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Just wondering if I have any company in my hearing test anxiety? I have my annual hearing test coming up soon and each time I dread it. Bizarrely, I feel almost as stressed out about this as about my cancer scans … which is frankly nuts.
Part of the issue for me is that with my history of Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (in remission for four years without meds ) I fear a recurrence. However, unlike cancer, recurrences are usually obvious — you can hear them ), so that is really a small part of it (I haven’t noticed any big drops in hearing over the year and the little changes are not usually considered part of the disease — just age-related hearing loss which is typically accelerated by AIED). It’s mostly sitting there knowing I should be hearing something, but hearing nothing; feeling like I am failing, failing, failing, like I am being examined and judged and failing, then seeing in black-and-white that the hearing in my bad ear has gotten a little worse again. I don’t know … just a sucky experience.
Anyone with hearing issues feel this way? Or not mind the tests? Or successfully changed their attitude?
All tests suck because you want to "pass" and worry you will fail. I don't even like taking DMV vision tests for a drivers license.
That said, hearing tests are an unpleasant but fairly neutral thing. I sit in the booth and just do my best. Tinnitus interferes with some tones but I have learned to quit worrying about it and just go with it. I let the test be what it is. If I hear a tone, I click. No tone, no click. I've learned that the operator can always retest that tone a few times to see if I really have lost the ability to hear it or if I just missed it that time.
I don't stress about it. I just take it straight and don't guess. Having a hearing test is way better than lots of other medical issues from filling a cavity to colonoscopy prep.
I don't hate hearing tests. It is like any other undesireable nuissance. You endure it as necessary. I mean, who likes bothersome medical obligations. Nobody. We would all rather be doing something else.
All tests suck because you want to "pass" and worry you will fail. I don't even like taking DMV vision tests for a drivers license.
That said, hearing tests are an unpleasant but fairly neutral thing. I sit in the booth and just do my best. Tinnitus interferes with some tones but I have learned to quit worrying about it and just go with it. I let the test be what it is. If I hear a tone, I click. No tone, no click. I've learned that the operator can always retest that tone a few times to see if I really have lost the ability to hear it or if I just missed it that time.
I don't stress about it. I just take it straight and don't guess. Having a hearing test is way better than lots of other medical issues from filling a cavity to colonoscopy prep.
I don't hate hearing tests. It is like any other undesireable nuissance. You endure it as necessary. I mean, who likes bothersome medical obligations. Nobody. We would all rather be doing something else.
Good, totally sensible attitude. Thanks.
I suppose one of the issues that I have is that the hearing tests always seem to say my hearing is way worse than I think it is. At my last hearing test, I scored extremely poorly with my left ear — with “profound” hearing loss at 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz. Basically, I bottomed out at -110 dB on all of these and my speech recognition was a 4%. The audiologist declared the ear basically “dead.” But here’s the thing — I can actually hear kind of OK out of that ear without any aids if someone speaks clearly and relatively loud. For example, I can listen on the phone (a landline) using my bad ear only and still hear everything that is being said. So, obviously the ear is not “basically dead.”
the problem with hearing tests, IMO, is that if you have tinnitis or inner ear disease, the noise your ears make may overshadow the noise of the hearing test. Then the tech/dr/ etc believes your hearing has decreased when out in the real world you can hear what you need to hear! theres also a difference between hearing and listening. One is more mechanical, the other requires attention. Havent you ever NOT heard what someone said because you werent paying attention? Or did you NOT hear what someone said because physically you couldnt hear it. Big difference.
I am also NOT a fan of the every two yrs Test...Eventhought at home I have head phones all day and nite with music from the iPh or at nite while watching youtube concerts.
For the last 5 yrs I seem to have been diagnosed no worse that year one, and I can hear well, its the wife that complains 20 times a days that I am goinn deaf, of course she speaking thru walls 2 rooms down the house and my head sets it doesnt help.
After 49 yrs of marriage I tell her she's the one goinn deaf and waco, not moi !!! Life in The Fast Lane.
BTW and Of course I go do the Test so that she leaves me alone for 24 months. But it really doesnt Stop her a bit. Our 2 Daughters just find it insanly funny !!!
I suppose one of the issues that I have is that the hearing tests always seem to say my hearing is way worse than I think it is. At my last hearing test, I scored extremely poorly with my left ear — with “profound” hearing loss at 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz. Basically, I bottomed out at -110 dB on all of these and my speech recognition was a 4%. The audiologist declared the ear basically “dead.” But here’s the thing — I can actually hear kind of OK out of that ear without any aids if someone speaks clearly and relatively loud. For example, I can listen on the phone (a landline) using my bad ear only and still hear everything that is being said. So, obviously the ear is not “basically dead.”
Modern hearing tests administered by good Audiologists are awfully accurate. "Basically dead" may be overstating things, but your hearing loss is pretty extreme in your left ear.
It has been a really long time since I could go to a movie theater and hear dialogue without hearing aids. Even when they spoke loud and clearly, I still missed so many words, I couldn't follow the plot. I have high frequency loss and a lot of letters sound the same "p", "d", "t", & etc. I can crank my hearing aids and get 90% of the words.
Even those of us with horrible hearing can hear most words...
In a quiet room...
With one person talking...
In a fairly loud voice...
And looking at us so we can partially read lips.
In other words, under perfect conditions, which hardly ever happens. Hearing aids are a godsend for me. I don't know what I will do when my hearing loss gets so bad they can't correct my hearing. Meanwhile, I limit their use basically to "only when needed" so I am not amplifying sounds regularly that could accelerate further hearing loss.
It sucks to be susceptible to hearing loss. I know so many people who had similar noise exposures to me, but have great hearing. I have high school friends who went to 4 times as many rock concerts, and their hearings is fine, while mine sucks.
As always, you have to be really careful to pick the right parents. Always pick thin, rich parents with top-notch DNA.
Maybe you don't understand the tests--like my wife, who is every bit as blonde as she looks---
She was to take a hearing test when she was first hired as a flight attendant-- just a few years after they stopped putting that other wing on top. She tels it this way--
They put me in a booth with head phones. Then they startd playing noises that got louder and louder and louder until it actually got painful andI couldn't stand it any more, so I put up my hand and tore off the headphones....
...They came to get me out of the booth and asked "didn't you hear any of those sounds before you put your hand up?"...I heard them all. ..."Then why didnt you signal?"..Oh, I thought you were trying to see how much I could stand, what with the loud jet engines and all.
Anyone with hearing issues feel this way? Or not mind the tests?
I don't mind the tests. I welcome them.
10 years ago my right ear went totally 100% deaf due to a vestibular schwannoma. I also have an age related deficiency in my left ear and wear a hearing aid. I am very conscious of the need to preserve what's left of my hearing and keep careful records of my hearing tests.
Any test that doesn't require injecting some alien substance is one I don't hate. I will find a way to deal with the information it generates. There are many worse things to stress out about.
Last edited by Parnassia; 08-11-2021 at 01:44 PM..
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) I fear a recurrence. However, unlike cancer, recurrences are usually obvious — you can hear them 
), so that is really a small part of it (I haven’t noticed any big drops in hearing over the year and the little changes are not usually considered part of the disease — just age-related hearing loss which is typically accelerated by AIED). It’s mostly sitting there knowing I should be hearing something, but hearing nothing; feeling like I am failing, failing, failing, like I am being examined and judged and failing, then seeing in black-and-white that the hearing in my bad ear has gotten a little worse again. I don’t know … just a sucky experience. 
