too much when I’m not thinking about it. I can still hear birds chirping outside and quiet frequencies like that which people tend to say is something they can’t hear anymore when they go through hearing loss. Does this sound like it’s in my head or a genuine concern?

Hello,

I’ve had trouble hearing in noisy areas for over ten years due to an audio accident as a teenager. I got a hearing test, and all frequencies up to 8000hz came back normal (10db and under). However I can’t hear above 15800 in my left ear. Nothing over 15000hz without bumping the volume. How concerned should I be? If my hearing is “normal” why do I struggle in noisy areas. I have very mild tinnitus (I only hear if it’s totally silent and it doesn’t bother me much. The tinnitus I think is around 16000hz)

Thanks. Probably nothing I can do.

Curious how y'all deal with this situation — like when someone seems off or potentially dangerous but you can't totally make out what they're saying. Could be someone who looks like throwing racists slurs/comments at you, or some unhinged or person with mental illness on the street yelling in your direction.

Normally I'd just pull up my phone and use speech-to-text to catch what someone's saying, but obviously that's not really an option here lol. What do you do?

Ever since I got tinnitus I haven't been able to fall asleep naturally like I used to, I always have to press my tragus so I can minimise the sound and get distracted by hearing the bloodflow while actively imagining stuff instead of my brain passively relaxing and listening to background sounds such as the wind and etc.

I am so young but I screwed up my quality of life and I deeply regret that, I feel like a burden to almost everyone I care about in life, and when I think about it, I have never been truly happy for a long time, it feels like I have been distracting myself for a long time. Why us? why is the universe so cruel

So my dog yelped right next to my ear I was hugging him and he yelped with his face pretty much next to me ear. He yelped once and he is a small-medium dog bichon
Should I prepare for the worst

I'm 32M struggling with premature hearing loss. Last year I became homeless, on top of ongoing stress from my half siblings spreading lies about me. I did some audiograms. My hearing dropped across all ranges, but the high frequencies were hit hardest. I struggle with sleep every night, and my body has been in fight or flight mode since then. I'm hopeful that if I can de-stress somehow then my hearing might come back. I also experience symptoms of hyperacusis where some sounds (like car horns) are especially loud drowning out others. Everything sounds muffled with any background noise, but I can hear people much easier if it's one-on-one conversation. I'm not totally sure how to differentiate between ear fullness and deafness.

Has anyone else had stress-related hearing loss? And if so, what have you tried to fix it?

Any advice is welcome.

Mine: "What?" isn't the most frustrating thing people say to me. It's when people say "never mind." Curious what everyone else's is.

I go to the gym daily and when I started would listen to my music at like 90 db maybe 100 but not for too long it was still bad luckily no bad hearing loss had happened I slowly lowered it from 90 to 85 then lowered it to 80 I listen to music in the gym at 8 db for 3 hours I’d say maybe 4 if we’re counting overall use even at home I just lowered it to 75 but recently I feel like my hearing is getting bad even tho it’s at low db range when I would take my headphones off my ears would feel heightened and fuzzy fast forward to this past week my ears have been feeling dimmed like stuff isn’t as loud as it supposed to be I sometimes feel like people are kinda like mumbling I can’t really hear them it’s hard to hear whispers some times and the tv I can’t rlly hear at low volume and also usually I can tell when people are sneaking up on me but this time I couldn’t hear my sister sneaking up behind me I don’t know I’m pretty scared and worried I’m only 16 and don’t wanna be like this for ever I’m taken a break from headphones Google says not too I don’t know if this is just ear wax buildup because some times I wear them while tanning and working out so it gets hot and moist or if it’s just hearing loss but my music isn’t even that loud I’m just worried any help would be much appreciated thank you for reading.

Hello everyone, i'm suffering from a single sided moderate hearing loss on high pitches and i'm wondering if anyone here know any app on android that allow us to setup separate equalizers for left and right ears when listening to music or watching videos with a headset in order to re-adjust the symmetry. Every app that I check only seems to have just a mono equalizer and a global volume panning, which is not really suited for a single sided hearing loss on specific pitch.

Does anyone know an app capable of that on android or such a program on windows ?