Hearing Loss Help  

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A mother wrote:

A few weeks ago my son’s digital hearing aid stopped working and he got very upset because he was in the middle of exams and didn’t want to have to send the aid away for repairs just then. I wangled a emergency appointment for that night with the audiologist. After he listened to my son’s recounting of how the hearing aid was(n’t) working, he broke into a relaxed grin and said that he knew exactly what the problem was. The ear hook, although we couldn’t see this, was filled with condensation. He changed the ear hook, and the aid has worked perfectly ever since.

He gave my son some extra ear hooks, to replace future condensation filled ones. Last week, my son had to replace the other aids’ ear hook. The audiologist said that the need for ear hook replacement was common. I know that neither set of my son’s analog aids, used over the course of 6 years needed this, so maybe this is the future for digital aids.

Normally condensation builds up in the tubes—suddenly forms a drop and wham—the sound shuts down instantly. When this happens, you just remove the tube from the ear hook and blow the moisture out, put it back together and you’re back in business. only takes a minute.

Like you, I’ve never had problems with moisture blocking regular ear hooks. But even if it ever did, I’d just take the ear hook off and blow it out and be back in business.

However, problems arise if the ear hooks have filters built into them. These filters collect moisture and do indeed block hearing. I had one set like this. When they blocked, I just destroyed the filters by pushing a needle through them. (I think your son’s ear hooks may have filters in them.)

After that, I used to use tiny foam filters in the top of my tubes instead. When they filled with moisture, I’d blow the filter out and put a new one in. This is easier than having to carry spare hooks (and cheaper too). Even if you don’t have your spare filters handy just blowing out the moisture-filled one gives you hearing back for the rest of the day until you get home and replace the filter. (These filters are free from your audiologist—at least mine were.)

In order to help prevent such problems it is a good idea to put your hearing aids in a jar of dessicant each night or use the Dry-n-Store, which not only evaporates the moisture, but also uses unltaviolet light to kills “bugs” on the earmold which greatly reduces ear canal infections.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A young man wrote:

My girlfriend has a hearing issue. When listening to music, she cannot hear the high, metallic sounds, like cymbals tapping to a beat–sounds that are produced by the tweeter. Sounds that sound like TSK TSK TSK TSK TSK, she cannot hear. She doesn’t have hearing loss, in terms of volume. What is this? Is there anything to worry about?

Although you say your girlfriend doesn’t have a hearing loss, what you describe shows that she does indeed have a significant hearing loss.

The reason for your confusion is that you are partly right and partly wrong in your conclusion. You see, your girlfriend seems to have normal (or near normal) hearing in the lower frequencies so you are right—she doesn’t have a hearing loss in the lower frequencies.

However, as you have observed, she doesn’t hear high frequency sounds—so she does indeed have a significant high-frequency hearing loss.

You ask, “Is this anything to be worried about?”

The short answer is anything that destroys hearing is something to “worry” about. She should address the cause so she won’t lose more hearing in the future.

I’d suggest she head to an audiologist and ask for a “complete audiological evaluation.” Then you both will know exactly what her hearing is like. (It wouldn’t hurt to have your hearing checked at the same time!)

I suspect in her case, listening to loud music over the years has caused this damage to her high-frequency hearing. In the future, if she continues to listen to loud music, her hearing loss will progress to the lower frequencies and you will notice she then will have difficulty understanding you.

The best preventative is not to listen to music louder than 80 decibels. If the music is louder than a person talking loudly, then it is most likely too loud. In situations where the volume is louder than that, she (and you) should wear ear plugs, or better yet, turn down the volume. Both of your ears will thank you.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady asked:

I found on your web site a statement about Maxalt causing ataxia. Do you have any idea how long it can last?

This is one of the mysteries of ototoxic drugs—just how long an side effect will last. Some side effects only appear while you are taking the drug. Others disappear in the weeks or months following stopping the drug. In some cases, the side effects are permanent. Unfortunately, very little study is done on ototoxic side effects for most drugs, so not much is known for certain.

In the case of Rizatriptan, I have no information on whether side effects are permanent or not—only that it can cause ataxia (staggering gait) in up to 1% of the people taking it.

Typically, (if there is such a thing as “typical”), balance problems such as ataxia go away after you get used to the drug—perhaps in a couple of weeks or so, but it may never go away.

I find it interesting that you have ataxia, but have not mentioned having any of the other ototoxic side effects of Rizatriptan such as hearing loss, hyperacusis (when normal sounds are now too loud), tinnitus (ringing in the ears), dizziness, vertigo (spinning sensation) and ear pain.

