I was starting to loose hearing in my left ear. I went to the GP, and he said it was wax. This is not surprising, since I wear ear plugs at work. That was cleaned up and things improved somewhat.
A few weeks later I got an early phone call. The nightstand with the phone was on my left. The voice sounded tinny. I mentioned it to my mother in law, who is a RN. She got me the name of an ENT. I called him, and was told to come in. After seeing nothing physically wrong, he had me get a MRI.
I ended up having GK, and my remaining hearing diminished. At first background noise was tough to deal with. As a locomotive engineer, the engine cab is loud. Most have the radio on the left side, which is my deaf side. As a result, I was supplied David Clark headphones. In my job, I'm also a union official. This means attending many meetings. At first this was a real pain. Dinner meetings were the worst.
The part about not being able to tell where sound comes from is true. If my cell phone is misplaced, it's hard to tell where it is ringing from. The other day my family was shopping. I was looking at something, and my family slipped down an aisle. I called out to them, but couldn't tell where they were.
To sum up a long story, it gets somewhat better, as you get used to it. In meetings, try to sit in the spot where you can hear. My friends and colleagues usually ask me which spot will work best.
Sometimes things don't work out. I was first out in line at the bank. The teller on the far left said, " Next please." I couldn't hear her. Luckily the guy behind me got my attention.
I know that I sometimes get people annoyed by having them repeat. Sometimes I can't understand the whole sentence. The tone and pitch of the voice matter. Those how have a fuller voice are better.
