I'm glad you're writing about this! There is a lot of stigma and misunderstanding around hearing loss. My mom has severe hearing loss and I often worry about my hearing worsening, too. Your post makes me want to schedule a hearing test!
Thanks, Katie! My ENT told me my hearing loss likely has a genetic component to it. It can't hurt to find out! I really notice it in older relatives, the degree to which they can't hear and the world is closed off to them. Today's technology can do so much. Good luck!
I’ve been using the captions on movies for a long time. I read an article recently (possibly also in the NYT) about how modern ‘improvements’ in sound recording (smaller mics, especially) actually make it harder to hear/understand dialog. So actors don’t have to wear bulky microphones, but the audience can’t understand what they’re saying..... Seems like a dumb tradeoff, but what do I know?
I lost hearing due to chemo. I didn’t think it was too bad as it was during Covid and I blamed it on peoples’ masks. Fortunately my husband saw n audiologist and I realized that maybe I had a problem too. I love my hearing aids. It’s just getting used to the idea of needing them that was hard
I'll never forget a quote from Helen Keller, when asked which sense she would like to have, hearing or sight. She said hearing and explained why: Blindness separates you from things. Deafness separates you from people.
I’ve had some very mild hearing problems for years. Mostly, I have a hard time understanding specific words when there’s too much background noise. You’re inspiring me to get checked.
One positive about this issue is that sometimes, what I THINK I hear is pretty hilarious! Gotta find the good in the bad.🤷🏻♀️
Yeah I know I do my thing and try not to let it affect Me too much but it’s always there😳🤯. I’ve tried 3 different kinds of hearing aids all the way up to the super delux model but they don’t work for me. I don’t need amplification there isn’t anything going through. The audiologists tell me it’s more because of the way I lost the hearing suddenly verses over time. I might look into a cochlear implant at some point but right now I’m taking a break. Thanks for the chat I haven’t really had anyone else to talk to about this. I appreciate your kind ear 😝. Happy miles brother
Dude[s], I totally get the Closed Captioning thing. My Dad, after college and after his time in the NFL, was a producer at NFL Films. He says one reason it’s so hard to hear shows is because a lot of time is spent formatting the show in 5:1 surround sound. Then a lot less attention is paid to the regular sound mix. So that’s why the mix is so bad. We always use Closed Captioning too.
He did. Not for as long as he would’ve liked, but he’s worked with my brothers and I our whole lives. He said I should mainly write about AP football on here because there’s no deep dives into the game itself.
I got HAids at age 45 and now am 75. It does isolate you at times from others, if you have never had a hearing loss, people just can’t relate. I often just stay in background to avoid having to ask others to repeat something, after 18 years of marriage, my wife still doesn’t understand to look at me when talking, I just don’t say anything, Ihave been running alone mostly the last several years, but that’s not bad, I don’t have to try hearing others and can enjoy my run!
Very true! I can understand that -- to lip-read or understand what people are saying from their movements, you need that extra look at the gestures they're making, facial movements, etc. It's interesting the subtleties of this experience.
Do you wear blue tooth earbuds when you run? I listen to music and would be lost without them. I have Asthma, and the last thing I want ti hear is my breathing.
All joking aside this has been happening to me and it is worrisome. I need to give in and get checked and Apple needs to make some hearing aids that look like air pods.
I have tinnitus, it's sometimes better and sometimes worse, but it's always there. Sometimes it sounds like birds in a concrete warehouse or crickets on a summer night, others just the simple ringing. It got worse after a neck injury I received in a car accident in 2020 and that worsening finally got better after a year of epidurals and a chiropractor.
Interesting! Were the epidurals and the chiropractor visits for the tinnitus specifically, or did the tinnitus get better as a byproduct of therapy for the accident? (Which I'm so sorry to hear about, by the way!)
Byproduct. At around the same time that my hearing improved, a specific stressor also vanished. So it was probably a serendipitous alignment of factors.
