Myth-Busting Mondays: How many people have some level of hearing loss? watch

**furryface12** · 08-05-2016 00:07

This week's myth-busting Mondays is on hearing impairments!

Hearing impairments come in many forms and can affect people at any time, with the risk of permanent loss increasing with age. It can be either genetic or environmental. In the UK it is estimated that around 6.7 million people do or could benefit from using hearing aids of some kind, 900,000 of whom are severely or profoundly (completely) deaf. The likelihood of people successfully adapting to using these is higher if the loss is less severe, yet it takes people on average 10 years to seek help for it.

Other related problems include tinnitis (where noises are heard inside the ear), dizziness and balance problems and hyperacusis (an increased sensitivity to sound). Many people with some form of hearing loss also experience these, depending on the type, cause and severity of the loss.

Our question this week is how many UK 17-29 year olds have some level of hearing loss? Share your ideas and experiences below- remember that you can also post anonymously in this thread

**BurstingBubbles** · 09-05-2016 10:20

(Original post by furryface12)
x

Fab thread, really informative

I had tinnitus for a couple years but it seems to have faded now. Seems worse in stressful situations. Anyone else had this?

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Nirgilis · 09-05-2016 10:24

I have better hearing in one ear than the other . It's quite irritating when I want to swap hands with the phone but the surrounding is too loud to have a conversation with the other ear

Don't spend years listening to very loud music with only one headphone in, kids . You don't want to end up like me

Tiger Rag · 09-05-2016 10:41

My situation:

As a child, I used to complain to my parents that I could hear my dad's alarm at 4.30am and they said that my hearing is just sensitive. As an 11 year, I ended up having a seizure, which somehow corrected this issue and my hearing went back to normal.

In 2012, I started to notice that the clock sounded really loud. I ignored it, thinking it'll pass. It didn't. 2 weeks later, I spoke to my GP who said my ears are blocked. I had have 2 weeks of ear drops and then to have them syringed. This helped; but my hearing has never returned to normal.

I was told that I have Hyperacusis, which is hypersensitive hearing.

Last year, I started to notice that I can't hear 2 noises at once at clearly. It just goes into one loud horrible noise. GP said my ears aren't blocked and sent me to Audiology.

Audiology decides there's nothing wrong. There's a myth that if you're sight impaired, you have sensitive hearing. You don't. You just rely on your hearing more than sight people.

I was then seen by ENT. His first question was "what medication do you take?" "Topirimate" was one of my answers. He had a book in front of him. He looks up the side effects. Topirimate is known for some absolutely horrible side effects. He says that in his opinion, the cause of my hearing loss is the medication I'm on.

He explains that the reason why I'm finding a few noises go into one loud horrible noise is because I have something called Auditory Processing Disorder. Because it's how the brain processes sound, rather than a problem with the ears, hearing tests don't pick this up.

I had to go to my GP because of another issue with my medication. (it's started giving me insomnia, wonderful!) I explained to her that ENT had advised me to reducde my medication and look into natural methods of reducing my migraines. She gives me a letter from ENT. The letter says that I have something called single sided sensornerual hearing loss. This is to do with the hairs in the ears. There's no cure for this type of hearing loss.

I am back to see my Hearing Therapist on Wednesday, who quite frankly, is useless. I had to ask for a device which produces white noise. This separates noise and means everything doesn't go into one loud noise. I was given something that goes into my ear. Except, it has a tiny switch which I'm unable to see. I'm not in the rare situation of having dual sense loss. (hearing and sight loss)

Because my hearing loss is mild, (although, I do struggle to use my mobile phone clearly) they don't believe that hearing aids will benefit me.

**furryface12** · 09-05-2016 11:08

(Original post by BurstingBubbles)
I had tinnitus for a couple years but it seems to have faded now. Seems worse in stressful situations. Anyone else had this?

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My tinnitus comes and goes but definitely worse with stress! Annoying since that's exactly when you don't want it Very fortunate to not have it the whole time though, that would be really horrible.

