Hear Today Gone Tomorrow

1 Year Later

2009-02-01T19:39:00.002-06:00

I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post! Almost a year to the date of the last post, so I guess it's time I update on how things have been going! It's been a little over a year as well since I got my hearing aids.

I'll looked back at my last blog entry and I had mentioned getting some in the ear hearing aids, which I actually did do. However they drove me nuts and the way they were made it kept hitting the phone and often disconnecting me on the cordless. So I went back to my BTE's and have been with them since.

Life has changed a bit for me to say the least, I can tolerate louder noises now compared to a year ago. I love being in one room and being able to hear Hailey call out from the other one or the other side of the house for that fact. This is really nice since we moved into our new house in Oct of 08. Some days I feel like I am still adjusting, for instance if there is alot of noise around me, I still have a little trouble hearing. If the girls are playing with a loud toy and I am in the same room trying to have a conversation with someone, I need to be sitting near them so I can hear.

Another thing I have noticed is that I will say something and either I am speaking to low or not articulating enough, since I often have to repeat it. I think I am hearing myself be "loud" but I am not really being loud lol. I really can't say enough about how much having these hearing aids has changed my life. I can go out and enjoy conversation and friends without feeling like an outsider because I can't hear nor understand what they are saying. I feel like people are more open to talking to me now, since I can hear as I do think I was avoided before.

I'll try to keep updating here as life goes on, but so far so good, other than having to replace batteries about every week lol thankfully they are included in the price I paid!

Progress Check

2008-02-06T16:44:00.000-06:00

Well tomorrow is my 2 week progress check on the hearing aids and I am a bit excited but still nervous and anxious as well. Not sure why, it's not like I am going to get my hearing checked for the first time or anything lol but nonetheless I am.

So life has been interesting the last 2 weeks to say the least. I have been trying to adjust to my new Bionic Ears and it's been a rough road in a few ways. I think first the hearing aids need to be readjusted a little to a lower volume since everything seems super duper amplified to me. I can't wear the hearing aids when I have the dishwasher going or running bath water etc because it drowns out everything else.

I have done better than I thought I would with the kids. They are loud especially Hailey at times but it's only bad when they have alot of noisy toys and are loud too. They do have a volume control on them but the dr wanted me to not use it right now to see if I really needed the adjustment or just get used to them.

The downside to my BTE's are that I am having a hard time with the phone. For those who have known me I am a talker and I used to be a phone person but since the hearing problem I avoid it. I had high hopes for my heairng aids and the phone but alas it's not what I had hoped for and perhaps it's the BTE's vs the in the ear hearing aids. The microphone is behind my ear so I have to hold the phone funny not on my ear and then I feel like the people can't hear me unless I talk up really loud.

A few other things are bugging me about the BTE's as well but nothing I couldn't live with if I had to but I am hoping to talk with them tomorrow and see what it would cost to get the in the ear ones. The phone is a lifeline and should I have to go back to work or want to I would have problems with the phone. I have worked customer service and that generally requires phone work and I need to be able to just pick up the phone and hear and not keep moving it around til it hits the right spot.

I know I have a 30 day trial on them , so I am hoping it'll not be an issue. I don't mind paying a little extra for the order thankfully tax money is coming in but I hope that'll it be nothing. I'll be sure to post tomorrow after I get back with the verdict.

All in all I am so happy to hear and be around people now without feeling bad because I couldn't hear them. Thanks to everyone for their support during the last few months it's been a hard road!

Update On Hearing Aids

2008-02-06T16:28:00.001-06:00

Well first I am a little behind on posting, so sorry about that! It's been a busy last few months and I just realized I had not updated. So I'll try to catch everyone up to speed about what's been going on.

Hubby decided to ask FIL to help us out on the money situation though I really really did not want to and his first response was no. I am not sure what the problem is or was but anyways then later on he calls him and asks him exactly what kind of help. Essentially all we wanted was a loan that we would pay. We tried for financing ourselves at 2 different banks and got turned down for both.