May 12, 2023·edited May 12, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson
Very sorry to read about your hearing loss Terrell! I had mild tinnitus last year, it was extremely annoying & my ear would crackle in loud environments, almost as if to warn me to get the hell out of there. I immediately scheduled an appointment with a specialist. She took an unholy amount of wax out of my ear & gave me a couple of vitamin jabs.
She also told me to avoid loud areas and to turn the music down on my headphones. You don’t appreciate what you have until you think you’re going to lose it, so since then I’ve tried to treat my hearing like something that I could lose at any time. Ear plugs at concerts, low volume at home and in the car.
I was fortunate there was no long term damage and after I did the exact tests you mention, I got a clean bill of health. I hope with the hearing aid you’re fine for many more years.
Wow—thank you for writing this! I just got back from the audiologist and an ENT specialist yesterday, and at 36, I couldn’t imagine anyone in my peer group having similar issues...until reading your post and comments.
I recently started experiencing pulsatile tinnitus (so I hear my heartbeat in one ear, rather than buzzing or ringing). They couldn’t diagnose the issue, so the next step is a CT scan.
Part of me wanted to bury my head in the sand until I read everyone else’s stories! It’s fresh motivation to figure out what’s going on. 🤞
Totally, totally get that. I was not willing to accept the need for assistance with my hearing for a long, long time. But I have to tell you this: recently I met two different people, both a few years younger than me, one at a party and one at our house, someone who'd dropped by for a bit. In both cases, my wife asked me, "did you notice their hearing aids?" In neither case had I, which tells me they're basically really hard to notice now, they're so small and hidden behind the ear. And, the technology has gotten much, much better than say, 20 years ago. Good luck with yours!
I am confident you will come out the other end of this OK. No hearing problems for me, thankfully, but I will tell you the field has improved over the years. Our older daughter is a pediatric audiologist and works with kids who are either candidates for Cochlear Ear implants or have had them implanted need to have them tuned. I’m amazed at the work being done in this field
Hey Terrell I’m so sorry that you have tinnitus. It reallllllly sucks. My story is a little different. On September 26 2017 I woke up deaf in my right ear. No pain no drainage or anything just deaf. So because I work in an ER and I’m a bit of a knot head I blew it off. I figured I punctured my ear drum or something and it would just come back. I don’t remember noticing the tinnitus initially but after a week it was maddening. I finally went to an ENT who started steroids and ordered MRI. Steroids didn’t work. MRI was ok. Consensus was that I had fried the nerve in my ear after having meningitis maybe 8-10 years prior and it finally just snapped. Since then I have tried too many Therapies to count. Everything from acupuncture to craniosacral therapy, hearing aids, and I tried to get into an experimental trial which involved hearing tests from hell that lasted what felt like hours. I even went to the local tinnitus guru who told me I had to learn to ignore it. Not sure how she got the guru title 😳. In the long run I didn’t get into the trial. I’m not sure why. I’m still deaf on the right and I have not had a single moment of peace and quiet in that right ear since that 2017 morning. Right now I’m in the frustrated screw it pattern but eventually I’ll try something else. Anyway running helps. And again I’m so sorry that we are in the tinnitus hell together. I don’t know about you but at this point I’m open to a hot poker in my ear for a minute of true quiet. I appreciate you. Happy running
I know the feeling, Blue!! For about a year after I started noticing my tinnitus, I struggled with it. A LOT. Over time, I got used to it, and it seemed to fade into the background of my life -- I was able to ignore it and forget about it a lot of the time. I think our brains come up with ways to deal with it, especially once we accept that it isn't going to go away on its own. Some people -- emphasize some, not all -- experience their tinnitus lessening or even going away once they get hearing aids, I've read. (Though, I imagine that if you stop using them, the tinnitus may come back.) It's at least worth a shot, I think.
I find the use of an ear bud really helps. Of course not with the the overall condition but it is the only time that the ringing is over powering. Mine goes back to the Sixties and firearms before ear protection and of course inadequate or defective protection though the years, but I think what really got it going was being on airport tarmac’s. I carried my boarding bag in my right hand so that side didn’t even get the finger plug that ear and it is far worse. The progression of the hearing loss is somewhat difficult at times, but can be useful if you don’t want to participate in the chatter. Besides it won’t be long before before everyone will type their inactions with others. No wait AH!
