# Help With A Hearing Issue?



## dixie_flatline (Dec 28, 2010)

First, I want to say that my hearing checks out fine - I have practically perfect hearing in both ears, and it has been measured several times in the past 2 years.  I can actually still hear the very high-freq sounds that you are "supposed" to lose in your early twenties (I am 27).  The hearing tests only measure my ear's ability to ear certain frequencies though, not my brain's ability to interpret a variety of signals and make sense of them.  Maybe what is wrong with me is nothing at all (doctor wasn't able to suggest anything) and is something everyone deals with.

I have a terribly difficult time trying to make sense of sounds when there is other noise/background chatter.  In a moderately noisy restaurant, like an Olive Garden, it is almost impossible for me to carry on a conversation without saying "What?" and leaning over constantly. There are very few songs that I can listen to and tell you what the singer is saying.  Talking on the telephone is also very difficult for me - the modulation of the voice on the other end, combined with the ambient background noises on my end, can often end in me hanging up in frustration.  Often, I get through it by piecing the conversation together using context and the bits I can make out.  It's like, I can hear the sounds, but my brain can't keep up with the task of isolating the person's voice and making sense of what they're saying.  Yet I can still hear the high-pitched whine when someone leaves an old tube-TV on and the hum of all the electronics in my office.

To tie it in to EMS, I often have a hard time auscultating a BP, esp in a moving rig, and there have been a number of times I just can't understand the voice on the other end of the radio.  I'm torn.  On the one hand, reading my own description of myself makes me feel like either a hypochondriac (which I decidedly am not) or a whiner.  Everyone has trouble taking BPs in a moving ambo, right?  On the other hand, it causes me a lot of (figurative) headaches, and my wife insists that I am either deaf or just intent on ignoring her.h34r:


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## MMiz (Dec 29, 2010)

This isn't going to be the answer you're looking for, but we've all been there.  Practice!

Radio traffic, BPs in moving rigs, and even hearing patient complaints can be challenging with so much background noise.  You need to practice tuning out the other sounds and being a selective listener.  It comes with experience, but you can also practice in more noisy environments.


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## Aerin-Sol (Dec 29, 2010)

The Deaf community defines deafness as being unable to hear a telephone conversation, so you can consider yourself deaf. Have you thought about getting small hearing aids that reduce background noise? I also know there are stethoscopes that can interface with hearing aids, but I'm sure they're expensive.


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