November 30, 2008 Issue
HEARING
LOSS HELP E-zine
"The premier e-zine for people with hearing loss"
Volume 3, Number 9 November
30, 2008
Publisher: Neil Bauman
neil@hearinglosshelp.com
http://www.hearinglosshelp.com
Copyright Center for Hearing Loss Help 2008
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"Hearing loss may change your life,
but your life need not be any less
rewarding and fulfilling
because you have a hearing loss."
— Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
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================================================== In this issue ==================================================
1. News Items
— eZine Changes?—Here's What's New!
— Aldosterone Revisited
— Captioned Telephone Goes Mobile
2. Beware of (Ototoxic) Drugs That Can Damage Your Ears
— Ototoxicity is Just One of the Many Side Effects of
Drugs
— Advil (Ibuprofen) and Temporary Hearing Loss
— Can Lotemax Eye Drops Affect My Ears?
3. Answers to Your Questions
— Singing On Key—Here's One Way to Do It
— Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome and Mountain Travel
4. Tinnitus
— Can Alcohol Cause Tinnitus?
5. Effective Coping Strategies
— My Mom Won't Wear Her Hearing Aids
— Tips for Getting a Job When You Have a Hearing Loss
— The Benefits of Hearing and Speechreading Together
— Regaining Balance—One Man's Story
6. Information on Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants and/or
Assistive Devices
— Room Loops—Hearing the TV and People Talking at
the Same Time
— Hearing in the Classroom: An Assistive Device for Hard
of Hearing Teachers
— Special Voice Amplified Phones for People with Very Weak
Voices
===============================================
1. News Items
===============================================
eZine Changes?—Here's What's New!
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
Thank you to all that responded to my eZine survey back in September. The vast
majority of you said, "It's great the way it is. Don't change it." A few wanted
a better idea of what articles are in each issue without reading through the
whole eZine.
Therefore, beginning with this issue, I have expanded the Table of Contents to
include the specific article titles in each section. Now you can easily choose
the articles that particularly interest you (although I hope you will read the
rest of the articles too).
In case any of you were wondering what happened to the October edition of
Hearing Loss Help eZine, no, I didn't forget. Rather a heavy work load, a
speaking tour and computer troubles all conspired together to prevent me getting
it out in a timely fashion. I hope you enjoy this edition.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Aldosterone Revisited
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
In the March, 2008 issue, I reported on an interesting treatment for hearing
loss. There has been a fair bit of interest in this treatment as evidenced by
the various comments on the HearingLossHelp blog. You can
read the original
article and comments here.
In part, here is Rick Walter's comment (#15) on what has been happening with his
ears since he began taking Aldosterone two months ago. He writes:
"I've been taking Aldosterone therapy for about 2 months now. My hearing loss
came from many things. Much came from loud noise over my lifetime, but I came
down with Meniere's disease about a year ago, and the hearing loss greatly
accelerated.
The Aldosterone gave me back clarity of hearing, but only a little
volume. Make
no mistake any improvement is huge when your ears are as bad as mine are. Also
my drop attacks and weird dizziness are completely gone!"
Obviously, Aldosterone is not a complete cure for hearing problems, but just
improving clarity of hearing (improved discrimination) is a wonderful blessing
in itself.
Also, it seems that Aldosterone can help fix a damaged balance system. For
example, reducing the frequency of, or totally eliminating, drop attacks is
certainly another blessing. (Drop attacks are where, without warning, you
suddenly lose your balance and fall to the floor. This typically happens in
people with severe cases of Meniere's disease.)
If you are interested in Aldosterone therapy either contact Dr. Jonathan Wright
(see above link) or work with your doctor while you are on this therapy so bad
things don't happen to you. With Aldosterone, as with other body hormones, too
much of a good thing can quickly become a bad thing.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Captioned Telephone Goes Mobile
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
Until now, captioned telephone service has been restricted to landline phones
(CapTel), or to phones (landline or cell) used in conjunction with a computer
(WebCapTel). Now, if you have Apple's iPhone (cell phone) with 3G service, you
can have CapTel captioned conversations where ever you are by just using your
cell phone.
If you don't have Apple's iPhone with 3G service, you can use any cell phone for
the speaking part, but you'll need another web device in order to read the
captions. This could be any portable computer with web access, one of the
following smartphones—Apple iPhone, Motorola Q9C, HTC Mogul or the Treo800w or
a mobile device that uses Windows Mobile 6 or Apple Mobile Safari.
Once this service becomes widely available on most cell phones, hard of hearing
people will be able to "hear" on their cell phones, just like people with normal
hearing. But for now, the Apple iPhone with 3G service is a viable option, and
points the way to what will hopefully become commonplace in the future.
You can read about it in the
CapTel News from Ultratec—Fall 2008 edition.
