[nfb-db] Deaf In One Ear

Thu Sep 15 17:03:21 UTC 2011

Awesome news Keri! Please do keep us posted.
I know that wearing hearing aids can be quite an adjustment, I
remember getting my first pair and hating them because I thought
things were too loud. So until I could adjust, I would just leave the
volume at a level that was tolerable and then increase it slowly.
Eventually, I was able to wear the hearing aids with not much of an
issue. Now, I can't survive without them, as I'm profoundly deaf in
one ear and have a severe loss in the other. I hope your appointment
goes well and that you'll keep us posted. (smiles).

Scott

On 9/15/11, David Sexton <david at rustytelephone.net> wrote:
> Hi,
> I have always been deaf in one ear. So, while sometimes I get directions
> wrong, it's not so disorienting.
> The hearing aid I had was useful in quiet environments, but in quiet
> environments I can hear what is happening on the other side anyway.
> In noisy places, it amplified the background sound too much.
> I hear they may be better these days though.
> I could adjust the volume to check what's on what side especially for
> crossing streets.
> The adition of the background sound helped a bit to tell what sound was
> coming from where.
>
> I would love to have a good one for conversation listening in loud places.
> Anyway, it's worth trying out.
>
> David Sexton
> +91 9400223351
>
>
> On 9/14/2011 12:44 AM, Mike Sivill wrote:
>> I have a friend who had this system, I believe David is on this list. He
>> ended up not wearing it because it gave him more trouble locating sources
>> of
>> sound since no matter what side something was on it still sounded like
>> everything was on the one side.
>> Mike
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Scott Davert
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 12:10 PM
>> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Deaf In One Ear
>>
>> Hi Keri.
>> I understand what it's like to have nondirectional hearing: it is no
>> picnic at all. Your communication struggles are things I can
>> appreciate given what I've gone through with my hearing loss. Having
>> everything sounding like it is coming from one side is not a fun
>> experience, and can be very disorienting. When I get ear infections or
>> have alergies, the hearing in one or the other ear tends to go down to
>> near 0. When this happens. Not only is it disorienting, it's also
>> something that causes me to be dizzy.
>> I had a student awhile back who had the hearing aid you're describing,
>> but this person also had some vision. This person was able to function
>> much better with the other hearing aid sending information to the good
>> ear. The complaint about the system was that the sound sometimes
>> became overwhelming because you have the sounds from 2 ears going in
>> to one. This seems logical to me, but I have never had experience with
>> this type of hearing aid myself.
>> At the end of the day, as with all hearing or vision adaptations, you
>> need to give the system a try to see if it will work for you. What may
>> work miracles for one personn can cause another more grief. Most
>> hearing aid manufacturers offer a 30 day trial period. My advice would
>> be to take advantage of that 30 day period and see how it goes.
>>
>> Wishing you the best of luck,
>> Scott
>>
>> On 9/13/11, Catherine Miller<guillcat at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>> 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:
>>>>
>>>>    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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