FIL says ok I'll see what I can do this is a little before Christmas time which he was coming down anyways so I figured he could go to the bank here and get it done no problem. Well apparently he couldn't fit running to the bank and dong the forms real quick while he was here. Sigh.. so it wasn't until after Christmas that he got it done.

We had to wait about 2 weeks or more because it was nearly the end of Januaray before everything got done and he got approval and sent us the money. So finally we got the check deposited in our account and I called up the office to set an appointment.

They didn't call back so the following week I called again and lo and behold they were out of the BTE pieces for my hearing aids. ARGGHH!! I was soo frustrated to say the least. They said it'll be another few days atleast but hopefully no more than 2. This was around Jan 22nd I believe. Well on the 23rd they called me back and said the pieces had come in! So they were like can you come in today at 3? Unfortunately that time wouldn't work since I had to pick up Jess from school etc so I set the appointment for the next day.

Off I go at 11:30 to get my new Bionic Ears as I like to call them and wow what a huge difference. Everything is super amplified and has defintely taking some time to get used to but to hear my kids again without asking them to repeat themselves 100 times has been great.

I just can't tell you what a huge change this is from what I was, well ok what I wasn't hearing lol ha to what I hear now. Still in an adjustment stage and think I will be for a bit but learning as I go.

Things I couldn't hear before H/A:
Cars going down the rd if I was in my car, house etc
Birds outside my back sliding glass door
My kids talking in the other room
The dishwasher (sounded very muffled)
The dryer buzzerJust a few things off hand.

Things I can hear now:
Cars, trucks everything even when in car/inside.
Birds (freaked me out the first time I heard this LOL)
My kids OH my my, my kids are LOUD!!!! esp when they are fighting.
The dishwasher ( can no longer run while I have h/a in, it's wayyyyyy to loud)
Dryer!

Before I got pg with Hailey I would complain how loud the tv was if it got above the volume 30. Well when my hearing got bad I would often have to turn it up to 45 or more if there was other noise. Now with the h/a I can hear it at 20 or even 10 LOL umm yah that's pretty huge difference!!!

So AT & T Called

2007-12-18T12:38:00.000-06:00

We have been getting this call from a place called Etech for months now, but I always ignore it thinking its a telemarketer. First of all since I have such bad hearing I don't like talking on the phone to family/friends so I definitely don't want to deal with telemarketers. Usually they have a strong accent and I don't understand them anyways or they talk to low or its their headsets.

Finally I decided to answer and see who the heck it was since they call so often. This is the conversation:

Me: Hello
Line: This is....... (can't hear them)
Me: I am sorry who?
Line: This is..... (still can't hear them)
Me: You'll have to speak up I have a hearing disorder
Line: This is .........from..... (still didn't hear them)
Me: I am sorry but if you don't speak up louder I can't hear you
Line: This is "name" calling with AT&T
Me: Oh well we are not interested in changing our phone service
Line: Well it's not about changing your service it's about upgrading
Me: Well we can't afford to upgrade as you can tell I can't hear and need the money for hearing aids
Me: Do you offer discounts to those who can only hear half the time on the phone? (me laughing)
Line: Sorry to bother you ma'am you have a good day.
Click

Ok I was laughing by the time I got off the phone. Seriously I'll upgrade and pay out the ass for a service I barely use now (cept for the net) and still can't hear anything going on. No thanks!

Laugh of the week.

Day 2 of Financing

2007-12-18T12:30:00.000-06:00

Well finally hubby got in touch with his dad last night to see if he had gotten the emails in regards to calling us. Nope they had been out of town and just got it that day but hadn't had a chance to call etc. His answer was that he'll have to look at some stuff and see what he can do and he would get back to us today.

Last night I got an email from a friend saying I should check into a loan from a credit card because they tend to be unsecured and no collateral needed. So I start searching and think of Capital One since we already have 2 cards with them. I checked their site out and they do issue personal loans. So after hubby got home we looked at it and decided to apply and go for more so we can consolidate our bills down to 1 payment. That'll look good on our credit and the payments will be lower too. So after we finally apply it says oh it'll be 5 to 7 days. Just great, I was hoping for sooner so I could get my hearing aids, but noooooooooo we have to wait and see. This just sucks, the Hearing Center called this morning wanting to make an appointment this week since the doctor will be out all next week. Umm sorry unless you are gonna give them to me with no money down and know I'll pay ya soon no point.