**************************************************
Having trouble hearing your iPod (or MP3 player) in true stereo?
If you wear hearing aids that have t-coils in them, the dual Music-Links will let you hear beautiful, clear, true-stereo sounds in both ears!
Click here to learn more.
**************************************************
===============================================
2. Beware of (Ototoxic) Drugs That Can Damage Your Ears
===============================================
Ototoxicity is Just One of the Many Side Effects of Drugs
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man explained: "I was googling to see if Biaxin [Clarithromycin] was a
contributing factor in my sudden hearing loss and discovered the site
http://www.medications.com. Both drugs I had been using were packed with user
testimonies, and Lipitor [Atorvastatin] to my surprise was one. I could not find
any reference to ototoxicity, but lots about muscle and joint pain. After
reading what a physician wrote about his experiences, which seemed to reflect my
experiences—joint pain after every exercise workout etc.—I stopped taking
Lipitor and like him, I have experienced considerable improvement in that area
too.
I also learned from the testimonies—not from my doctor—that Biaxin was the
cause of my panic attacks and that gee, I really didn’t have to see a therapist!
Soon after I stopped taking the drug, the strange, unexpected (and frightening)
attacks also stopped. Again, I did not find any reference to hearing loss or
ototoxicity with regard to Biaxin."
I'm not surprised that you didn't find any comments related to ototoxicity on
this website. This is because few people connect ear problems to the drugs they
are taking.
Furthermore, many consumer drug sites don't bother to list what they consider
"minor" side effects—and it appears they consider ototoxicity to be "minor"—so
you don't find them there. Often you will see a statement to the effect that not
all side effects are listed "here", which really helps, doesn't it?
Biaxin (Clarithromycin) is definitely ototoxic, and can cause such unwanted side
effects as hearing loss. tinnitus, dizziness and vertigo.
The PDR (Physicians' Desk Reference) is the doctors drug reference "bible". It
contains more than 3,300 pages of fine print about current drugs. For the
record, the PDR lists hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness as side effects of
both Biaxin and Lipitor, so there is no excuse for any doctor not knowing this.
As you mentioned in your comments above, it is important to consider all the
side effects of any drugs you are taking—not just the ototoxic side effects.
For example, while a drug may be damaging your ears, it may also be giving you
panic attacks and muscle pains, etc. as you discovered. Thus, it is wise to
consider ALL of a drug's side effects before you decide whether to take it or
not.
You can learn more about the ototoxic side effects of Biaxin and Lipitor in "Ototoxic Drugs Exposed". This book contains information on the ototoxicity of
these and 761 other drugs known to damage ears (and information on 148 ototoxic
chemicals too).
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Advil (Ibuprofen) and Temporary Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man asked: "Earlier this year I was diagnosed with reverse slope hearing loss
in my right ear. I noticed the loss one day when I could barely hear the person
speaking to me on the phone. I could hear with my left ear but not my right.
A hearing test revealed essentially normal hearing in my left ear. My right ear
results revealed a moderately-severe to mild hearing loss up to 1000 Hz rising
to normal levels beyond 1000 Hz. The loss appears to be sensorineural in nature
in the right ear.
Twice in the last few months it appeared that my hearing was getting better. In
the last three weeks I have stopped taking Advil and drinking coffee. Now it
appears my hearing is back! I just went for a hearing test today and voila, my
hearing loss has disappeared! My hearing in both my right ear and left are
normal. I have continued to avoid Advil which appears to be responsible for the
hearing loss I had experienced in my right ear. Can it be that Advil caused the
problem and now I am cured?"
You are correct. Sometimes all it takes is to stop taking an ototoxic medication
and your ears return to normal. Ibuprofen (Advil) is one such drug. In some
people, Ibuprofen can cause temporary hearing loss and other ear problems that
return to normal when they stop taking this drug. You appear to be one of them.
However, don't bet the farm that the ototoxic side effects will always be
temporary. I have heard from people who took Ibuprofen and have had tinnitus
ever since as a result. Thus you still want to be careful with this drug.
In addition to hearing loss Ibuprofen (Advil) can cause tinnitus, dizziness,
nystagmus and vertigo. A lot of people don't realize that Ibuprofen is quite so
ototoxic.
Note that as in your case, drug-induced hearing losses sometimes are
asymmetrical, i.e. they only affect one ear, rather than both ears as is more
common.
Ibuprofen may also affect people with cochlear implants. Recently a man
explained, "I've had recurring back problems and take NSAIDS [including
Ibuprofen] to get it under control. I've noticed from time to time that the
sound from my cochlear implant seems a little fuzzy or muddy and now realize
that it may be during the times when I'm taking those drugs that it happens." A lady
with a cochlear implant also commented, "I have been taking Advil [Ibuprofen]
for the past ten days. In that time I have not been able to understand on the
phone as well as I usually do. It might be the Advil."