I can totally see that. When I went to the ENT, they asked specifically about that kind of noise exposure -- especially anything that's repeated, frequently, like in a work environment. (They didn't seem to think concerts were all that bad, I guess because we go to them so infrequently.) Definitely not waiting!
I shot trap for years and only stuck cigarette filters in my ears... my brother-in-law is a firefighter and fell off a roof one time. After that, he had a continual ringing in his ears. He's done everything with no relief. Wears a headset to bed at night with the sounds of waves hitting the shore or rain falling on a metal roof. He said it almost drove him mad!
Four years ago, I could not hear the person across a conference table. I knew my hearing was getting bad, but it had begun effecting my job. Within a month, I had hearing aids, and it changed my life. I could hear all the buzzes from the lights, the meows of the cats, my wife!
I truly believe it changed my life. Without the hearing aids, I would not be able to do my job (lots of meetings, talking on the phone, etc.). There are issues still. Restaurants can be bad because the hearing aids pick up everything, but there are settings on the hearing that help (still not perfect). I still use captions on the television, but the sound is not turned up so loud. Mostly, the hearings aids are good. I was 54 when I first got them. Now, at 58, I couldn’t live without them. They also function as ear buds (listening to podcasts and audible is great), but I can’t exercise with them. Sweat is not good for them. I have earbuds that I use when I run.
I'm glad you're writing about this! There is a lot of stigma and misunderstanding around hearing loss. My mom has severe hearing loss and I often worry about my hearing worsening, too. Your post makes me want to schedule a hearing test!
Thanks, Katie! My ENT told me my hearing loss likely has a genetic component to it. It can't hurt to find out! I really notice it in older relatives, the degree to which they can't hear and the world is closed off to them. Today's technology can do so much. Good luck!
I’ve been using the captions on movies for a long time. I read an article recently (possibly also in the NYT) about how modern ‘improvements’ in sound recording (smaller mics, especially) actually make it harder to hear/understand dialog. So actors don’t have to wear bulky microphones, but the audience can’t understand what they’re saying..... Seems like a dumb tradeoff, but what do I know?
I've heard that too! I'm glad it's not just me 😃
I lost hearing due to chemo. I didn’t think it was too bad as it was during Covid and I blamed it on peoples’ masks. Fortunately my husband saw n audiologist and I realized that maybe I had a problem too. I love my hearing aids. It’s just getting used to the idea of needing them that was hard
Yes! This is exactly the thing. It’s taken me 15 years — 15 years!! — to finally let go of pride enough to get them.
I'll never forget a quote from Helen Keller, when asked which sense she would like to have, hearing or sight. She said hearing and explained why: Blindness separates you from things. Deafness separates you from people.
Very well said!
I’ve had some very mild hearing problems for years. Mostly, I have a hard time understanding specific words when there’s too much background noise. You’re inspiring me to get checked.
One positive about this issue is that sometimes, what I THINK I hear is pretty hilarious! Gotta find the good in the bad.🤷🏻♀️
Yeah I know I do my thing and try not to let it affect Me too much but it’s always there😳🤯. I’ve tried 3 different kinds of hearing aids all the way up to the super delux model but they don’t work for me. I don’t need amplification there isn’t anything going through. The audiologists tell me it’s more because of the way I lost the hearing suddenly verses over time. I might look into a cochlear implant at some point but right now I’m taking a break. Thanks for the chat I haven’t really had anyone else to talk to about this. I appreciate your kind ear 😝. Happy miles brother
Dude[s], I totally get the Closed Captioning thing. My Dad, after college and after his time in the NFL, was a producer at NFL Films. He says one reason it’s so hard to hear shows is because a lot of time is spent formatting the show in 5:1 surround sound. Then a lot less attention is paid to the regular sound mix. So that’s why the mix is so bad. We always use Closed Captioning too.
