Can Someone Please Give Hope for Hearing Loss Cure?

jdjd09 Im sorry your going through this crap. It would be nice if there was more education out there about these conditions. Im 33 and have been confined to a wheelchair my whole life due to a birth defect. Being disabled, I really didnt give a shit about what people thought about me because there is no hiding a wheelchair in public and people hold ya to a different standard when your in a chair. Anyways I made a comfortable life for myself getting lost in video games and movies over the years. I loved video editing but there was one problem that I really never gave much thought. LOUD NOISE!! Everything I did, I would do at high volumes and in the fall of 2013 I made the worst decision ever. I bought a headset and started using them for everything. A year later I developed moderate to severe hearing loss in my left ear and very loud cycling T. I still make videos but its not the same as before. Sucks. I have so much regret. I should have watched my sound levels better but then again I really didnt know about all these horrific conditions

 

Just mild high frequency hearing loss in one ear? Are you serious?

 

Thats why you need to get hearing aids. Thats what I and other people told you WEEKS ago.
What you are describing will happen when you get HAs.
But you would rather complain than get a free trial.

How many times did you reject advice now, even from people who are/were far worse off and know better about being in your situation?
You always write like "but nobody is like young me with hearing aids blabla"
I had/have -50db on both ears when I was 16. Thats was 13 yars ago.
I had no problems going through school, graduation, job, visiting places etc. Even with normal T and hearing loss/hearing aids I had a decent life that was worth living. Wearing hearing aids all the time helped me a lot when I got my first tinnitus.

You write that the ringing doesn't bother you but you would rather kill yourself than accept wearing hearing aids.
Sorry dude, but thats f*ckin stupid. You can have a perfectly fine life wearing hearing aids. If it is a vanity thing, grow long hair, nobody will see them. Or get ones that are in-ear.

You need a wake up call, it's pretty clear that you are not in a stable state of mind.
Obsessing over some mental thoughts when there is a solution for your hearing.

You have heard everyhing there is for your case and no amount of these threads will change the fact that you will not get back the hearing you had.
And if your are expecting people here to give you the "OK" to kill yourself because of your medium hearing loss. Thats not gonna happen.


But believe me, you are in a far better spot than many people with extreme T, hyperacusis, hearing loss.
People who wish to die every day and cant do anything about it.
I would "love" to be in your position because with hearing aids and some time you can get back to life easily.

It is up to you to go to an accustician and at least get a free HA trial and cope with this.

You're probably gonna dismiss this post with some one liner. Guess I tried.

 

I am sorry that you're having a tough time right now, but you should try to take in the advises you have gotten from the members here.
I don't have any hearing loss within the normal speech frequencies, although I know that it drops off in the higher one. So I can't stay I understand. But I do understand your desperation, I have felt the same too.
You say you don't want hearing aids, despite that it would help with your hearing and masking the T. Most HA doesn't show that much either nowadays, I bet that nobody will notice. And if they do, so what? Nobody is going to think you are weird or so. I would have gotten them in a heartbeat if I had hearing loss if that would help me.
I am around your age, 27 later this year. I have an office job as well, it was hard in the beginning because they were drilling a lot above our office which freaked me out. But try to live your life as normal as possible. I feel better having people around me rather than to sit at home and just think about T.
I can hear my T in the office, but I try to work hard instead so the focus is spent somewhere else. I worked myself through retail jobs and finally I landed a dream job within a gaming company and that is something I have wanted to do for the past year. No way that I would let my T rob me of that, hell no. If I was loosing this job because of T, then I would have given up a lot more than T deserves. It doesn't deserve anything beside us protecting ourselves in loud environments. It doesn't deserve your happiness, your job, your dreams or your sanity.

Please try to see an psychiatrist, either to just talk or to be given some kind of medication for the worst days you are having. I just started to see one the other day, and we are working on some form of CBT. It feels great, even if it doesn't lower my T at all, at least I try to change my way of thinking. And that affects T and your general happiness overall. I hope the best for you, good luck.

 

Check out this new thread posted by @Nate:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/not-sure-if-this-has-been-posted.14219/#post-170735

Apparently Sound Pharmaceutical has something in the works for hearing restoration and hair and cell regeneration.

Edit: Weird. The thread seems to have been removed. Here is a direct link to the website:

http://soundpharma.com/technology/

The information on hearing regeneration is at the bottom.