Thus, if you have a cochlear implant and are taking Ibuprofen (or other
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs]) and your hearing seems worse or
"fuzzy", it could be the drugs that are causing this. If anyone else with a
cochlear implant has had similar experiences, I'd love to hear from you.
**************************************************
Having trouble hearing on your cell phone because of lack of volume or interference?
If you wear hearing aids that have t-coils in them, try the dual T-Links and
hear beautiful, clear, interference-free sounds in both ears!
Click here to learn more.
**************************************************
Can Lotemax Eye Drops Affect My Ears?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote: "I stumbled onto your web site while researching a very bizarre
phenomenon that is affecting me right now. I am 56 years old with normal hearing
except for perhaps a little age related high frequency loss (more so in my left
ear.)
Recently my ophthalmologist wrote me a prescription for Lotemax; an eye drop
that contains a steroid. I began using the drops that night and by the next day
noticed pressure in my ears and very strange sensation of ‘distorted’ sound; not from a person speaking directly at me but from reproduced sources, such as
radio, TV, music, paging systems, and from overheard human voices, i.e. voices
coming from another room or different part of the office at work.
The sound ‘wobbles’ but not quite like the old ‘talking through a pipe’ scenario
in the old days of land line phones. It’s more like the pitch of the sound or
music itself changes and moves. I looked on-line for side effects related to the
drugs and nothing matched up. The pharmacy had no ideas either."
Typically, little is mentioned about ototoxicity, especially with the more
"obscure" drugs such as Lotemax.
My drug reference books don't list any ototoxic side effects for Lotemax either,
but that doesn't mean this drug isn't ototoxic. For example, a bit of research
turned up one lady that experienced an ear disorder—whatever she meant by that
after taking Lotemax. I also found tinnitus listed as a side effect of taking
Lotemax. Therefore, even though it isn't reported in the medical literature, it
seems whatever is in Lotemax can affect the ears of some people.
The active ingredient in Lotemax is Loteprednol, and I can't find any "official"
source of ototoxic side effects for it. However, one of the "inactive"
ingredients, Benzalkonium, can be ototoxic.
Thus, based on the above, it could well be that Lotemax is indeed "messing up"
your ears as you describe it. Hopefully, your ears will return to normal when
you stop taking the drug. However, there is not enough information available to
know whether the side effects may be temporary or permanent.
===============================================
3. Answers to Your Questions
===============================================
If you have a question, or if something has been puzzling you
concerning your ears, email it to
mailto:neil@hearinglosshelp.com
and put "e-zine question" as the subject. Suitable questions will be answered here.
Singing on Key—Here's One Way to Do It
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked: "I am looking for a (small portable) device that would provide
feedback when I sing to let me know if my voice is actually matching the note on
the piano or the note sung by another singer. I know that there are computer
programs to teach voice and pitch matching but I am more interested in something
portable that I can put on my piano and carry around with me when I sing in a
choir or solo to piano accompaniment. Does such a thing exist, and if so, can
you point me in the right direction?"
Yes, such a gizmo does exist to help you sing on pitch. The good news is that it
is both portable and relatively inexpensive. The device you want is the
MetroTune (MT9000). It only costs $34.95.
One source for the MetroTune is
www.SingerCity.com. Click on the "Search" button
across the top, then put "sabine-mt9000" in the search box and you'll find it,
or better yet, just click on
this link. Check out its specifications and see whether it is just the gizmo you are looking for.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome and Mountain Travel
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A concerned mother asked: "My daughter is 9 years old and she has been hearing
impaired since she was about 2½. She has bilaterally enlarged vestibular
aqueducts, and she also has only 1½ turns on her cochlea. My question is, do
you think it would be safe for her to go into the mountains in Colorado? We live
in Illinois and want to drive to Colorado, but I wasn't sure whether the high
altitude would affect her hearing. She already has severe loss in her left ear
and moderate to severe loss in her right ear. I don't want to take any chances
with her hearing!"
I can understand your dilemma. There are no guarantees that the air pressure
changes in the Colorado mountains won't affect her hearing. However, you can
make an educated guess and then act accordingly. Here's how I would do it.
First, look at her previous hearing history. If her hearing hasn't changed much,
or at all, since she was 2½, then it is unlikely that the change in air
pressure will affect her now. However, if every little bang on her head has
affected her hearing, that would be different.
Second, if sudden changes in air pressure (fast moving storms, or going up or
down hills) cause hearing problems, then the change in altitude could do the
same. But if there haven't been any problems so far, then she will probably be fine.