Either you did not link these side effects to the Maxalt you are taking, or it just goes to show that a person may get zero, one, or more side effects. You do not have to experience them all.

If you would like more information on the ototoxicity of Rizatriptan and the 763 other drugs known to damage ears, check out Ototoxic Drugs Exposed.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man explained:

I have a question about tinnitus. I have it in the left ear. It started suddenly last February. I had the usual tests from three ENTs. They couldn’t figure out what caused it, so I started learning about tinnitus (which included reading your excellent book on tinnitus). I have a slight high-frequency hearing loss at 8 kHz (which is also the pitch of my tinnitus).

Here’s my question. I started a treatment called Neuromonics, which involves listening to music from a special device that has been shifted to be louder at the pitch of your tinnitus. The idea is that the auditory cortex is not getting enough stimulation at these frequencies, and thus causes tinnitus. My problem is that after a week of using the device, my tinnitus started getting louder—much louder—and the increase in loudness persisted for many hours after using the device. So I stopped the treatment. My tinnitus is not usually reactive to sound in this way—in fact, in many cases, sounds seem to quiet it down a bit. Have you heard of this treatment, and do you have any thoughts on it? Would you continue after having the reaction I had?

I don’t think I would continue a treatment that makes your tinnitus even louder than before. It doesn’t seem to be the right treatment for you.

What a lot of people fail to realize is that there are 10 or 12 “kinds” of tinnitus, and depending on your specific type of tinnitus, you need a treatment that works specifically for it—not just some generic treatment that assumes all tinnitus responds the same way.

For example, if your tinnitus is caused by your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) being out of place, then the Neuromonics treatment wouldn’t work, because it is trying to fix the wrong problem.

However, if your tinnitus is the result of hearing loss, then I think this treatment may have some merit. One caution, if your hearing loss and tinnitus are the result of noise damage, then your ears are likely more sensitive to louder sounds, and thus the louder Neuromonics music could make your tinnitus worse. Perhaps this is what is happening in your case.

Louder sounds can definitely increase your tinnitus. For example, my tinnitus gets much louder after talking on the phone for any length of time since I need the volume up very loud in order to hear/understand. As a result, my tinnitus screams at me for a while after I hang up the phone. If something like this is happening in your case I’d suggest you turn the volume down. It seems you have too much aural stimulation the way it is set now.

Normally louder sounds mask your tinnitus and drown it out, but in your case, it is making your tinnitus worse.

Does Neuromonics work? Obviously it works for some people, but I don’t have first-hand experience with this treatment, nor have I talked to anyone that has actually had success with it.

If you want to continue with the Neuromonics treatment, I’d suggest you give it one more trial with the volume turned down and see what happens. If that doesn’t keep your tinnitus at its normal level or lower, then I’d say the Neuromonics gizmo either isn’t adjusted right for you, or it just won’t work for you. Discuss the issues I’ve raised with your Neuromonics audiologist and see what they suggest.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A mother wrote:

My son got a hearing aid in May and the ear piece is cracking already. This is his first hearing aid, so I have no idea what to expect. Is this normal?

Yes, it is normal for the tubes to become harder and more brittle as the months go by, and eventually they get so brittle they will crack or snap off if you wait that long before replacing them.

Furthermore, when the tubes stiffen, they make wearing hearing aids uncomfortable as the tubes shrink in length and thus pull on the top front of your ears and can make your ears sore there.

There are at least two factors affecting how fast ear mold tubes stiffen, and thus need to be replaced. One is exposure to sunlight. Another is the oils in your skin—your particular body chemistry. Thus some people have to replace their tubes every 4 months or so, others can go 6 to 8 months, and some people get away with only replacing them every year or so. (I just replaced my tubes at 11 months (they were pretty stiff and I should have done it sooner), while my wife has gone almost 2 years—but needs to get her tubes replaced soon.)

I think normally you should expect to replace your tubes at least once or twice a year on the average. When they start to stiffen up, that’s your signal that its time to replace them.

Another mother asked:

Do you mean the plastic “tube” that is attached to the hearing aid itself that curves around the ear, or do you mean the tube that attaches to the ear mold and then fits into the first plastic tube?

The piece of plastic that is attached to the hearing aid is called the “ear hook.” The ear hook is hard to start with and should never need replacing. It doesn’t shrink.

The plastic tube I am talking about is the one that fits onto the ear hook and goes to the ear mold.

It should be so soft it sort of flops the ear mold around if you hold the hearing aid itself. If it holds its position and doesn’t flop, it is too hard by far.

