About a year ago took a hearing test. It showed mild hearing loss. No big deal right? At 33 years old I had had countless ear infections, and my ear drums had ruptured at least 2 times a year for the last decade (but the issue started when I was two years old.) Flash forward six months later and that mild hearing loss in both ears was now moderate-severe in my right ear and still mild in the left. This meant that insurance would now pay for me to get a hearing aid. I was 34 years old.
In December of 2015 my ENT replaced my Right ear drum in hopes that it would stop rupturing so much. I had my first ear infection in after the surgery in February, and good news, the ear drum did not rupture! However, when I went back to the ENT at the end of February for my follow up hearing test, there was more bad news. In just six short months my left ear had gone from mild hearing loss to moderate hearing loss. This again meant that I needed a second hearing aid. I have now been wearing both hearing aids for about 3 weeks (6 months for the right hearing aid)
It is hard getting used to life with decreased hearing. The hardest is in crowded areas, such as the mall or grocery stores. I am slowly learning sign language. My hearing loss is called mixed hearing loss and it is progressive, meaning one day I will be profoundly deaf.