Ahhhh, wow -- now that's interesting. So your dad was in the NFL? Wow!
He did. Not for as long as he would’ve liked, but he’s worked with my brothers and I our whole lives. He said I should mainly write about AP football on here because there’s no deep dives into the game itself.
I got HAids at age 45 and now am 75. It does isolate you at times from others, if you have never had a hearing loss, people just can’t relate. I often just stay in background to avoid having to ask others to repeat something, after 18 years of marriage, my wife still doesn’t understand to look at me when talking, I just don’t say anything, Ihave been running alone mostly the last several years, but that’s not bad, I don’t have to try hearing others and can enjoy my run!
Very true! I can understand that -- to lip-read or understand what people are saying from their movements, you need that extra look at the gestures they're making, facial movements, etc. It's interesting the subtleties of this experience.
Do you wear blue tooth earbuds when you run? I listen to music and would be lost without them. I have Asthma, and the last thing I want ti hear is my breathing.
Sorry, could you repeat that a little bit louder?
All joking aside this has been happening to me and it is worrisome. I need to give in and get checked and Apple needs to make some hearing aids that look like air pods.
YES to the AirPod-shaped hearing aids. No one would be the wiser!
The new hearing aids work just like my ear buds..
I have tinnitus, it's sometimes better and sometimes worse, but it's always there. Sometimes it sounds like birds in a concrete warehouse or crickets on a summer night, others just the simple ringing. It got worse after a neck injury I received in a car accident in 2020 and that worsening finally got better after a year of epidurals and a chiropractor.
Interesting! Were the epidurals and the chiropractor visits for the tinnitus specifically, or did the tinnitus get better as a byproduct of therapy for the accident? (Which I'm so sorry to hear about, by the way!)
Byproduct. At around the same time that my hearing improved, a specific stressor also vanished. So it was probably a serendipitous alignment of factors.
Very sorry to read about your hearing loss Terrell! I had mild tinnitus last year, it was extremely annoying & my ear would crackle in loud environments, almost as if to warn me to get the hell out of there. I immediately scheduled an appointment with a specialist. She took an unholy amount of wax out of my ear & gave me a couple of vitamin jabs.
She also told me to avoid loud areas and to turn the music down on my headphones. You don’t appreciate what you have until you think you’re going to lose it, so since then I’ve tried to treat my hearing like something that I could lose at any time. Ear plugs at concerts, low volume at home and in the car.
I was fortunate there was no long term damage and after I did the exact tests you mention, I got a clean bill of health. I hope with the hearing aid you’re fine for many more years.
Thanks, Andrew! I'm hoping the hearing aids will help too -- I'm cautiously optimistic/confident they will. We'll see! 😃
Wow—thank you for writing this! I just got back from the audiologist and an ENT specialist yesterday, and at 36, I couldn’t imagine anyone in my peer group having similar issues...until reading your post and comments.
I recently started experiencing pulsatile tinnitus (so I hear my heartbeat in one ear, rather than buzzing or ringing). They couldn’t diagnose the issue, so the next step is a CT scan.
Part of me wanted to bury my head in the sand until I read everyone else’s stories! It’s fresh motivation to figure out what’s going on. 🤞
Totally, totally get that. I was not willing to accept the need for assistance with my hearing for a long, long time. But I have to tell you this: recently I met two different people, both a few years younger than me, one at a party and one at our house, someone who'd dropped by for a bit. In both cases, my wife asked me, "did you notice their hearing aids?" In neither case had I, which tells me they're basically really hard to notice now, they're so small and hidden behind the ear. And, the technology has gotten much, much better than say, 20 years ago. Good luck with yours!
That is so amazing to hear (pun totally intended). Again, really appreciate you starting this conversation!
I am confident you will come out the other end of this OK. No hearing problems for me, thankfully, but I will tell you the field has improved over the years. Our older daughter is a pediatric audiologist and works with kids who are either candidates for Cochlear Ear implants or have had them implanted need to have them tuned. I’m amazed at the work being done in this field
It truly is amazing what they can do today vs. even just 20 years ago -- your daughter is doing life-changing work, I'm sure.