If you go to the audiologist you purchased your hearing aids from, they should replace the tubes for free. Otherwise they may charge between $5.00 and $15.00 each to replace them.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A parent asked:

Can you please tell me if the antibiotic “Bactrim” is known to be ototoxic? My son was prescribed this medication because of an exposure to whooping cough.”

Bactrim (Trimethoprim) is somewhat ototoxic. It is not known to cause hearing loss, but it can cause tinnitus (ringing in the ears), ataxia (staggering gait), dizziness and vertigo (sensation of spinning).

Who knows whether your son will have any of these side effects–but at least you now know what to watch for.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man wrote

Because I have a lot of grass to mow I spend 2 to 4 hours per week on a riding mower. My question is how best to protect what is left of my hearing. I believe my best options are high quality ear muffs or noise canceling ear muffs.

I’m glad you are concerned about your remaining hearing because once it’s gone, it’s gone!

I would think that good ear muffs with a protection rating of about 30 dB would be more than adequate. All you are trying to do is bring the loud sounds down to 80 dB or so. With a 30 dB rating, you could be in noise as loud as 110 dB–and I doubt your riding mower is that loud.

My ear muffs work so well for me I can’t even hear my motor running. (I use a walk behind mower.)

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man asked:

I just wanted to find out how much a 250 microgram (mcg) dose of Xanax (Alprazolam) compares with a 1 milligram (mg) tablet of Valium (Diazepam). I can’t seem to work this out!

It’s quite easy. There are 1,000 micrograms (mcg) in a milligram (mg), so 4 x 250 microgram tablets would be the same as 1 mg.

However, this has nothing to do with the strength of the various drugs. The strength of drugs varies, so, for exmaple, a 250 mcg dose of one drug might be pharmaceutically equivalent to a 5 mg dose of another drug. This is another story entirely.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady wrote:

Since 2002 my hearing has gone down rapidly and during that time I have been into bikram yoga 3 to 4 times a week. This yoga is called “hot yoga,” and is done in a room with a temperature of 105 degrees. It is strenuous work and goes on for one and a half hours.

I really like doing this yoga, it is very detoxifing. When we are through the class, we are basically soaking wet with sweat. It feels great.

I know technically this would not cause hearing to get worse, however, my intuition is telling me that this is causing my hearing to get worse and that I should not do it anymore. Please let me know your thoughts on this. It has been running around in my mind for some time.

The yoga exercises themselves don’t cause hearing loss. However, it is well known that high fevers can, and do, cause hearing loss. in fact, high fevers account for about 1,200 to 1,800 cases of hearing loss in the US each year.

You are essentially simulating a high fever by doing a strenuous workout in a 105 degree room. As you intuitively think, this could well be the problem in your case. (I don’t see anything wrong with your intuition!)

Doing the same yoga exercises in say a 70 degree room likely wouldn’t cause you any problem. Therefore, in your case, if there are no other factors causing the hearing loss (such as heredity, autoimmune diseases, virusus, etc., etc.) the artificially-induced high body temperature may well be the culprit.

I’d do the yoga–but in a much cooler room and see if the hearing loss keeps progressing. If it doesn’t progress any more, then you know it was very likely the high temperatures that did your ears in. Your inner ears may be more sensitive to high temperatures than is the case with the rest of your classmates.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man explained:

On one of the C.I. [cochlear implant] discussion boards, we’ve been having a discussion that I’m certain you can help with. We are discussing how to get a stereo signal (say out of an iPod) split into a right and a left channel for bilateral C.I. recipients. The female plug from the iPod is 1/8″. Each C.I. processor has a DAI [direct audio input] cord with a 1/8″ male plug. Do you know of a splitter/Y-adapter that can be plugged into the iPod and then have each DAI from each C.I. plug into it such that there is a receptacle (female plug) for the right channel and the left channel? Please let me know if you know of any such device.

The gizmo you want is Radio Shack’s Y adapter Model #274-375. Cost is only $4.99. You plug the Y adapter into the iPod and plug the two mono patch cords into each side of the Y and from there, one to each of the CIs. This should work slick. (Note: If your CI patch cords have stereo plugs on them, then this solution won’t work.)

He continues:

I’m going to post your information to the list and reference your excellent website discussion of Music Links and their stereo capabilities. I remember from reading your website that what we are trying to accomplish can be done via t-coils and using the Music Links.

That is true. The Music-Links would plug into the iPod and if your CI and/or hearing aids have t-coils, you’d hear in stereo. In fact, you could do this with one hearing aid and one cochlear implant if both have t-coils.