Hyperacusis is probably my worst problem now and balance problems/dizziness, especially with changes in air pressure (or any high pressure) so the weather's driving me mad at the minute. My hearing's just about alright until there's background noise when I really struggle to differentiate the sounds, it's far far better than when I was little though which I'm definitely grateful for. The pain too most of the time, again until the weather's like this!

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Rum Ham · 09-05-2016 11:13

Me and my mum both have Meinere's disease and I only got diagnosed last year after experiencing severe vertigo and periods of hearing loss. I would be sitting there minding my own business and then out of nowhere the dizziness would hit me and then it would feel like the hearing in one ear totally cut out and the other ear would be muffled like it had water in it and it would last like that for a few mins and then return.

I'm left with a degree of constant hearing loss but times like I just mentioned happen often on top of that. Hearing loss is a symptom of this condition and it'll get worse as I get older I've been told. Sometimes I don't notice it until my bf or someone else talks and I have to say "what?!" And they repeat themselves about 5 times and even then I still don't hear it clearly a lot of the time and just have to guess.

I do have tinnitus as well and that is only in one ear or at least that's how it feels. I get days where I barely notice it and then other days it makes me want to bang my head off a wall because it's all I hear.

I get my ears and hearing checked every year and I imagine I will for the rest of my life, as will my mum.

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Fullofsurprises · 09-05-2016 11:14

Are headphones a threat? They are so widely used all the time, loads of people sit all day at their computers with them for example.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...age-my-hearing

Tiger Rag · 09-05-2016 20:13

I also have tinnitus. I was asked about this at one of my appointments and it was rather "well, I don't know because what I hear [which is a constant buzzing] is normal for me". I was then told a lot of people say the same.

In one ear, (the one where I have hearing loss) it can suddenly go funny and decide to go really loud. There's no warning and it's random.

My Hyperacusis has come in useful once - I was at a quiz and heard someone behind me whisper the right answer. We then got banned from whispering because several of us have this. Other than that, it is pretty annoying. I can't even have analogue clocks in my flat because of how loud they are. My dad came down one morning to discover that I'd removed their clock because of how bloody loud it was. (it was because of that clock, that I realised something was not right)

**claireestelle** · 09-05-2016 20:19

(Original post by Tiger Rag)
My Hyperacusis has come in useful once - I was at a quiz and heard someone behind me whisper the right answer.

I've had that happen to me many times but i'm unsure as to whether my hearing would be considered to be hyperacusis or whether i just have good hearing, and the sensory side of my dyspraxia is what is making certain noises really annoying to me at times. There's many times where we'll be out in a cafe full of people and my brain wants to hear what everyone in the room is saying rather than focusing on the people talking to me so i like to avoid busier times to make things easier on me at times.

Tiger Rag · 09-05-2016 20:22

(Original post by claireestelle)
There's many times where we'll be out in a cafe full of people and my brain wants to hear what everyone in the room is saying rather than focusing on the people talking to me so i like to avoid busier times to make things easier on me at times.

I get this a lot due to my apd. I can't separate noise, which means I can't go anywhere where there's large groups of people.

I have also been known to walk into shop and walk out again because of how loud it is.

**claireestelle** · 09-05-2016 20:28

(Original post by Tiger Rag)
I get this a lot due to my apd. I can't separate noise, which means I can't go anywhere where there's large groups of people.

I have also been known to walk into shop and walk out again because of how loud it is.

I've done the same before, it can be quite frustrating at times. Have you found knowing that you have APD to be helpful or is it that case that as there is no "treatment" for it, that it hasnt made much of a difference knowing?

Tiger Rag · 09-05-2016 20:35

(Original post by claireestelle)
I've done the same before, it can be quite frustrating at times. Have you found knowing that you have APD to be helpful or is it that case that as there is no "treatment" for it, that it hasnt made much of a difference knowing?

It's made no difference.

There are aids you can get called white noise generators, including wearable ones. But as mentioned in a previous post, for reasons only know to her, my hearing therapist doesn't appear to have a clue. I was given an aid which you put inside your ear which I can't use. I was then offered the same thing, after stating I can't use the thing because the switch is too small. A hearing aid has been mentioned.

RNIB also sell an aid which does similar. I am tempted to buy one of theirs.

You can also download white noise (and pink noise) online and buy CDs.

