Hello group. I joined the group today and this will be my first post. After reading all the responses from those who are ssd, I felt compelled to share my experiences. My ssd is from birth and my current age is 39. From mri's, I was told that the nerve from the cochlea to the brain is nonexistent and that I was most likely born that way. Audiologists have tried to treat my condition by fitting my good ear with amplification to overcome what was not being heard. Well I should not have to say that they were totally unsuccessful. Since ssd is not as researched as conductive hearing losses, there is not many solutions out there. Hats off to Transear, Baha, and Sonitus for their products.
Being that I have never heard in "stereo", the states of depression and anxieties others have experienced did not occur with me. Over the years, I learned to fake a lot during conversations and would just agree without fully hearing everything that was said. What seemed to work best was to control the conversation so that I always had some idea of what is being said and thus being able to fill in the gaps for what I was not hearing.
Preparing for ssd no matter what opinions are given will not be all peaches and cream. In all social functions, you have to be careful about where where you sit, trying to sit on a end so that no one will be on your deaf side. As someone else suggested, learning to read lips will help tremendously especially in noisy environments such at restaurants and sporting events. This will prevent you having to ask "what did you say" often. Not having the ability to determine direction sound is coming from was probably the most challenging. Being ssd does have its perks as well. I never have to cover one ear while having a telephone conversation. When my wife is fussing, she no longer asks, "are you listening to me", because when I am truly not listening, I can claim that I didn't hear it all she said. The best has been when my wife is watching television at night, I never miss out on sleep because I just lay on my good ear and a good night sleep is minutes away.
I wish you the best in the adjustment period. Just try to keep in mind that the sun does shine after the rain. Maybe one of the three major players in ssd solutions will become a alternative for you.