Third, has she flown before? If so, did it cause any hearing problems? If not,
then driving in the mountains in Colorado wouldn't be much different than flying
in a pressurized plane as they pressurize a plane to somewhere below 8,000 feet
or so.
Children with LVAS who have stable hearing for a number of years have likely
experienced all of the above in the past, and thus aren't likely to be affected
by similar activities in the future, including enjoying the wonders of the high
mountains in Colorado.
===============================================
4. Tinnitus
===============================================
Can Alcohol Cause Tinnitus?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote: "I have a question regarding alcohol. I recently visited an
audiologist about my tinnitus after it got worse from a clubbing experience
(first time it happened due to a club). I wore ear plugs and figured I'd be
safe. She seemed convinced it was due the copious amounts of alcohol I consumed.
She said that alcohol is very bad for my ears and that I should limit my drinks.
Like an idiot, I ignored her advice the next week and my tinnitus did get worse
despite wearing some new, more powerful ear plugs (32 db of protection)!
According to her, it was the combination of loud music + daily, noisy city life
+ alcohol that did it.
However, after reading your web log
link to the Norway study of pre-school
teachers having hearing damage from loud kids, I figured that may be why. I'm a
newly-minted elementary teacher. I was hired to focus on the conversation aspect
of English education here, so day in and out it's 30 kids speaking loudly
and screaming for at least 3+ hours a day. So now I'm wearing 10 dB ear
protection!
Nevertheless, I wonder if the audiologist was still right. I'm gonna lay off the
drinks anyway. I would like to know if alcohol can lower the threshold for
hearing damage or lead to permanent damage. Is the fact that I'm drinking in a
club that much more dangerous and could possibly lead to more tinnitus?"
Just so you know, alcohol alone can cause tinnitus. Noise alone can cause
tinnitus. So can many other factors. You were wise in wearing ear protection.
However, I don't know the sound levels in the clubs you visited. Ear protectors
can only help about 30 dB or so. After that, the sound travels through your
skull via bone conduction and assaults your inner ears in spite of any ear
protection you may be wearing.
Thus for example, if the sound level in the club was way up there at 120 dB.
Your inner ears were still being exposed to around 90 dB of sound. In this case
the ear protectors were bringing it down 30 dB, but 90 dB is still too loud and
can cause damage given enough time.
You would not expect 90 dB to cause much damage in just one long evening at a
club. However, there were other less known factors coming into play too. For
example, I'm assuming that the club was also filled with smoke, right? Breathing
in that second hand smoke (or first hand if you were smoking too) exposes you to
significant amounts of nicotine.
One of nicotine's nefarious characteristics is that it works together with loud
noise in a synergistic fashion to cause more damage to your ears than you would
expect from noise alone or nicotine alone. Thus, even with wearing ear
protectors, the presence of smoke could make your ears more sensitive to noise damage at the reduced level of noise that you thought wouldn't damage your
ears.
Carbon monoxide has the same nefarious characteristic, and in smoke filled
rooms, there is more carbon monoxide than normal too.
In addition, for example, maybe you get headaches from all the noise at the club
so you take a couple of aspirin. Guess what? Aspirin lowers the noise tolerance
that your ears can stand before damage, just like nicotine and carbon monoxide do.
Thus you have the effects of alcohol, noise, nicotine and carbon monoxide, and
maybe some pain killers—each of them ototoxic in their own right and causing
damage to your ears. Then you have the synergistic effects of noise and nicotine
and the synergistic effects of noise and carbon monoxide, etc. That is just some
of the things your ears are dealing with in the clubs. All these little things
can add up to cause big problems for your ears.
On top of that you have all the noise and exposure to drugs and chemicals that
also can damage your ears in your day to day living apart from clubs. And on top
of that still is all the noise you are exposed to as a pre-school teacher.
(Can't you get the kids to pipe down? It shouldn't be that noisy or the kids are
going to have hearing problems too!)
So putting it all together, I'm not surprised that your ears have taken a
beating. If you value your health and your ears, you'll cut way down on your
alcohol consumption and noisy clubbing too.
If you are interested in learning more about what you can do to
help bring your tinnitus under your control, you would do well
to read my book, "When Your Ears Ring! Cope With Your
Tinnitus—Here's How".
===============================================
5. Effective Coping Strategies
===============================================
My Mom Won't Wear Her Hearing Aids
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A concerned (and frustrated) daughter wrote "I’m hoping that you can help me. My
mother is 63 and has significant hearing loss which was diagnosed about 20 years
ago. She bought hearing aids about 2 years ago and has never, ever used them.
