I Have Hearing Aids!

I've begun a two week trial on a special pair of hearing aids. For most older people, this can be a natural transition, for me it's a long overdue solution and I couldn't be more ecstatic and hopeful!

As some may know, on July 6, 2002, I experienced the phenomenon called (spontaneous) Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss, which left me profoundly and instantly deaf in my left ear. Approximately 4,000 new cases of sudden hearing loss (SHL) occur annually in the United States, and 15,000 annually worldwide. Most cases, like mine, have no identifiable cause. Those numbers mean it is very rare.

Over the years, I've met with specialists just to discuss new innovations and possible cures. It wasn't until I had my hearing tested at Costco in September, that I learned that there was help for me.

The hearing tech told me that a CROS type of hearing aid would greatly enrich my life. "Hearing aids can be of considerable help to people with hearing loss in one ear. A hearing aid that picks up sound from your deaf side and transmits it to the better ear is called a CROS hearing aid. With a CROS solution you can hear sounds on your deaf side."

When Carrie put the transmitter in my left ear and I could hear what she was saying to me, I openly wept. It has been 22 years of missing out on a lot. It's been over two decades of having to always walk on people's left side and missing the quiet voices of children. How fun that I will no longer have to sit in the backseat of cars, where my 'good' ear is situated, to hear better. I'm ready for this new chapter.

“Assistive listening devices

are like binoculars for the ears.”

-Cynthis Compton Connelly

“Although it is true that mere detection of a sound

does not ensure its recognition,

it is even more true, that without detection

the probabilities of correct identification

are greatly diminished.”

-David Pascoe, Ph.D.

So far, I'm loving this new me. I'm hopeful that after these two weeks, I will be the grateful owner of these cool tools to enrich my life. Two thumbs up so far!

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