I go to see my audiologist tomorrow because the silicon cone that holds the hearing aid in place came off inside my ear. This is the second time it has happened. my wife was able to pluck it out the first time. She can't even see it this time. I'm a tad anxious because I basically have zero useful hearing in the other ear....
I have not been willing to give up shooting all together as my audiologist suggested but I avoid other people's muzzle blast as much as possible. This channel puts out some useful hearing related content. I figured others here might find this interesting.
My niece is my audiologist. Last I knew, her claim was "Once it's gone - it's gone" I may be looking at a cochlear implant - at some point. Loss of cognizance comes into play in this.
I've always been a curmudgeon - now I'm an old curmudgeon. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Keep us posted of you go this route........I suffer from otosclorosis (sp) and had the surgery to put in prosthetics but the surgery did not work for me. However the audiologist after testing showed I had a 10% improvement on my "lower range" so the surgeon considers my surgery "successful"
I am REALLY skeptical of the hearing game these days. Forked out a ton of cash only to be told to buy a hearing aid.
I was tested every year at work. When I went from working out in the field to working in a quiet office my test results indicated mine improved a little.
cognizance /kŏg′nĭ-zəns/ noun Conscious knowledge or recognition; awareness. The range of what one can know or understand. Observance; notice. "We will take cognizance of your objections at the proper time." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Yep, good vocabulary building word and spot on too. I'm glad I love to read but my interaction with others is on the decline. Being in a room where there are multiple conversations going on first wears me out and then soon has me headed toward the door.
My right ear went from near perfect hearing to total hearing loss overnight about 13 years ago. It was not because of excessive noise. I'd been tested regularly as part of my job for years and my right ear was the good one. I had been told my left ear (the one closest to the muzzle blast for a right-handed shooter) had a slight loss.
They can't tell me for sure why. Was told when this happens it is often because of a brain tumor but an MRI showed no tumors. This doesn't happen to enough people for there to be a lot of research, but they THINK that one of the tiny blood vessels going to my auditory nerve either burst or became clogged shutting off the blood supply.
I took 2 rounds of steroids in the hopes that it would regenerate growth and regain blood flow to the nerve. It was partially successful. Before the meds I was 100% deaf in that ear. I couldn't hear a thing. After the meds I can now hear sounds in that ear, but it is garbled. Had I made it to a Doc a few days earlier it may have actually helped. I noticed it about 2-3 days before I broke down and saw my Doc.
I looked into a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid which is similar to a cochlear implant. Not ready for that yet. I hear well enough out of my left ear to get by. I can no longer determine the direction sound comes from. Is a real handicap when hunting.
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
"...They can't tell me for sure why. Was told when this happens it is often because of a brain tumor but an MRI showed no tumors....".
The doc I saw a few years ago thought tumor do the severity of loss in my left ear.... Thankfully the MRI did not show that but it was during peak Covid and it took 2 1/2 weeks to get the MRI done.... that was a long wait from my perspective.
I have 2 hearing aids now the one on my left side acts as a sort of wireless radio repeater to send higher pitched sounds over to my right ear. I know what you mean about no sense of directional hearing though.
Between turbine engines, chain saws and Mark III pumps I have 85% loss in the left ear, 90 in the right and HORRIBLE tenitis in both. Hopefully there is a cure out there someplace.
I now have hearing aids. But before that event I was out hunting and things were dropping on the ground around me. It was a squirrel I was unable to detect wit the hearing loss in my left ear. There was just no directional aspect to it. Squirrel hunting is one of my passions. I love to sneak up on one and just watch him if he is unaware. I hope all you guys protect yourself to preserve what hearing you still have. Getting old sucks in some ways but the alternative? ........ RZ.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