 

Who gives a shit about vanity? Really. You know how many people that are doing damage to their health just because they wanna look cool? I hate peoples mentality of having to follow the flock. Who the hell cares what others think.THIS IS YOUR HEALTH! You dont have shit unless you have your health. Can you imagine some old guy somewhere talking to a youngster saying that he's had severe T for over 30 years. He lost his job because of it and it led to severe anxiety and sleep problems. It has severely altered his life. When the youngster asks him how he got it he says, "Oh i just wanted to look cool at the club. No one else was wearing ear plugs. I didn't want to be made fun of." Ugh...he destroyed his ears just to fit in with the people that he probably never saw again. jdjd09 this is not directed towards you but just venting really. Don't worry about what others think bro. People come and go in life but some health issues are unfortunately lifelong. Do whatever you can to make your situation better and dont give 2 shits what others think.

"Being like everybody else is exactly the same thing as being nobody." John B. Wells

 

I'll try to respond to everyone. I just don't have the energy to do anything. It's amazing I still have a job at this point.

I'm not clear what some of you are saying claiming my t isn't bad. How is that the case? I got kicked out of drug trial because I'm going I sane from it, the one thing that could have helped me but I truly couldn't wait another 2 months for releif. And I'm sure many will take pop shots at me because I'm suppose to be a machine with zero feelings of this ruining my life.

I may be trying hesring aids in time. I was seeing if my hearing would improve over time before trying them. Whatever, I hope I die tonight. If I don't post again soon tomorrow I lucked out and something killed me finally.

If I manage to be back tommorrow I will try to read again and respond. Also, the negative response above is not pointed at the majority of you, I appreciate all the responses.

Also, please let me know of any other companies doing research on hearing loss, I would love to be able to know of any more.

Again, sorry I can't respond to all. I'm barely functioning anymore.

 

There's just no helping this guy! He's looking for someone to kiss it and make it all better. He just doesn't listen to advice, or choses to ignore it. How many times, does he need to read in these threads, at this moment in time, there is no cure, for hearing loss and tinnitus! Is a million times gonna be enough for this guy?

Man, I'm with snow86 on this, get off your ass jdjd09 and try out some hearing aids. First thing I did when my right ear was determined to have SSHL. They help, period, end of story!

 

I agree! I wish hearing aids would help me but I have ETD. My T is loud and my whole head buzzes and vibrates.

 

Practically : In the next ten years there is hope that your hearing could become near normal since hearing aids will slowly develop other paths to compensate hearing loss. Next hearing aid technology will be laser hearing aid. Those devices will be invisible and "glued" deeply near the eardrum. Audio signals will convert to laser that will target the eardrum which will work like loud speaker with a better DB enhancing (between 20 and 40 approximately up to the frequencies).

Concerning biological restoration Novartis is already working with human guinea pigs and the results are expected for 2017. Therefore I believe that in the better case biological regeneration will become widespread in 20-30 years. Since we are in a market economy I'm pretty sure that hearing aid industry will improve their devices by mimicking neural transmission, I don't know how, but I have already heard at the radio that artificial hair cells could be made synthetically in about 20 years.

There is another parameter that could make the research go faster : the increased number of baby boomer having more and more hearing issues along with teenager destroying their auditory system with airbuds and concerts (prevention will never work).

Avoid the psychiatrists as much as possible, they prescribe drugs with side effects that they don't even know and that they deny if you are unlucky to have those side effects (psych drugs kill about half a million human beings in the western world each year because of the side effects like diabete, sudden cardiac arrest, suicide caused by drugs, major seizures etc). It would be dumb to drug you since you have no illness at all but only unhappy because of your hearing loss.

Well, hearing enhancing expected in 10 years, stem cells regeneration in 20-30 years or sooner if baby boomers and teenagers meet widespread major hearing issues.

 

You do not need hearing aids with the hearing loss you have. Someone posted a very good advice - don't think it's on this thread, it's in the other one- your brain will adjust to this slight hearing loss and it will become your new normal.

 

Like yourself, my main concern was restoring some hearing loss and getting better sound quality overall after my acoustic trauma (shooting). My T was loud too but I can get my mind to go around it and eventually forget it...at least that's what I was hoping for.
Hearing loss is tougher though, harder to forget.

Like yourself, its not the first time I got T and hearing loss but this time it has been far worse than the few times before.
I cannot hear much above 12KHZ but I also got a dip at 4kh, of 45db 2 weeks after the trauma.

Took some prednisone and a bunch of supplemets, B12, oral ATP, powerful anti-oxidants like NAC and Hydrogen etc..

