I fear my hearing is fading...

[phantagrae]

When I had my hearing tested back in April, when I was first diagnosed, I was quite happy to learn that the hearing in my AN ear was really pretty good.  100% word recognition and just a slight loss of hearing in the high frequencies.

However, in the last few days, maybe a couple of weeks, I have begun to suspect that my hearing is fading somewhat.

I was listening to some things with headphones (earbuds) and I found that if I took out the headphone in my left ear that there was a pretty big difference in volume (and the pitch is different in music, like everything goes a quarter or half-step flat.)

I just started my treatments at the beginning of this week, so I can't imagine that that's an issue--I kind of think this "fade" started a little before that.

At the same time, the other day I found myself turning the volume DOWN on the TV.  I was sitting with my AN ear toward the TV and it just seemed so loud.  I know that at times I find myself turning the TV up, especially certain shows where all the dialog seems to be quiet and lowkey, and I usually sit on my little couch, either facing the TV straight on, or sitting with my "good" ear toward the TV.
I've noticed that my AN ear can sometimes get "overwhelmed" by loud sounds, like a bad, rattly speaker.  This is most common in situations like at choir practice, with the piano nearby, or when I've got a lot of sopranos sitting right behind me.

It is starting to scare me a little--that my hearing could be suddenly fading so quickly--or what seems quick to me. 

I will see my doctor on Monday after my next treatment, so I guess I'll mention it to him and see what he suggests.

[mesafinn]

Phantagrae,

Alas, almost everything you describe can be common.  Not necessarily--you are likely more sensitive and clued in to what's going on with your hearing.  But it's possible that you have a decrease, determined only with another hearing test (audiogram/word recognition).

Once I was diagnosed with my AN, I stopped using ear buds and putting anything in my ear.  I protect/guard my hearing closely.

But I do the same thing with the TV---up and then down.  Another thing you might notice is that large crowds/sounds in a large room like a restaurant setting can be overwhelming/confusing.

Getting used to our ANs and new realities is a continuous process.  Hang in there and good luck!

Thinking of you during your month of treatment,

P.

[Alison]

Hi,

What you're describing sounds similar to my experience. On diagnosis hearing was fine and very little tinnitus (dizziness and imbalance were my symptoms). I'm now 7 months post SRS (single dose Linac) and I was shocked a while ago, when I tried listening to my MP3 player through the left AN earpeice alone. The little I could hear, sounded like it was coming from the end of a very long tunnel! Also I don't use the phone that side now either.

Yet, weirdly as you say, sometimes the TV seems overly loud and at other times I have to rack up the volume to hear anything. I also wonder how much of the problem is caused by the increasing volume of tinnitus which has to be fought through by any sounds aiming to reach the AN ear. And yes noisy situations can become very confusing, such as loud traffic or shopping centres.   

Of course this hearing loss could have happened anyway, even if I hadn't had treatment.

Is it unusual these days to have 30 sessions of GK? I had heard that there was a possibly a greater chance of preserving hearing through FRS, but it wasn't offered to me here in the UK. I was told I may lose the hearing in the AN ear though. But I'm hoping as I'm most likely going through post treatment swelling (I have very bad imbalance and tinnitus) that it may eventually recover. Maybe I'm under a false optimism there?

But you may be possibly getting some treatment side effects causing the hearing loss? Good luck with the rest of your sessions and let us know what the doc says and how you get on. I hope things improve.

Alison

[nftwoed]

Hi;
   Seems you may be losing some hearing. Sensitivity to sound if a person has a hearing loss is known as "recruitment". If no hearing loss, the sensitivity is known as hyperacussis. Some actually hear worse when volume is turned louder.
   Is your tinnitus worse also?
   You say "treatment(s)", so I can only assume you are receiving either CK or FSR.
   It may, or not stop when your Txs are finished.

[phantagrae]

Hey guys--thanks for the replies!

I totally forgot to mention the hearing issue when I saw the doc last Monday.  My regular doctor was out of town and another doc was filling in for him.  I knew this ahead of time, but I was kind of distracted.  My parents, who had been with me for the previous week and a half, were getting ready to leave that morning and I was eager to get out of the doc's office and back to my apartment to see them off...

I'll try to remember to mention it this coming Monday! 

But I don't have any tinnitus or any kind of "noise" in my AN ear.  It's just certain kinds of sounds--I think especially higher pitches--that seem to kind of create overtones in my ear.  Like, I hear the pitch itself, but with a sort of "rattle" or edge to the sound.
I also noticed the other night that when sitting near my living room window, that if I was facing the TV, the sound from the TV bouncing off the window pane had that slightly distorted aspect, but if I turned my AN ear more directly toward the TV, it sounded more normal.

In my everyday, walking around life I don't really notice anything with my ear--at my office, in the car, at the store.  It's mostly just listening to things on purpose, like the TV or my iPod or whatever, and in music-specific settings.

I did notice that I sometimes had trouble hearing my dad when we were eating out this past week.  My mother has some hearing loss--I think they said she has Meniere's Disease--so I know that he's used to having to speak up with her, so I don't know if he was just speaking softer because we were in public, but I know I had to tell him on a few occasions that I just couldn't hear him...

For those who asked about my treatments, my ENT doc had originally suggested 5 GK (FSR) treatments, to try to take it easy on my hearing, but in talking with the doctor who is actually overseeing my treatments, he talked about the possibility of doing 30 treatments, which would mean an even lower dose at each session, so I decided to go with that.  We are hoping that spreading it out like this will lessen any side effects.