She is not in denial about her hearing loss. Her excuse is simply, 'If I wear my
hearing aids, I'll hear all of the things that I don’t normally hear and it will
drive me crazy.' The worst part is that when my mother doesn’t hear everything
someone says she will simply fill in her own blanks—which creates arguments and
disagreements amongst her family and friends. She will always interpret what she
missed in the most negative way, and then gets her feelings hurt over something
no one said to her. This is unbelievably frustrating. I am tired of repeating
myself and talking too loud, and also being the arbitrator in arguments that I
know stem 99% of the time because my mother didn’t hear what she thought she
heard.
How can I convince her that hearing the good things in life is far more
important that being bothered by occasional noise?"
Some people just aren't ready to wear hearing aids when someone pressures them
to get them. Actually, this happens a lot! The time to get hearing aids is when
you are ready to wear them, not when someone says you need them. (Yes, the
person does need them—but it is just wasted money if they then never wear
them.)
Your mother has a valid point when she says, “If I wear the hearing aids, I will
be able to hear all of the things that I don’t normally hear and it will drive
me crazy.”
Your mom hasn't heard many of these background sounds for a number of years, and
thus hearing them all at once is nerve-wracking to say the least.
The solution to this is that your mom has to slowly learn to wear her hearing
aids—first in quiet surroundings so there are no other noises to blast her
ears. In such quiet surroundings, she should converse with one person. When she
is comfortable doing that, then she can slowly graduate to noisier places and do
the same. Over time her brain will adjust to the extra noise, but this takes up
to 3 months—so don't hurry the process.
Like your mom, I don't hear everything someone says—whether I wear my hearing
aids or not. You see, hearing aids aren't perfect. Thus, if your expectation is
that she will hear everything, you and she will be sadly disappointed. If both
of you go with the expectation that in quiet surroundings she will hear quite a
bit more than she does now, then you have the right expectations. In noisy
situations, all bets are off unless she also uses assistive listening devices.
You explain how your mom, when she misses something, "simply fills in her own
blanks—which creates arguments and disagreements among her family and friends."
Don't be too hard on your mom. When we (hard of hearing people) miss words, we
naturally try to fill in the blanks—sometimes we fill them in with the right
words, and sometimes with the wrong words. Unfortunately, if we miss a key word,
what we think we hear is likely totally "off the wall". Problems arise when we
insist that what we thought we heard is what you said. Part of adjusting to
being hard of hearing is realizing that what we think we hear is often not what
was actually said. Thus, we need to be flexible to others telling us what really
was said when they realize we are off track.
I understand your frustration about repeating yourself. However, look at it this
way. If you have to repeat yourself, this just shows that you are not doing the
right things so that your mom can hear and understand you the first time.
Use me for an example. If you are going to talk to me and I don't have my
hearing aids on, you are going to have to get close (and by close I mean almost
nose to nose, not talking to me from across a room). Furthermore, you need to
have adequate light on your face and you must be facing me so I can speechread
you. Also, you need to speak clearly and maybe a bit more slowly. If you don't
do these things every time, you will just have to repeat yourself (and get
frustrated in the process).
Thus, when talking to a hard of hearing person, you need to meet their
communication needs before you start talking.
You ask, "How can I convince my mom that hearing the good things in life is far
more important that being bothered by occasional noise?"
I think you have the wrong idea about what you call "occasional noise". To you,
there are foreground sounds (like the person you are talking to) and background
sounds (environmental sounds, etc. that you ignore).
When you are hard of hearing, there is no such thing as foreground and
background sounds—they are all in the foreground so are annoying and loud—and
trying to hear someone through them at times is nigh to being impossible.
That is why wearing hearing aids in quiet places with one person talking and
being no more than 6 or so feet apart is the ideal. Under those conditions,
wearing hearing aids really helps. However, when you add in noise and distance,
hearing aids rapidly become less and less helpful. When it is too noisy, wearing
hearing aids can actually make things worse, not better.
This is why hearing aids are not the whole answer. In order to successfully live
with a hearing loss, you need to do four things (after you have accepted and
adjusted emotionally and psychologically to your hearing loss). These four
things
are not optional—they are all equally important.
They are:
- Get and wear (when appropriate) properly fitted hearing aids.
- Supplement the hearing aids with assistive listening devices when noise and
distance interfere.
- Learn to speechread (lip reading was the older term).
- Learn and practice the myriads of proper hearing loss coping skills such as
get close, face the person, have adequate light on your face, cut out background
noise, etc, etc.
If your mom will do all four of these things, she will understand ever so much
more (and you will not be so frustrated either).
However, you need to remember that communication is a two-way street, thus
both
you and your mom have to do your respective parts. Your mom has to do the above
4 things, and you have to accommodate her hearing needs (basically point 4
above). When you both do this, you'll both be much happier
and communication will be ever so much easier!
For more information on communicating with hard of hearing people get the short
easy-to-read book "Talking With Hard of Hearing People—Here's How to Do It
Right!".
