Regaining Hearing: 3 Uplifting Patient Stories
As an audiologist, I hear from patients every day about their struggles with hearing loss. I feel the discouragement many of my patients face. Simply put, they want to regain their hearing, so today I want to focus on the fact that people are overcoming hearing loss every day, here in my clinic and around the world. You’ll see some of those inspiring stories below. People are regaining hearing, often through technological means plus the willingness to explore the best solutions for them.
Krista’s Story
Krista learned she had a slowly progressive hearing loss in one ear. She discovered that she had a previously undetected genetic condition that had caused tumor growth on the nerves that transfer messages about what she was hearing. The situation was progressive, so chances were she’d soon lose hearing in both ears.
Over the next year, she slowly became more accustomed to not hearing her surrounding very well. After a lot of encouragement from her friends, she got her first hearing aid and was shocked by what she had forgotten in such a short time like:
- The roar of an air conditioner coming on
- The sound of bullfrogs when she goes for an evening hike
- People whispering
Sandra’s Story
Sandra had lived with a constant ringing in her ears for over 15 years. She had sought treatment early on. But when doctors couldn’t help, she learned to live with it using tinnitus coping strategies like:
- White noise to sleep
- Turning the TV up
- Leaving the radio on
Now, in her late 60s, it was becoming more than she could bear, so she went back to the audiologist, where she found that her tinnitus had now progressed to moderate hearing loss.
Her doctor explained that tinnitus treatment had advanced significantly over the past 15 years. They could now fit her with hearing aids that could not only cancel out the tinnitus sound, they could improve the clarity of what she hears. As a bonus, Bluetooth hearing aids allowed her to stream music and calls from her phone.
The aids took some getting used to as her brain needed to adapt to hearing and language again. She now feels like she can be more involved in the conversation again.
For Sandra, overcoming hearing loss took years because technology needed to advance, but she’d recommend that people not wait to explore their options for regaining hearing.
Luke’s Story
Luke had worn hearing aids for nearly 10 years since he was 45-years-old. After an adjustment period, his old aids helped him understand his boss and co-workers on the job as a welder, but he had begun to notice that he didn’t hear very clearly anymore.
His wife had started complaining that the TV was too loud, and he found himself asking his daughter and others to repeat themselves a lot. When he came to see me at Professional Audiological Services, we found that his hearing loss had progressed from mild to moderate. Additionally, he was still wearing an older hearing aid when an upgrade could significantly improve how he hears.
We fit him for a more current model, and he was shocked by the difference it made. It was almost like having his pre-hearing loss hearing back.
Overcoming Hearing Loss & Regaining Hearing
Krista, Sanda, and Luke each shared individual yet similar personal experiences, and they found that there is hope for regaining hearing with treatment and some persistence. If you’re struggling with similar challenges, I will encourage you to schedule an appointment with me so we can explore the possibilities for overcoming hearing loss.