They must have helped because my 4khz dip lessened to -35bd.
2 months later a did another test, still -35db, no more improvements.
My ENT says that usually after 3 months there isn't much changes to happen..and I was already past 3 months.

I also started LLLT - using a powerful device.
Not much at first happened but when I cranked up the power - over two months I could feel my ears getting much stronger, no more reactive T, no more H and sound quality improving gradually.

Two days ago I did another Audiogram and the 4hz dip has moved to -25db..quite an improvement.

The smaller dips along the scale are also filling in, I can hear those in the sliding scale on the generalfuzz site..those don't show up on an audiogram as they just draw a straight line but listening to the same music it sounds a lot better than 2 months ago, not perfect yet but I can listen for hours and no feel my ears "getting tired" so fast.
So I am continuing this treatment, which is a one to 3 years treatment with zero running costs and zero side effects, and as a bonus my T has changed in character - less bothersome, more of a thin sizzle/wind in only quiet places.

 

What LLLT device did you buy again? I realize that some people on here don't buy into it, but I would be it if you are actually seeing measurable results. I didn't buy into what people where saying about "feelings", but if you got audiogram to back your feelings, I am in if you don't think its too late.

 

Also, sorry, meaning to respond to others...just low energy...sorry.

 

I got the lucky laser, I think that for me the 650nm at 120mw and the 808 nm at 400mw pulsed helps the most.

I think that you need enough power to reach the cochlea and also use the right angle this is why it often does not work well on the under powered ones, and LLLT is not really a tinnitus cure either so set your expectations right.

The studies done on rats were using 810nm which is close to 808nm on my device.

I've got printed audiograms, will post them here next week as the last one is at my office.

On average people get about 20% hearing loss improvement but it takes time - months, perhaps even a year or two

Results could be even better if the loss is recent and the person young and the damage less extensive.

If the hair cells have been ripped off or cut to pieces by very powerful sound waves then obviously no laser is able to help, but the other less damaged cells may be getting better - and nerve damage too.

Also, another study showed that rats irradiated with LLLT during a week everyday before acoustic trauma - not after - had also less hearing/cochlear damage than the control ones, so here's another good reason to use it - as a prevention treatment to not make things worse which would be a major bummer for us, to say the least.

Popping 600mg NAC everyday all year has some side effects, kidney stones etc..so as a lifelong prevention measure alone LLLT could be even well worth the price in the big picture..

 

And sorry for living. Sorry to everyone on here for not having the energy to even respond to posts on here coherently. Sorry my world got flipped upside down like no other. Sorry that I can't even function enough to find a audiologist and call them. Sorry that I'm now showing up late regularly to work. Sorry that none of this was me before. I'm not me anymore. I can't even go buy a laser to help myself.

Whatever, society is still nature and nature doesn't have time for people like me. While I may have been ahead of the pack before, I guess it's time to catch the bus soon possibly.

 

@jdjd09

It's ok to vent in my opinion; that's what support forums are supposed to be for. Your mind is currently in a bad place, and I can relate to that, because I and many of us here have also been where you are now. You are depressed, and your depression is seriously clouding your judgement because of your catastrophic thinking. When we are feeling this way, we can't help but see the world as an awful place, full of bitterness and negativity. Please be assured that these feelings do pass, even in the gravest of situations.

It's not the hearing loss that's making you sad, it's the thought that you've lost something that you cannot get back. You can still function as you did before if you ALLOW yourself to. It's hard to let go of the paradigm you have grown up with and this is the driving force behind your sadness. You have to learn to accept the change and move on. Only then will you overcome this and leave your current depression behind you.

It's not easy, but some would argue that it's the trials and tribulations that shape our character and make us better human beings. You will gain more empathy for others, as you will understand how others feel in similar circumstances. There are also many examples of people overcoming truly horrific circumstances/events, the likes of which would humble you, and go to show how unbelievably strong we can be when we apply ourselves.

Please don't do anything rash, as your future self may be looking back at you right now, and remembering these days as the precursor to the greatness you contributed to the world. Don't let the bad thoughts that are currently controlling you stop this from becoming a reality.

If you need to talk at any point, you can message me on here. The fact you keep inferring suicide suggests a cry for help more than actually wanting to end your life. Please find that help (lots of good advice on here) and help yourself. This is not the end of your journey but it could be the making of you if you use all that negative energy and convert it into something positive.

 

Your problem isn't your hearing loss or your tinnitus. It's your anxiety and depression. If you work on those, you won't feel the same about the tinnitus and hearing loss. Neither one are keeping you from leading a happy or productive life but the way you feel about it is. You don't need a cure for the hearing loss. If your hearing was fixed, you would find something else that was making you anxious or depressed. That is the nature of anxiety and depression.

