Hi, Katie ~
The loss of unilateral hearing is certainly a cause for concern, especially with young children to care for and working in a demanding profession.
Cheryl offered some helpful suggestions, especially regarding your work situation and how diminished hearing may affect your ability to do your job. Like her, I don't have small children so I can't respond to that issue with any authority. However, I've lived as a SSD (Single Side Deaf) person for close to a decade, as my hearing in one ear slowly but surely disappeared as my (undetected) AN grew over an approximately 5-year period. I'm now five years post-op & radiation. For what its worth: I do quite well being SSD but to be honest, I do 'miss' things. I've learned to lean in and turn my hearing ear toward the speaker and this works well about 80% of the time. Occasionally, I simply can't understand a person because, even close-up, they speak too fast, too softly or simply do not enunciate clearly. Sometimes, all three. To watch TV, I use small, light wireless earphones designed for the hard-of-hearing. They are 'connected' (no wires) to the TV (via a radio signal) and that way I can keep 'my' volume as high as necessary while my wife can keep the actual TV volume at a more comfortable decibel level. I'm retired so I can't offer any personal information on how being SSD might affect a work situation. However, I'm a Deacon in my church and attend regular meetings with 5 other deacons and usually can hear everything, although 'positioning' can be critical, e.g. making sure everyone is on my hearing side or being able to subtly turn my hearing ear toward the speaker of the moment. Movies are always plenty loud enough to not give me any trouble hearing the soundtrack. Most public events are 'miked' (amplified) so they don't usually pose a hearing problem for me. In a situation where there is a stage and a speaker and he/she isn't using a microphone, I always attempt to sit as close to the stage/lectern/speaker as possible and that is usually good enough to hear everything. I use a clock-radio as my alarm (set a relatively normal volume) and I always hear it, even with my hearing ear on the pillow. It's just muffled - but still audible. Hearing conversations in a crowded, noisy restaurant is a challenge. I often can't really hear them very well. When it's just my wife and myself, she always sits on my 'hearing side' and that is sufficient for me to be able to hear and converse with her. Sometimes,especially in a crowd with many people talking at once, I do 'miss' a humorous comment someone says and find myself laughing along with others to hide the fact that I don't know what we're laughing about or just nodding my head and mumbling '"ummm" to a statement I was unable to hear. This doesn't happen a lot but, to be candid, it does happen. You asked how the hearing loss affected our daily lives. This is a synopsis of my experience. I trust it might be helpful to you.
What all this information points to is that one can adjust to being SSD and with a few admitted deficits, I've managed to do that. However, my hearing loss was very gradual (5 years) and that made it easier, giving me plenty of time to adjust. In addition, my hearing in my 'good' ear is still excellent and that is a big help. For those - and you may well be one of them - who cannot function well with 50% diminished hearing, there is the BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) option. These are usually quite effective and most BAHA users are delighted with theirs. I don't feel the need for a BAHA - but that could change someday. A BAHA is my 'Plan B'. On consideration, a BAHA may be your Plan A.