So now it'll be after Christmas and heck possibly New Years before I get the hearing aids. That really frustrates me because all I wanted was to hear by Christmas. I am more mad at my hubby cause he's like let me ask my dad first before we apply for loans etc.. umm ok but it was over a week and half ago and just heard back. We could have applied for a loan the day I knew how much and possibly already had the money! ARGGHHHH that really irritates me.

The journey continues.

Hearing Aid Financing Update

2007-12-17T10:43:00.000-06:00

Well I don't have good news to report, hubby called about 30 mins ago or so and told me we had been declined for the loan for the hearing aids. I am feel sick to my stomach, my head hurts and I can't keep the tears back. I can feel my blood pressure going up as I type this, I have been so stressed since Sept about this whole hearing loss thing.

We were hoping my FIL could help out but he's not emailed nor called us since we emailed him over a week ago. He was really my back up, I figured if he helped us out we could pay the loan off at the bank and then pay him back alot less interest that way. I think what makes me the most mad is we just refinanced the house in summer of 06 and have been up to date on bills etc and yet the bank still said no.

So my journey to getting funding continues.

They have arrived!

2007-12-14T20:39:00.000-06:00

I am soo excited and happy! The hearing center called yesterday and my hearing aids are in at the office! Now I just have to set an appointment to go try them out and get them set for my ears and then I can hear again! Now to come up with the $4300.00 to pay for them, that's the hardest part. We are hoping that my FIL will help out but if not we'll head to the bank on Monday and see about getting a loan and pray they will give it to us.

Other than the money thing though I am super excited to start hearing again. The thought of being able to hear my kids without having them repeat themselves multiple times brings tears of joy to my eyes. I will be able to hear my hubby when he is beside me talking normally and not have him speak up. I'll be confident again and use the phone more. Since my hearing problem began I quit using the phone that much and anyone who knows me knows me, knows how much I like to talk lol.

I'll admit I have been depressed because of my hearing situation but it was really bad when my own family would laugh at say that I was deaf. They would carry on and on saying I needed a hearing aid and my ears checked etc. Why I didn't before Sept I am not sure, I guess I was hoping and praying it was really just sinus related or buildup. Alas it wasn't, so now I know and just have to go forward.

I just wanted to say thanks to those who have supported me and been there for me to vent and cry to about this situation and I don't think I could have made it thru without you.

My Dear Santa Letter

2007-12-05T13:47:00.000-06:00

All I want for Christmas this year is my 2 Hearing Aids so I can hear my children, family and friends when they speak to me instead of having to ask them to speak up so I can hear them. Is that to much to ask for? I guess it could be when it'll cost $4300.00 in order to get my hearing aids.

So today was my follow up appointment with the audiologist aka the hearing aid dr. I went to find out what the next step would be, ordering, payments etc so I could see where we stood. After looking at the many different types of h/a's I decided on the over the ear type since I have long hair and almost always wear it down. These were no more expensive than the in the ear kind so I figured why bother paying more.

Granted the price wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined but that's still alot of money at Christmas time especially when you don't have the funding to pay it. I will be visiting the bank fairy as I like to call them and praying we can get a loan to cover them and actually be able to afford the payments. Our credit isn't the best though it's not terrible but ya know how banks are.

This has been a hard road to travel becoming deaf at approx 27 yrs old though I didn't know til I was 30. My first clue should have been when I was pregnant with my youngest because I started noticing that my ears seemed to be stopped up. I had and have been having terrible sinus/allergy problems so I contributed it to that. When I was working in 2004/2005 I did notice my hearing when I was on the phone was starting to be worse but I didn't think anything of it.

