Bob:
Like everyone else here, I'm sorry to learn of your being pronounced 'officially' deaf in one ear. It stinks but, believe me, it is manageable.
Due to my undiscovered AN, the ability to hear in my left ear went slowly over a five or six-year period so in a weird way, I was 'lucky' because I had plenty of time to adjust to the loss (I never had it checked out, assumed it was work and/or age related). As Jan noted, I'm one of the folks that opted to forgo a BAHA or any other hearing aid. As a person who reflexively copes when a problem arises, I just adapted to my hearing deficit by positioning myself and doing whatever was necessary to make the most of what hearing I had. Fortunately, my hearing in my 'good' ear is acute and that helps, but of course, I still miss things, have to say "what?" fairly often and in social situations I often have to rely on my wife to repeat things I missed,. On my own, I either ask people to repeat themselves (explaining I'm SSD) or, like our new 'postie', Nancy McDonald, I just smile and nod, sometimes inappropriately. Oh, well. I can assure you that being SSD is both surmountable and, eventually, isn't the trauma it seems at first. Of course, the BAHA is always an option. Those who use them are almost always elated with the results. I may go that route some day but for the present, I'm doing O.K. with my one good ear and don't feel especially deprived, although I would love to have even a little hearing in my non-functioning ear.
To sum up, I find being SSD to be more of a nuisance than a disability. I trust you'll find a way to deal with your SSD that works for you.
Jim