 

Didn't he say that he was happy and doing well prior to T and hearing loss??

 

Agree with Tells. Everyone reacts and adjusts differently when he looses a family member, a body limb / function etc

Depression and anxiety considered as something to be treated medically or illness that preexisted is one of the greatest swindle in medicine. Actually they are common reaction which implies everyone's own past and can get better when settling the root which is actually not a disease but a stress to a situation, repetitively bothersome or single explosive.

Again jdjd09, if you read that, keep in mind that next generation of hearing aid will be invisible, have a higher fidelity and current hearing aids will slowly become obsolete in the next 10 years. The future is now though it is obviously slow. In several months even smartphone apps will match current hearing aids, which are no less than devices overrated in a honey pot : don't fear trying and sending back if you try some .

 

I mean, I am possibly going to try hesring aid. I may purchase an lllt device and give it a try to see if it leads to any improvements first though. Although they are expensive like hearing aids :/.

I also hear companies and organizations sounding pretty confident a hearing loss treatment will be out in ten years. I mean, that sounds promising, but I wonder if I can wait that long. I also wonder if I should bother with hearing aids :/. I know people are saying get one , but then some say I won't benefit or it would be better to just get used to it.

 

@jdjd09 . You will find a hearing aid will be beneficial to your hearing loss . I have hearing loss in my left ear and didn't think a hearing aid would help . Try one you will be amazed what they can do to improve hearing loss and also help mask out your tinnitus.

 

@Richard zurowski , can I ask what khz and db your hearing loss is at? Also, would you say that you hear music better with them in and to "new outside noise" helps block out the ringing?

Again, I'm considering them, but also might try LLLT....idk. It's expensive, but someone on here got some hearing back with it.

 

@Michael2013 , sorry if it seems like I am ignoring advice by the way. I just go back and forth on what to do. Part of me doesn't want to buy hearing aids in hopes I just get used to it and save money. Part of me wants to just buy a LLLT product and give it a shot for a year (maybe it gives hearing back, maybe its gets ringing to go away, and maybe nothing), and last is just get a hearing aid now.

Some people in this thread posted saying that got some hearing back from LLLT therapy (well one person). IDK.

Also, I really do appreciate you still taking the time to respond to me. Despite me probably annoying you at this point. You have been extremely helpful over the past couple of months.

May I ask you, since you said you take a lot of interest in hearing topics, on when you think a treatment will come along to bring back hearing naturally. AKA, not using hearing aids, but just using ones own hearing? AKA, gene therapy or something else? Just very interested in what you learned over this time period.

 

Thanks for your response. I'm sorry if I'm posting erratically or am ignoring people, its not my intention. Can I ask if you experienced any hearing loss before? How do you deal with it if so?

I just wonder how I will ever meditate ever again. It was a big part of my life. I also worry about all these studies saying it messes with your brain.

I just debate what to do at this point. Either sit and do nothing and see if I get used to it, get LLLT and try it, or get a hearing aid now. Just lost what to do.

 

So that's it then?

 

I'm not a big believer in LLLT and fall in the camp that it's nothing more than another way to scam money from people. It seems to me if it was something that would work, it would get a whole lot more attention. But it doesn't.

As far as when I think a treatment will come to restore natural hearing? I believe it would happen sometime within my lifetime. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's how I feel. I think it will happen at some point, but I'm not waiting around for it.

 

@Michael2013 ,

Before having my issue, I would believe you 100% and agreed 100% on the lllt. Now I'm just so desperate that I don't care and would try it for hopes of it working. But, I m not sure it's a good idea.

It's fine if you don't have an exact time frame. Would you say anything in particular that gives you promise? Any specific research you read or organization s that show promise?

I'm going to see psychiatrist this week. I will see if I can see Costco on weekend to do hearing aid tryout maybe. Or maybe that is bad place to go? What do you think.?

 

That's the problem with LLLT, it seems to only attract the most desperate.

I don't have any specific reasoning that gives me promise other than the general fact that technology has been and is advancing at an exponential rate.

http://theemergingfuture.com/speed-technological-advancement.htm

As for hearing aids, I would recommend going to directly to an audiologist and not someplace like Costco. Find an audiologist who offers multiple brands of hearing aids and not just one so that you have options.

-Mike

 

Sorry @jdjd09, I haven't got any hearing loss in the speech frequencies.