I can't hear certain frequencies either, which makes playing the ukulele interesting and difficult. I've got to the stage where many chords and notes sound the same. I was asked by a friend if this was the case. He was, at the time, half aware that I had some sort of hearing problem because I had to request that we leave somewhere because it was getting far too loud.

**claireestelle** · 09-05-2016 20:40

(Original post by Tiger Rag)
It's made no difference.

There are aids you can get called white noise generators, including wearable ones. But as mentioned in a previous post, for reasons only know to her, my hearing therapist doesn't appear to have a clue. I was given an aid which you put inside your ear which I can't use. I was then offered the same thing, after stating I can't use the thing because the switch is too small. A hearing aid has been mentioned.

RNIB also sell an aid which does similar. I am tempted to buy one of theirs.

You can also download white noise (and pink noise) online and buy CDs.

I can't hear certain frequencies either, which makes playing the ukulele interesting and difficult. I've got to the stage where many chords and notes sound the same. I was asked by a friend if this was the case. He was, at the time, half aware that I had some sort of hearing problem because I had to request that we leave somewhere because it was getting far too loud.

Is there a consultant above the hearing therapist, if there is you should pester them for a second opinion, she doesn't sound too helpful if she's offering you aids you aren't able to use. Playing an instrument with a hearing difficulty sounds like quite the challenge

Sabertooth · 09-05-2016 21:24

I find it so difficult to hear people I'm talking to when I'm somewhere with a lot of background noise, like a bar for instance. It bugs me quite a lot because I often have to ask people to repeat themselves and usually just end up nodding and saying yes. I don't think that there's anything that can be done about this though....? I've never really listened to loud music so I don't know why I have this problem.

**shadowdweller** · 10-05-2016 19:30

(Original post by furryface12)
This week's myth-busting Mondays is on hearing impairments!

Hearing impairments come in many forms and can affect people at any time, with the risk of permanent loss increasing with age. It can be either genetic or environmental. In the UK it is estimated that around 6.7 million people do or could benefit from using hearing aids of some kind, 900,000 of whom are severely or profoundly (completely) deaf. The likelihood of people successfully adapting to using these is higher if the loss is less severe, yet it takes people on average 10 years to seek help for it.

Other related problems include tinnitis (where noises are heard inside the ear), dizziness and balance problems and hyperacusis (an increased sensitivity to sound). Many people with some form of hearing loss also experience these, depending on the type, cause and severity of the loss.

Our question this week is how many UK 17-29 year olds have some level of hearing loss? Share your ideas and experiences below- remember that you can also post anonymously in this thread

Ooo, this is actually really interesting, especially given how many potential causes for hearing loss there are! I wouldn't have a clue about this, but maybe 158,000 as a middle of the range guess?

What's the actual answer for this one?

**furryface12** · 10-05-2016 19:39

(Original post by shadowdweller)
Ooo, this is actually really interesting, especially given how many potential causes for hearing loss there are! I wouldn't have a clue about this, but maybe 158,000 as a middle of the range guess?

What's the actual answer for this one?

Was just thinking I never put the answer to this! It's 188,000, as found in this document across all ages it's about 11 million which is about 1 in 6 of the population- the fact they think it's going to be 1 in 5 by 2035 is quite worrying. That is partly down to an ageing population and people living longer but even so.

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Tiger Rag · 12-05-2016 06:01

My hearing therapist is useless. She can't appear to come up with a solution for me. I'm not that rare.

I really think I'm wasting my time. All I'm asking for is something so that I can actually hear more than one noise clearly.

z33 · 12-05-2016 06:20

I just guessed 158 000 because didn't people use to put their music on full blast back in dah dayz?

Tiger Rag · 12-05-2016 06:24

(Original post by z33)
I just guessed 158 000 because didn't people use to put their music on full blast back in dah dayz?

They still do! I often wonder if they're deaf.

z33 · 12-05-2016 06:26

(Original post by Tiger Rag)
They still do! I often wonder if they're deaf.

Trutru
but especially back in the 80s/90s when metal/ rock/ punk was like the mainstream and everyone was blasting electric guitars into their poor eardrums

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