Fast forward to after my little one was born, our tv volume has the numbers on it. I used to be able to hear it at 28 to 30 and thought anything over 30 was very loud....right now I have to listen to it at 45 plus in order to hear it. My hearing disorder is progressive meaning it'll continue over time to worsen, but thankfully the hearing aids will be able to be adjusted to that.

Wish me luck on my hearing aid money situation. If you are in the holiday spirit and have a little girl who would love a Rose Petal Cottage I have one on ebay to raise money for my h/a's. You can check it out here.

Back to the HA Dr~Nov 27

2007-12-05T13:46:00.001-06:00

Well I have made a follow up appt with the hearing aid dr on Dec 5th to find out the sticker shock for the 2 hearing aids I need. I really don't know how we are going to pay for them, but I guess we'll try to figure something out. I may only get 1 for my really bad ear and go from there until its paid off and then get the other one.

I am so frustrated with the government and insurance companies. All of these places to do grants, supply hearing aids or help cover the ha's are for kids, elderly or low income people. So if you are like me just middle class America and can't afford to pay for it you are screwed. Lovely. I can't believe theres not a foundation out there to help EVERYONE in need regardless if they are low income or whatever.

I don't live extravagantly, we do not live in a fancy large house or drive new expensive cars but yet we can't afford the hearing aids. We have 2 kids, and I stay home in order to be with my kids. If I had the way and time I would start a foundation that helps people get hearing aids without the "typical" rules that apply every where else.

I'll be sure to post when I find out the results of the cost.

Decisions on Hearing Loss Disorder~Oct 18

2007-12-05T13:43:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking for a week or so now trying to decide what to do about my hearing situation. I have not had the appt with the surgeon yet, however I do not think that is the way I am going to go. I have been weighing out all the options I know of right now between the two choices, hearing aids or surgery. The hearing aids are definitely the front runner right now not only will it be an instant gratification of sorts, there is no risk involved.

I am just hesitant about the surgery because of the recovery time and the length of time it takes to find out if the my hearing will be correct. Up to 4 months before I would know from what I have been reading. Then of course there is the risk of losing my hearing completely in the ear they do the surgery on OR even having to have the surgery redone later in life.

I am still planning on going to the surgeon just to find out more about the surgery, however since the insurance doesn't cover it I am still leaning towards NOT doing it anyway. I'll be post when I know more but it will not be til after Nov 14th.

Hearing Disorder Support~Oct 11

2007-12-05T13:36:00.000-06:00

I have been searching for a couple of days now for online support groups for adults with hearing disorders and to be honest there really isn't to many for those with disorders and not completely deaf. I came across many many groups for parents of deaf children, for adults that are deaf but I couldn't find one I truly felt like I could fit into.

My "disorder" is a progressive one called stapedial otosclerosis and from the House Clinic.com site states:

"Otosclerosis is an abnormal, microscopic growth of bone in the walls of the inner ear. This abnormal growth causes the stapes bone (also called the "stirrup") to become immobile or "fixed". Normally the stapes vibrates freely to allow the transmission of sound to the inner ear, but when it cannot move, it prevents sound waves from reaching the inner ear fluids, and hearing is impaired.

Otosclerotic bone sometimes involves other structures of the inner ear, thereby affecting the nerves of the inner ear. When this occurs it also causes a distortion or difficulty in understanding the speech of others, regardless of how loudly they talk.

Otosclerosis affects only the ears and usually involves both ears. It occurs in men and women with almost equal frequency and usually begins in the teens or early twenties. Although otosclerosis tends to run in families, there is no pattern to its heredity.

"Stapedial OtosclerosisUsually otosclerosis spreads to the stapes or stirrup bone, the final link in the middle ear transformer chain. This stapes rests in a small groove, the oval window, in intimate contact with the inner ear fluids. Anything that interferes with its motion results in a conductive hearing impairment. This type of impairment is called stapedial otosclerosis and is usually correctable by surgery.

The amount of hearing loss due to involvement of the stapes and the degree of nerve impairment present can be determined only by careful hearing tests."

