Felicity,
Did your doctors ever diagnose your condition? Mine say it's ottosclerosis, a hardening of the bones in the ear that deliver sound. I can hear well if I have a headphone IN my ear but only if it's the kind that actually touch my head (make sense?). The first time I got the nerve up to have my hearing tested, the audiologist put the tuning fork next to my ear and I could barely hear it. As soon as he touched it to my head behind my ear it was so LOUD! I was amazed! You mentioned in another thread how you hear sounds that aren't there and hear a roaring. I have heard that roaring since I was a teenager and thought it was normal "white noise" and maybe I could hear better than most people. Then in my early 20s when I had my daughter, I realized I couldn't hear her cry. I started having deafening ringing in my left ear, annoying clicking, and sharp pains. I thought later maybe it was an infection (and it could have been) but it went on for a year or more when I was without good insurance. I was a teacher at a private school, teaching middle and high school. I noticed more and more that I was irritated by loud noises and when everyone would talk at once I couldn't hear the person standing next to me. I went on to teach 4th grade and found the same problem, even worse. When I finally got good insurance through my DH's job, they allowed me to have an exploratory surgery and attempt to implant prosthetic microscopic bones in place of mine that had hardened and weren't sending signals to the nerves. When the doctor got in, though, he found a facial nerve laying on the main bone he needed to replace, so he cleaned up a lot of scar tissue that he found and sewed me back up. My hearing improved significantly for about 3 months. Then the ringing and roaring started again. Soon I felt the same symptoms in my right ear and eventually the pain and clicking subsided in my left ear. Based on the measurements he gave me 5 years ago, I would say my hearing loss in my left ear is about 70% and in my right ear 40% but more than the loss is the constant sound. It keeps me from hearing things and makes me hear things that aren't there. Most frustratingly, it makes it VERY difficult to hear when anything else is going on - crowds, dishwasher, running water, engine running, tv, etc. Like one of the earlier posts, I tend to hear every conversation in the room equally whether close-by or far away, especially in an enclosed room. The sound seems to travel better from far away than close-by. It makes it very difficult to focus on the person speaking to you. Thank you so much for this outlet and resource! I am so glad to find people who understand what I'm going through.
Liz