Sudden Hearing Loss and Impact on Music Enjoyment

I’m truly grateful for all the support and advice shared in this thread. I may not be able to reply to everyone individually, but please know I’ve read every post and learned a lot from the collective experience here.

To be honest, I’m still a bit shocked by how quickly this happened. I never imagined I could wake up one morning and suddenly lose almost all hearing in one ear. I’m otherwise healthy with no known issues, so it’s been a real reminder that life can change very quickly. If anyone reading this notices something off with their hearing, even if it seems minor, please get it checked out sooner rather than later.

In my case it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The bad news is that the hearing loss in one ear is severe to profound and likely permanent. The good news is that my other ear is still in very good shape. Because of the severity, we’re not yet sure whether hearing aids will help or whether we might need to look at cochlear implants.

As an audiophile, my biggest concern of course is whether I’ll still be able to enjoy my system the way I used to. Reading through everyone’s responses, it seems experiences with hearing aids—regardless of price—can vary quite a bit. Some people feel they diminish the experience, while others adapt and remain very happy with them. Cochlear implants seem to get the worse reviews, but I don’t know if that might be the only feasible solution in my case. It sounds like the only real way to know is to try.

My plan is to see if I can trial a pair of Widex hearing aids first, unless my doctor recommends going straight to cochlear implants. I’m hopeful that having one good ear, along with improvements in hearing technology, will lead to a decent outcome. My ENT thinks a lot of bad experiences, hearing aids or cochlear implants, are from folks whose hearing loss impacts both ears. He thinks I might have a better outcome since one ear can still hear music naturally. Anyways, it’s all a guessing game at this point.

Not the end of the world—but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t sting a bit to think music might never sound quite the same.

@arafiq - I feel for you.  I too have hearing loss and have had hearing aids for at least 8-10 years.  The Widex is the considered the best, but I have used Costco for my ha's.  Jabra and another.  They are great for day-to-day stuff, but I do take them out when I listen to music.  I do have to turn it up, around 70-80db.  I am an old rocker (64) and I refuse to stop, much to my wife's chagrin, I also use in ears while biking, 1500 miles per year.  Left ear is worse.  But when I crank it up, both of my systems sound good.  My vintage Carver / JBL system sound better to me.  It's hell getting old, but I am thankful that we all have the resources to enjoy music and sir you have some great gear! My ENT pushed the cochlear implants, I doubt I will ever do that.

So sorry to hear about your hearing loss.  About 2-1/2 years ago I got up from my chair, took a few steps and my right ear “popped” and started ringing. The ear still feels clogged with some pretty loud tinnitus.  I also understand the distortion you mentioned. In my case, anything around the frequencies where I had the most lost (mid to high) come through as distortion. As I started to get treatment, it became apparent that conventional hearing aids only amplified the distortion. Then I tried a hearing aid that would send all sounds to my good ear. I found that to be a distraction and opted to go without any hearing aids. If you decide to go with a cochlea implant, please do your research. I was told that I would need to be trained and that cochlea implants were somewhat different to normal hearing so decided against that option. The only option I found that could possibly restore hearing are stem cell implants (not yet approved by FDA). I’ve been tempted to go to Mexico for that treatment. My condition was diagnosed as SSHL. 

Best of luck with treatment!

Bob

@samssa - do you have behind-the-ear hearing aids? I have Jabra hearing aids from Costco with custom ear molds, too, and they're great for 2-channel. But I don't use those for headphone listening - I got a pair of in-the-ear custom molded hearing aids, so the mic is in the right place for the headphones, and it sounds way better. I've tried a number of different brands; in my experience, it's mostly down to the audiologist getting the EQ right and they've all been quite satisfactory. It's iterative and sometimes I have to go back multiple times to hone in on the right sound, but I get there. 

I have Lyric hearing aids. Would love to compare to the Widex Moment hearing aids that Michael Fremer recommended.