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Tips for Getting a Job When You Have a Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A hard of hearing man explained: "I have a Bachelor of Commerce degree and want
to work as an accountant. However, no one will hire me as an accountant because
of my hearing loss. What jobs are good for hard of hearing people to do? What do
I need to do to get hired?"
First, my advice is to do what you love doing in spite of your hearing loss. And
if that is accounting, then go after such jobs.
You ask an excellent question, "What do I need to do to get hired since I have a
hearing loss.
First, put the hearing loss issue aside for the moment. In order to get a job,
you need to be the best applicant. That's it. You get the job because you are
the most qualified and have the best "fit" for the position in the company.
Therefore, although you are hard of hearing, you need to do what every other
prospective employee does—get the best training, etc. you can, then apply for
positions for which you are best fitted.
Second, doing the above may not be enough because your prospective boss may have
reservations about hiring you since you have a hearing loss. He's thinking of
the problems your hearing loss may cause and the extra dollars it will cost him
to accommodate your needs. In his mind this is a black mark against hiring you.
Therefore, what you need to do is be proactive and demonstrate to him that your
hearing loss isn't an issue because you have already worked out solutions to
potential problems. Effectively, you have erased the black mark before it was
even made. Now you can compete on a level playing field.
Breaking this down further, when it comes right down to it, you don't need good
hearing in order to put numbers on a piece of paper or computer—you just need
training and brains, but you do need "hearing" to be an effective cog in the
corporate "machine". Therefore, think about all the places where you need
"hearing"—and then think of ways you can communicate in spite of your poor
hearing. Maybe it's using amplified phones, or using email instead of phoning.
If you can't hear the boss—maybe have him email or IM you instead. In meetings
know what assistive devices will help you, that kind of thing.
When a potential employer sees that you have answers already worked out to all
the potential problems, and that it won't cost him an arm and a leg, then he is
going to be more inclined to give you the job (if you are the best qualified) as
he sees that you are a go getter—you have already planned out how to succeed.
(He figures if you are that proactive in one area, you will do the same for him
with the job and that counts for some more "brownie points".)
Employers want to know up front what it is going to "cost" them to hire you. If
you show them that the benefits of hiring you outweigh the "costs", then they
are going to be happy to hire you. However, if they see your hearing loss as a
"cost" with no compensating benefits, you don't get the job.
Even little things such as "I'm not easily distracted from my work because I
don't hear all the distracting sounds and people talking around me so I'll be
more productive than hearing people." or, "I won't be wasting time standing
around the water cooler talking with other employees since I can't hear them. I'll be
busy working for you instead." are benefits to the employer.
When an employer sees that your communications plan actually works (because you
have successfully demonstrated that in the interview), your hearing loss ceases
to be an issue. You are now well on your way to landing your dream position.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
The Benefits of Hearing and Speechreading Together
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
One lady asked, "I was wondering if it is possible to speech read what people
are saying if you can't hear them at all? I am finding that if I can hear them
even a little bit, I can speech read a lot of what they are saying. but if I
can't hear them at all, I have a real hard time making out words. Does this make sense?"
You are right on target. You can often speechread short remarks quite well
without hearing a sound, but for longer conversations even a bit of hearing
makes understanding ever so much easier.
For example, studies have shown that by using residual hearing alone, or
speechreading alone, you might get about 20-30% of the conversation, but when
using both your residual hearing and speechreading at the same time, you can
expect to get 80% or even more. This is my experience also.
**************************************************
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Regaining Balance—One Man’s Story
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D., with Tony
In 2005, Tony had surgery to remove a large (4.5 cm) acoustic neuroma
(non-malignant tumor) growing on his left auditory nerve. In the course of
removing the acoustic neuroma, the surgeon, not only had to cut the auditory
nerve leaving him totally deaf in his left ear, but also sever the vestibular
nerve, thus totally destroying the balance system on his left side. The result
of this surgery left Tony wheelchair-bound. However, he didn’t stay there. With
vestibular therapy and much hard work, Tony now can lug his golf bag around the
course as he plays 36 holes of golf. Here is his story.
______________________
Three years ago I lost a balance nerve to surgery and was left in a wheelchair.
I could not walk unassisted, and had to relearn how to balance myself again.
This was a long process. However, given the benefits and independence I now
have, it certainly was worth it!
After the surgery, my first experience with poor balance occurred when I fell
out of my hospital bed—face down onto the floor with some force. Ouch! You see,
the surgery had cost me my left side balance, and I didn’t realize just how
“shot” my balance system was.
As the days went by, I became increasingly aware that my lack of balance was
affecting me in many other ways. For example, I fell numerous times. (In
self-defense, I kept an eye out for somewhere soft to land if possible. I needed
an area where a fall was not going to hurt me.) I collided with people and
objects. I was clumsy. I often dropped things. I found it was a good idea to
stay away from work on ladders!
