[nfb-db] Deaf In One Ear

Tue Sep 13 18:48:55 UTC 2011

Hi Kerri:

My heart goes out to you--I know how frustrating it is to hear someone
talking, not know where they are, not beng able to find them with your blind
eyes, and being expected to communicate back to them.  I had this situation
during the thirty-day period after my first cochlear implant surgery, before
the implant was activated.  I had the situation again a year later, before
my second implant was activated.  You are not alone, and you don't know how
stressful it really is until you have some relief.  Give yourself as much
slack as you can.

No, I'm sorry but I haven't heard of the device you ask about.  But I do
want to emphasize how much success you might be able to have with a cochlear
implant.  I wore hearing aids in both ears for over twenty years.  During
this time my hearing continually worsened. My audiologist
eventually informed me that she could no longer program the aids to
compensate for my level of hearing loss.  Even the digital aids have their
limitations.

The audiologist had no suggestions.  Unable to accept my situation, I did my
own investigation.  I'd heard that cochlear implant surgery was risky and
that insurance would rarely agree to pay for it.  What I learned was that
this information was no longer valid.  Depending on your surgeon, cochlear
implant surgery has an extremely high success rate.  Depending on the
implant center's evaluation, you very well might qualify.  Your vision loss
will multiply your chances of becoming a candidate.  Based on surgeon's
recommendation, your insurance company might very well approve.

I understand not being able to hear what people say because of background
noise.  And sometimes, no matter how many times you explain, people still
forget.  For me it could be maddening.  I still experience it to a degree,
depending on the "mapping" of the sound processors that deliver the signals
to my implants.  With a good mapping, the background noise actually gets
quieter while someone's talking to me.  Don't ask how, I don't understand it
either.

I've visited LCB, but I haven't attended as a client.  The folks there are
good people.  Pam Allen, the Executive Director, is open to the unique
experience and perception of people with hearing loss.  It's my belief that
some of the skills of blindness were intended for people with normal
hearing.  I don't try to cross the street, since I can't tell where the cars
are.  If I'm walking with someone, I do still take their elbow so I don't
wander off.  But it's great to have my cane so I don't bounce off things on
the opposite side of me.  If your O&M instructor didn't teach you to use
your cane with both hands, teach yourself.  I find it helpful to be able to
switch between my right and left hands depending on my environment.

Thank you for sharing your situation here.  Stay in touch, keep us posted.
We want to learn from your experience.  We want to know what solutions you
find for yourself.  We are a small community, and we need to pool our
knowledge and experience.