Hey Terrell I’m so sorry that you have tinnitus. It reallllllly sucks. My story is a little different. On September 26 2017 I woke up deaf in my right ear. No pain no drainage or anything just deaf. So because I work in an ER and I’m a bit of a knot head I blew it off. I figured I punctured my ear drum or something and it would just come back. I don’t remember noticing the tinnitus initially but after a week it was maddening. I finally went to an ENT who started steroids and ordered MRI. Steroids didn’t work. MRI was ok. Consensus was that I had fried the nerve in my ear after having meningitis maybe 8-10 years prior and it finally just snapped. Since then I have tried too many Therapies to count. Everything from acupuncture to craniosacral therapy, hearing aids, and I tried to get into an experimental trial which involved hearing tests from hell that lasted what felt like hours. I even went to the local tinnitus guru who told me I had to learn to ignore it. Not sure how she got the guru title 😳. In the long run I didn’t get into the trial. I’m not sure why. I’m still deaf on the right and I have not had a single moment of peace and quiet in that right ear since that 2017 morning. Right now I’m in the frustrated screw it pattern but eventually I’ll try something else. Anyway running helps. And again I’m so sorry that we are in the tinnitus hell together. I don’t know about you but at this point I’m open to a hot poker in my ear for a minute of true quiet. I appreciate you. Happy running
I know the feeling, Blue!! For about a year after I started noticing my tinnitus, I struggled with it. A LOT. Over time, I got used to it, and it seemed to fade into the background of my life -- I was able to ignore it and forget about it a lot of the time. I think our brains come up with ways to deal with it, especially once we accept that it isn't going to go away on its own. Some people -- emphasize some, not all -- experience their tinnitus lessening or even going away once they get hearing aids, I've read. (Though, I imagine that if you stop using them, the tinnitus may come back.) It's at least worth a shot, I think.
I find the use of an ear bud really helps. Of course not with the the overall condition but it is the only time that the ringing is over powering. Mine goes back to the Sixties and firearms before ear protection and of course inadequate or defective protection though the years, but I think what really got it going was being on airport tarmac’s. I carried my boarding bag in my right hand so that side didn’t even get the finger plug that ear and it is far worse. The progression of the hearing loss is somewhat difficult at times, but can be useful if you don’t want to participate in the chatter. Besides it won’t be long before before everyone will type their inactions with others. No wait AH!
I can totally see that. When I went to the ENT, they asked specifically about that kind of noise exposure -- especially anything that's repeated, frequently, like in a work environment. (They didn't seem to think concerts were all that bad, I guess because we go to them so infrequently.) Definitely not waiting!
I shot trap for years and only stuck cigarette filters in my ears... my brother-in-law is a firefighter and fell off a roof one time. After that, he had a continual ringing in his ears. He's done everything with no relief. Wears a headset to bed at night with the sounds of waves hitting the shore or rain falling on a metal roof. He said it almost drove him mad!
Four years ago, I could not hear the person across a conference table. I knew my hearing was getting bad, but it had begun effecting my job. Within a month, I had hearing aids, and it changed my life. I could hear all the buzzes from the lights, the meows of the cats, my wife!
Wow! So it was that dramatic a difference?
I truly believe it changed my life. Without the hearing aids, I would not be able to do my job (lots of meetings, talking on the phone, etc.). There are issues still. Restaurants can be bad because the hearing aids pick up everything, but there are settings on the hearing that help (still not perfect). I still use captions on the television, but the sound is not turned up so loud. Mostly, the hearings aids are good. I was 54 when I first got them. Now, at 58, I couldn’t live without them. They also function as ear buds (listening to podcasts and audible is great), but I can’t exercise with them. Sweat is not good for them. I have earbuds that I use when I run.
That's good to know re: wearing them (or not) when exercising. Those little tips are what I'll be needing more of very soon, I think!
They gave you your life back!