You can read more at House Clinic about the two treatments that are available to those with my disorder. Hearing aids or surgery which is called a stapedectomy.

My ENT told me that it was a hereditary disorder so not sure what to think about that but my mother is hard of hearing in her left ear which is also my worst ear. Either way I am losing my hearing and honestly it's much worse than I had anticipated when I went to the ENT.

These 2 charts show a difference in hearing normally and below normal. The first chart shows db at 20 or less that is normal range of hearing. The second shows the db down to 50 this shows hearing loss.

My personal chart was in the 80's which is Severe Hearing Loss. That means I do not hear normal range of sound, if you are across the room and talking to me in a normal voice I will not hear you. In fact my range of hearing never got above below avg hearing mark even on the highest pitch sounds.

So those of you who know me and talk to me via phone or in person know that I am not ignoring you I really can not hear you. I hope this helps explain my hearing loss a bit better.

Down and Out ~Oct 10

2007-12-05T13:33:00.000-06:00

Well I thought today was going to be a pretty decent day, had to go to the hearing aid specialist for a consultant at 1 pm and really thought the worst news would be how much the hearing aids would cost. Oh how I was wrong.

The hearing aids are quiet expensive and considering I need 2 of them we are looking at $2600 to $6000 a pair. Yes you read that right. I have been doing some research online the last few days and generally reading said that most insurance companies do not cover the cost of them. I am not sure why, because it's not like its a vanity item it's something required to hear and function in life.

Well we came home from the dr appt and hubby called the insurance company and lo and behold they do not cover the hearing aids. The company hubby works for does not have any type of hearing policy so no insurance for that. Ok fine, I kind of figured we would have to pay if we chose to go this route.

So the news that really pissed me off was the fact they will not cover the surgery for the stapedectomy. What the hell? It's a surgery it's not like its for a nose job or a boob job, its so I can function and live and be able to hear. I am so mad and so upset it's not even funny. I can't imagine the cost of the surgery, so it looks like I will definitely have to go the hearing aid route which I was sorta leaning towards BUT I shouldn't have to.

There's my rant for the day and I am now trying to figure out how in the world I can cover the cost of the 2 hearing aids I need and still pay down the credit cards I was working on.

Follow Up With ENT~Sept 29

2007-12-05T13:29:00.000-06:00

Well the news not so good... I am apparently pretty deaf in both ears with my left ear being the worst. It seems to be a hereditary issue as my mom is deaf in her left ear (she could have surgery) and also being fair/blonde is another factor per the dr. I had to do a hearing test that lasted about 30 mins between both ears and couldn't hear quite a bit of the sounds etc they were doing.

I have 2 options to "remedy" the situation. I can either have surgery in both ears to try to fix it or I can get hearing aids for both ears. I have not decided what I am going to do at this point, I am a bit down right now as I was worried that my hearing problem was serious. I do have a consultation with the hearing aid specialist in early Oct and then the surgeon in early Nov and once I weigh out all the options then I will make a decision on what to do.

The surgery isn't a "major" one, however 1% of the patients lose total hearing in the ear. If I was to have it done I would start with my left ear since its the worst , literally can barely hear anything at all. The dr showed me the chart on where I tested at, and there is the gray area which is average and anything in that is good, but I can barely hear the "average" on any of the sounds they were all below average and my left ear was way below closer to being zero hearing I think.

The name of the problem is Stapedial Otosclerosis if anyone is curious. I appreciate everyone's kinds thoughts as the last 2 days has been kind of rough.

Welcome to My Hearing Loss Blog

2007-12-05T13:23:00.000-06:00

Hi and welcome, my name is Frances and I am a hard of hearing adult who just found in Sept that I have severe hearing loss in both of my ears. My left ear more so than my right but they are both affected.

I am starting this blog to just vent, cry or scream about my situation and the things hard of hearing people go through. I am lucky enough that I can get hearing aids or surgery to correct my problem however not so lucky in the fact that insurance will cover neither.

I have another blog that I am going to copy some of my posts from and post here so you can see my updates as they came along and then I'll be able to update from there on out.