Cathy Miller

On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 12:00 PM, <nfb-db-request at nfbnet.org> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Some Questions (Kerri Kosten)
>   2. Re: Some Questions (Janice Toothman)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:35:17 -0400
> From: Kerri Kosten <kerrik2006 at gmail.com>
> To: nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfb-db] Some Questions
> Message-ID:
>        <CAM6GWxxrmewLBRRe2Jiv0+7D2vYFnoneRE+rhcQYx2Po2hCwNQ at mail.gmail.com
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hi Everyone:
>
> I had a few questions.
>
> I am totally blind with a rather strange hearing loss. I have almost
> all of my hearing in my left ear and none whatsoever in my right.
>
> In 2005, an audiologist gave me a digital hearing aid for my left ear.
> About two years ago in 2009, I read about a hearing aid called the
> Bicros which is where you have a hearing aid in your ear that has
> hearing in it and in the deaf ear you wear a microphone. The sound the
> microphone picks up is transferred to the good ear that has hearing in
> it.
>
> Does anybody on this list wear this type of hearing aid or does anyone
> know anything about it? Is it something I should look into? It would
> be very nice if I could somehow get even a sense of hearing in my deaf
> ear.
>
> The hearing aid I got in 2005 helps some but I still have a lot of
> problems. Because I only have hearing in one ear I have a hard time
> localizing/telling what direction sounds are coming from.
>
> Another problem is that if there is a noise such as a tv on or
> something like that and a person tries to talk to me I can tell that
> they spoke but I can't tell what they said. It's like I can't hear
> over the other noise.
>
> If a person sits on my deaf side I can't tell what they are saying and
> so have to turn my head in order to hear them.
>
> This is all really getting annoying. Is this something a better/newer
> hearing aid such as the Bicros aid can fix or is this just a result of
> only having hearing in one ear?
>
> Is there anyone else on this list with hearing in only one ear or a
> similar situation?
>
> I am planning to get my blindness skills training at the Louisiana
> Center for The Blind. Has anyone else on this list who has hearing
> loss attended there? How was the training?
>
> As I mentioned earlier I only have hearing in one ear so it is hard
> for me to tell which direction sounds are coming from. I find I really
> enjoy using my cane to travel as opposed to always holding someone's
> arm. What is the best way to follow someone with your cane if you have
> trouble telling which direction they are coming from? Do you just ask
> them to give you verbal directions such as straight, left, or right?
>
> Thanks!
> Kerri
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:51:55 -0400
> From: Janice Toothman <janice.toothman at verizon.net>
> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Some Questions
> Message-ID: <4E6D3B8B.502 at verizon.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi Kerri
> I haven't heard of that kind of hearing aid. But it sounds interesting.
> I have been having problems with my hearing aids. I don't think that
> your problems is that uncommon. I know a lawyer her is deaf in one ear
> and has partial hearing in the other. I think she uses the hearing aid
> that you described. She has been quite successful in court wearing it.
> But other than that I don't have any personal experience with it but
> would like to know more.
> Janice
>
> On 9/11/2011 3:35 PM, Kerri Kosten wrote:
> > Hi Everyone:
> >
> > I had a few questions.
> >
> > I am totally blind with a rather strange hearing loss. I have almost
> > all of my hearing in my left ear and none whatsoever in my right.
> >
> > In 2005, an audiologist gave me a digital hearing aid for my left ear.
> > About two years ago in 2009, I read about a hearing aid called the
> > Bicros which is where you have a hearing aid in your ear that has
> > hearing in it and in the deaf ear you wear a microphone. The sound the
> > microphone picks up is transferred to the good ear that has hearing in
> > it.
> >
> > Does anybody on this list wear this type of hearing aid or does anyone
> > know anything about it? Is it something I should look into? It would
> > be very nice if I could somehow get even a sense of hearing in my deaf
> > ear.
> >
> > The hearing aid I got in 2005 helps some but I still have a lot of
> > problems. Because I only have hearing in one ear I have a hard time
> > localizing/telling what direction sounds are coming from.
> >
> > Another problem is that if there is a noise such as a tv on or
> > something like that and a person tries to talk to me I can tell that
> > they spoke but I can't tell what they said. It's like I can't hear
> > over the other noise.
> >
> > If a person sits on my deaf side I can't tell what they are saying and
> > so have to turn my head in order to hear them.
> >
> > This is all really getting annoying. Is this something a better/newer
> > hearing aid such as the Bicros aid can fix or is this just a result of
> > only having hearing in one ear?
> >
> > Is there anyone else on this list with hearing in only one ear or a
> > similar situation?
> >
> > I am planning to get my blindness skills training at the Louisiana
> > Center for The Blind. Has anyone else on this list who has hearing
> > loss attended there? How was the training?
> >
> > As I mentioned earlier I only have hearing in one ear so it is hard
> > for me to tell which direction sounds are coming from. I find I really
> > enjoy using my cane to travel as opposed to always holding someone's
> > arm. What is the best way to follow someone with your cane if you have
> > trouble telling which direction they are coming from? Do you just ask
> > them to give you verbal directions such as straight, left, or right?
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Kerri
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > nfb-db mailing list
> > nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
> >
> >
>
>
>
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> End of nfb-db Digest, Vol 34, Issue 4
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