Furthermore, I had trouble coordinating my left and right hands. This was
brought home to me 8 weeks later when I was trimming the hedge and nearly lost a
finger to the electric cutters!
Each day as the hours went by, I became more and more tired. The result was that
my coordination became progressively worse to the point where I was not able to
move around safely.
Consciously keeping my balance proved to be exhausting. I experienced profound
fatigue when engaged in almost any task, whether physical or mental. My lack of
balance affected my speech too. The wrong words came out, or I mispronounced words.
My short-term memory dropped dramatically. You see, the effort involved in
consciously maintaining balance like I now had to do affected my short-term
memory. As a result, in addition to my speech problems, I easily forgot simple
things, and was forever losing things.
For several months after my surgery, I needed a midday nap. Unfortunately,
napping messed up my night-time sleep patterns, and I would be awake in the
early morning hours. The result was that I invariably awoke exhausted before the
day had even started! All these balance-related problems reduced my
self-confidence. I became both frustrated and depressed.
While I was still in the hospital rehabilitation unit, I was determined to get
well. I requested assistance in using the gymnasium, but was told no one was
available to help me. Next day, while still in my wheelchair, I broke into the
gym and began using the equipment by myself. They were not too impressed with my
actions (I was spotted on the security cameras), but I made my point. The
following day suddenly staff were available to assist me. I made rapid progress.
My stay was just 32 days, not the expected average of 82 days.
To get my balance back I needed to exercise. To some degree it almost doesn’t
matter what the exercise will be. The real key is to do something that you
really enjoy and be able to stick at over a long period of time. For me that was
playing golf!
Hospital rehabilitation got me walking again, but my first golf experience
showed me just how weak and frail I had become. For example, when playing my
first golf game (four months post operation), I could only manage four holes
before becoming completely exhausted.
Therefore, I set out on a course to rebuild both my balance and my stamina.
Fortunately I was (and still am) a keen golfer, so I did not consider time
devoted to playing golf as a big issue.
Golf involves a combination of balance, movement, and eye/hand coordination. In
this respect, golfing was an ideal therapy for me. Throughout all the days,
whether sunny or rainy, I don’t ever recall thinking “this is a chore”. Rather,
my feelings were, “I am getting better” (both my balance and my golf game)!
Throughout all this rehabilitation I felt so tired—close to complete collapse
was more like it. However, I discovered that if I simply stopped, sat down
somewhere quiet, and shut my eyes for 10 or 15 minutes, something quite
miraculous happened. These short breaks were equivalent to about four hours
sleep in terms of my body’s recovery. They had the added advantage that they did
not disrupt my night-time sleep patterns.
I really pushed myself. However, there is a fine line between pushing yourself
and overdoing it. When I really did overdo things, my coordination became
increasingly erratic. At this point, drills, power tools and hammers were simply
too dangerous for me to use—best kept safe for another day.
Over time, my strength and stamina slowly returned. I was now able to take on
increasingly longer and more demanding exercises. My average golf practice now
consisted of 140-160 long-range shots, considerably more than in a full game of golf.
As my balance improved, I also noticed that my thinking and coordination
improved as well. I could now get through a day without a nap.
Just how much I have improved really came home to me when I moved 300 sidewalk
slabs (over three and a half tons) from the front of my house to the back
garden. It took me four hours. Yes, I was smashed afterwards, and hurt just
about everywhere, but I did it!
My balance will never be perfect. My new balance system requires a visual point
of reference. In other words, if it is completely dark, even simple movements
are difficult. Thus, in the dark I find it wise to carry a flashlight. At home,
I use low-wattage nightlights in the hall. This makes a big difference when I
am moving around in the early hours.
When walking up and down stairs I usually extend both elbows out as additional
stabilizers. I’d rather have a bruised elbow than a bruised head! Uneven ground
almost always presents a challenge for me. I’ve found it best not to try and
carry stuff in such circumstances.
I am not anti-alcohol, but my new balance system does not cope as well with the
effects of alcohol as my old one did. My tolerance to alcohol is now reduced.
These days I only drink at home when there is no possibility of any further
travel or driving that day.
Because my brain is more occupied with keeping me balanced than in remembering
things, I’ve found that it is worthwhile for me to take notes during meetings
and to create to-do lists rather than relying on my now faulty memory.
Without a doubt, regaining my independence definitely helped my feelings of
self-esteem and self-confidence. I can now work a 12 hour day with a two-hour
journey at each end. Equally, I now understand and value rest when I can take
it. All of this was possible only because I took the rebuilding of my balance
and my health to be a fundamental and key issue in my life. Now, I am no longer
confined to a wheelchair, or to walking with a cane. Finally, and to the disgust
of my golfing friends, I can now beat them at their own game! This I call
“success!”
