Hearing loss? Or something else? (blood pressure, plague, doctor, specialist)

[VegasGrace]

Before I go to the primary care..to be shuffled thru the system- again...I'd like your advice. I already have a hearing aid that doesn't work.

For a few years now I have grown accustomed to reading lips, I use the CC on my bedroom tv and would rather rent dvds so I can use the CC.
Just recently when re-watching a movie that I had watched at the movie theater w/ my daughter she alerted me to an upcoming scene..."oh, this is where the keys are dropped" and wouldn't you know it...I heard the sound whereas before I didn't hear them.

Christmas Eve while dining out my sister got upset with me because my nephew chased me to the buffet hollering my name because he wanted to go with me and everyone thought I was ignoring him...I just didn't hear him!

My kids had to get used to this as they have to be facing me and me them when they talk to me or I won't hear them.
I avoid the phone like the plague!
I won't get a cell phone... I have a pre-paid that I use only when I travel.

This has caused 'others' to view me in a way...you know..... my character is based of what others think of me.
People think I ignore them...I don't say 'hello' in the halls at church.
People think I'm stuck up or they think I think I'm better than them, etc.

I can't go around announcing I just don't hear them.

And I was given a hearing aid by someone who didn't think I needed one and when I went back claiming it didn't work...they literally just shook it and said, "there, it works".
But my hearing tests seem to be okay....if I'm in a hearing tank and everything is totally silent and I have to only hear one sound...I can do that. But put me in a room of competing noises and have me pick out a human voice- can't do that. Or one particular sound...can't do that either.
I am migraine prone and sometimes I hear so much noise it hurts...electricity, water running thru pipes, people's feet hitting the floor as they walk, breathing, etc.

What is this? It's almost as if I have hyper- hearing...but then again...I can't hear. What kind of doctor/ specialist do I need to see?

I need to say I'm a disabled veteran, and female, and young and not from WWII or Vietnam so alot of providers don't like to see people like me.

[pitt_transplant]

Do you hear a ringing? Were you in a position where you had a lot of loud guns going off? My dad was a shell loader on those cannon things they had on hills in korea. His hearing was worse through the years and upon getting a check-up he had high BP that suddenly made it worse. How is you bp? Do you get dry ear canals?

[Steve Bagu]

I can sympathize with the OP as I have a hearing loss initally started from Korea but never put on my service records.

The VA did give me a hearing test...45% in one ear and 55% working in the other ear...so now have two hearing aids and likewise a lot of frustrations with the land phone and cell phones (two different companies).

What the OP has is the problem with "high" or "low" tones which the ear is able to pick up. Some tones seem to shrill while with others you only see the persons lips moving.

The sound room is NICE as I have told the person giving me the test. Walking out into the hall is another ball of wax. They keep working with me and I've gotten to the point...don't give a d***.

I've turned into a semi recluse and have gotten accustomed with not having to deal with the public. In a store just nod my head and smile "no problems".

Have a cell phone here in Baja and keep one for the US side...mainly for emergency needs.

Other day had a flat tire and my spare was low on air after paying twice to fix any leak it had. I was able to call my good friend and neighbor to bring his good car jack (mine leaked out the oil) so we could fill the spare and mount it on the car so I could drive home.

I'm 78 and a young kid working across the way saw my predictiment and was kind enough to try and help me. I gave him $5 for what little he did. I was appreciative.

So much for non important info...main issue is for the OP to have a thorough ear test and go from there. Different brands of hearing aids will function differently...best to get the correct one.

Steve

[VegasGrace]

Thanks for sharing.

No combat role, I was NBC. And my ears tend to be moist...actually complained to a doc once but said it was a good thing.

The ringing of the ears....well, no, not really. If I binge on Pepsi or chocolate- sure the caffeine would do it but it would be temporary.

Blood pressure is just fine.

And like many, I have given up...but I just wish...just wish things could be different.

[lifelongMOgal]

Suggest you do some research for audiologists in your city. Call to see if they accept your insurace and if you must go through primary care physician first ask specifically for a referall to the audiologist: a real hearing specialist, not just an office that happens to run the hearing tests.