Very sorry about your diagnosis. Like any serious medical concern get a second opinion at a minimum.
best wishes, MacG19
Sudden Hearing Loss and Impact on Music Enjoyment
This post is partly a cautionary tale and partly me looking for advice from fellow audiophiles who might have been through something similar.
At the end of January this year, I had a sinus infection that seemed to affect my left ear. One morning I woke up and noticed that my ear felt muffled and my hearing wasn’t quite right. At first, I assumed it was just my sinuses acting up. I tried wax-removal drops and even did some irrigation, but nothing improved. My doctor then prescribed a course of steroids, thinking it might be related to fluid buildup.
Unfortunately, things got worse. I gradually lost almost all hearing in that ear, and there was a lot of distortion as well.
I eventually saw an ENT specialist and an audiologist, and that’s when I learned that this was most likely Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). Apparently, if the correct treatment is started within about 72 hours, there’s a chance the hearing can be saved. After that short window closes, the loss is often permanent. I really wish I had known that earlier when I first contacted my doctor.
So if anyone reading this ever experiences sudden changes in hearing, please don’t wait—get to an ENT immediately. The treatment window is extremely short.
Now that I’m starting to come to terms with this, I’ve begun researching options like hearing aids and cochlear implants. That leads me to my question for anyone here who has experience with either.
As audiophiles, we tend to listen to music a bit differently—we focus on details, tone, timbre, soundstage, and all those subtle nuances. For those of you using hearing aids or who have undergone cochlear implant surgery, how has it affected your ability to enjoy music? Does music sound very different? Were you able to reconnect with it in a meaningful way? As you can imagine, this is both stressful and sad that I won't be able to enjoy the one hobby that has become such an important part of my life.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Feel free to share here, or send me a DM if you’d rather keep it private.
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@mihorn - I get your points, they are very interesting, but ALL audio systems (artificial sound) sound very harsh and bright? What are the objective definitions of 'harsh' and 'bright'? If there are none, you might want to suffix that with 'to me', as I've no doubt that there are many millions of systems around the world you've not heard that do not sound the slightest bit 'harsh' or 'bright' to the people who have them. I'm one of these people. If you have symptoms of hearing loss, there could be many reasons, but I think it's more likely the fact that most people's hearing degrades as they age than that their ears are numb to specific types of sounds. You can take objective measurements with hearing that don't involve 'bright' or 'harsh'. |
So sorry to hear of your situation. If you haven’t already I still recommend getting a second opinion as to options from a large academic medical center’s ENT unit. The academic types are more likely to be aware of all the cutting edge diagnostics and treatments. That’s based on my experience and I hope you are fortunate enough to find a solution. Good luck! |
Hearing aids... I have had the best from Oticon, Phonac, and Widex. Widex Moment is without a doubt far better than the others for music (there is a newer Widex that I have no experience with). That said, there are a number of considerations. Hearing aids and their setup by audiologists are singularly focused on voice in conversations, universally to the detriment of natural sound. They have a pronounced boost in the 2-5k range to help resolve words. There is also noise suppression, sound compression, and feedback suppression, all of which destroy natural sound. Even with Widex hearing aids, one must find an audiologist who is willing to work with you to create a setting that will reproduce music as naturally as possible. Remember, all of their training has been focused upon resolving voice. It can be difficult to get them to understand your particular needs. Rant over. Good luck! |
@arafiq, like most of the members here I think, I too have unilateral hearing loss in my left ear. I was diagnosed with Ménière's disease, one of the common symptoms of which is low frequency hearing loss and tinnitus, both of which I have. It is not complete loss of hearing but is low frequencies are down significantly. The tinnitus is not bad, but it is there. It is ironic to me, given that listening to music on a high quality system has been my source of enjoyment and relaxation for over 50 years, and now, with my system in great shape, my hearing is down in one ear. I think like most of us, I also have typical age-related high frequency hearing loss, probably exacerbated from too many concerts in the 70's. I think that for the most part, most of us here are at least 55+, and so aging and hearing loss go together. I still obsess about my gear, not my ear, but still, I wonder about whether using the Widex has the potential to restore some of the beauty of my system or degrade it. I will probably experiment with it and see. Good luck on your condition! |
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