______________________
To learn more about your balance system, how all the various parts work together
and what happens when it gets damaged, read “Protect Your Balance System—or
Else”.
If your balance system has been damaged, take courage and follow Tony’s example.
Never give up. Rebuild your balance system as much as is humanly possible. When
you do that, you too will find your level of success!
===============================================
6. Information on Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants
and/or Assistive Devices
===============================================
Room Loops—Hearing the TV and People Talking at the Same Time
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote: "With a room loop system, will I be able to understand people in
the same room at the same time if I'm listening to the TV through my hearing
aids telecoils?"
The short answer is, "That depends"
There are two ways you can accomplish this if you so desire. One way is to have
one of the memories in your hearing aids programmed to have both the microphone
and t-coil on at the same time. When you want to hear both the TV and people
talking in the room, simply switch to that memory.
Another way to accomplish the same thing, but leaving your hearing aids
programmed to t-coil mode only is to plug in an external microphone to the
microphone jack on the back of the Univox loop amplifier. Now you will hear the
TV (via its audio outs and patch cord to the Univox loop amplifier the same as
before, and you will hear anything that comes through that external microphone
(people's voices) as well. For best results, place the microphone close to the
people talking so the TV's sound track does not drown them out.
Personally, I'd never do either. I have so much trouble hearing that I want only
one source of sound at a time. Trying to hear a person talking over the TV
programming is just an exercise in futility (and vice versa). I wouldn't be able
to understand much either way.
My preference is to use the t-coil setting and listen exclusively to the TV.
When people talk, I'd switch to the hearing aid's microphones, and mute the TV
so it wouldn't interfere with my hearing their voices. (Of course, I'd also have
the closed captions on—so everyone could still read what the TV is saying.)
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Hearing in the Classroom: An Assistive Device for Hard of Hearing Teachers
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A hard of hearing teacher wrote: "It seems to me that loop systems and FM
systems are better for students than for teachers. How would either benefit a
teacher? It seems that those systems are set up to have one person (usually the
teacher) wear the microphone and the sound gets to the students. But how does
that work when there are 25 kids and the teacher is hard of hearing?"
This is a basic problem with assistive devices such as room loops and FM
systems. They are made to go from one hearing person to one or more hard of
hearing people, not from many hearing people to one hard of hearing person like you need.
If you had a small classroom, it is possible to add 2 or 3 microphones scattered
around the room all feeding into a loop system for example—but the students
still must pass the microphones around for this to be truly effective.
One solution (and one that was specifically designed for a hard of hearing
teacher by the way) is to use a PockeTalker, neckloop and a super-directional
microphone. I have found this combination is quite effective. Typically, I use
mine at noisy conferences, but it also works well in quiet situations as well.
You might want to try it and see how well it works for you.
If you are going to use this system with your hearing aids, you need hearing
aids with t-coils. Then you need a
PockeTalker, a
neckloop
and the
super-directional microphone I love.
If you don't wear hearing aids, you can skip the neckloop and add earbuds
instead. I often do this as it works wonderfully well for my particular hearing
loss.
Note: when you switch your hearing aids to t-coil mode, much of the background
noise in the classroom is blocked out. You only hear what enters the directional
microphone. Compared to just using your hearing aids, the difference is quite
dramatic.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Special Voice Amplified Phones for People with Very Weak Voices
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote: "I thought there was a cordless phone out there that could do all
the things that a regular phone could do, but could also amplify my voice as
well as the voice of the person I am talking to?"
I'm not aware of any voice amplified cordless (or cell) phone currently
available. There are special desktop phones that give up to 26 dB of outgoing
voice amplification if needed.
These phones are for people who have had throat operations, damaged vocal cords,
or otherwise have exceptionally weak voices.
If you are also hard of hearing, you can get a phone that also has up to 35 dB
of incoming amplification. That way you can hear the person at the other end,
and they will be able to hear you.
There are also special portable devices that will amplify a person's voice.
Again, these are for people with exceptionally weak voices, or those with
damaged vocal cords. The extra 12 or 15 dB these devices produce makes it
possible for those around them with normal hearing to hear them.
If you are interested in a portable voice amplifier, or voice amplified phone,
email me at neil@hearinglosshelp.com and I'll help you find the best
device for your needs.
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HEARING LOSS HELP E-zine
Neil Bauman, Publisher
Center for Hearing Loss Help
49 Piston Court
Stewartstown, PA 17363 USA
Phone: (717) 993-8555
Fax (717) 993-6661
http://www.hearinglosshelp.com
neil@hearinglosshelp.com
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