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what?? hearing loss? Fix it... seriously

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Deleted member 23845

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All,
I have had high end hearing aids for about 3 years now. My hearing was degraded at an early age from indoor target shooting starting at age 12 or so. My ability to discern sound steadily degraded, and had a big down spike after a virus issue when I was about 40. Throw in trap shooting, drilling rigs, rock concerts, 2-stroke/3-cylinder/expansion chambered/racing Ski-Doo snowmobiles: almost no high frequency sensitivity.

Ear wax also accumulated, further blocking sound waves. Throw in allergies and by age 60 I could have periods I could hear NADA. Family finally got tired of the what... and I finally got motivated and went to a hearing professional Doctor (not Costco), got the earwax removed (tedious and painful), got fully tested (wow your right ear is almost gone), got fitted for high end, noise reduction hearing aids (**** expensive). And voila: I can hear. Music came alive. I could hear female voices again. My wife and daughters are less frustrated. Classrooms became functional. And it was worth every penny!

Motorcycle riders endure ear nerve damaging noise all the time. You are all high risk. Be sure to wear effective hearing protection every ride. Meanwhile, go get your ears professionally checked. Get that hearing aid test. Benefits besides better social interaction include brain health: a foil against dementia.

Do it. Do it now.

www.npr.org

Untreated Hearing Loss Linked To Loneliness And Isolation For Seniors

Hearing loss often happens gradually and earlier than expected. Getting hearing aids can help stave off side effects like depression and even early death.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
This is great advice and reminder to protect something we so often take for granted.

I always ride with earplugs now but didn't for a few times when I returned to riding 6 years ago. Those few times, the wind noise into my not-cheap helmet caused noticeable loss and ringing so it's a daily reminder.

Earplugs are a pain to use but I won't ride at speed without them. They're a pain to put in (yes I'm pretty good at it but it takes a minute) and also a pain while riding because much of the world around me is shut out. In most ways, riding a motorcycle removes barriers between the environment and your senses but it's the opposite for hearing. I do try different kinds of plugs to dial it in, but I don't want to turn this thread into another one of those.

Thanks again for the reminder and your story.
 
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PLEASE do not highjack this into an earplug thread. Please.

I will add that every time you do insert earplugs before a ride, you are mobilizing and likely impacting into your inner ear canal WAX. The wax accumulation really reduces hearing fidelity. This product, used monthly, used properly will help dissolve and flow out ear wax. Highly recommended.

www.debrox.com

How Debrox® Works

Debrox® safely removes excessive earwax through the power of microfoam cleansing action. When drops are placed in the ear, oxygen is released and allows Debrox® to foam as it gently softens and loosens earwax.
www.debrox.com www.debrox.com
 
When I was about 17, I thought something terrible was wrong with my ears. I went to the post dispensary, the doctor had a look-see, then produced a ginormous ear bulb, started shooting soapy water into my ears, and out floated a nasty piece of gunk as big as a marble. Yuk. And I was cured! Since that time, I've periodically cleared out my ears the same way before wax buildup became a problem.

Other than that, my poor ears have endured over five decades of two-strokes, four-strokes, lawn mowers, loud music blasted through massive woofers, car speakers, and all manner of headphones. And let's not forget a succession of guitar amplifiers ranging from my brand new 1964 Airline amp to my current Fender Hot Rod DeVille. And of course, 30 years of data center floors filled with terabytes of spinning discs and enough screaming a/c units to cool Los Angeles.

By all rights, my hearing should be totally torched. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.
 
Regarding earwax... I clean my ear canal with Q-tips just about every night after shower. Yes, I know health professionals and even Q-tips right on the box tells you NOT to do that. Crock of BS, AFAIAC. If it is okay to shove all manners of ear phones, foam plugs, etc. into your ears, careful controlled-depth application of clean Q-Tips is far from menacing. And it is best done with the ear canals are wet after shower, when whatever ear wax build-up over a day wipes right off with the moisture. Plus drying the ear canal is actually better for preventing infections and such.

My ear canals are as clean as a whistle, and no infections or any other problem... 30+ years and running.

As for hearing loss... I've done a few stupid things in my early 20's that probably killed a bit of my hearing acuity, but I did realize soon after the importance of hearing protection. While some natural degradation is inevitable, mine is still in good shape. I think quite a bit of hearing loss is due mostly to false bravado. I've seen this with guys almost on a daily business, especially in the oil patch. Sad really.
 
I discovered an ear bud a few years ago - brand name Symphonized. They claim to be sound deadening, and they actually are. They're the only buds I've personally used that actually form a proper seal to keep most of the noise out, and give me a HQ, full range music sound. And because they're efficient at damping sound, I can mow and trim the lawn (or ride the VStrom) with the music at a comfortable and mostly safe volume, and hear the music just fine -- even listening to classicAL instead of classIC ROCK.

You're right - stuffing sound toys into your ears probably isn't the greatest idea, but neither is directly exposing your ears to the high pitched scream of a 2-stroke weed eater. Besides, my doctor has given up on me and treats my hearing pretty much like my knees -- that is, if I haven't ruined them by now, I'm probably home free.
 
I really appreciate this thread. I have put off going to a real ear doc for years, thinking nothing can be done for tinnitus. And little can, but if the other factors are also there, it could be making it worse. I'm about to start a specific magnesium supplement that may help me as well, as severity does wax and wane (pun unintended) with what seems to be wellness and nutrition and stress factors. In noisy environments, I hear conversation better with earplugs in, so there's a lot of evidence that noise reduction would benefit me.
 
Listen to these guys.. if you can still hear them. I've used HAs for a couple of years now and it makes a really big difference in life.
Now I see in others what was going on with me: first, checking out in noisy places, just going inside myself and not even trying to participate. Next comes doing it deliberately, and then finding I was looking forward to it because I didn't have to work so dang hard to figure out what was going on. It is isolating and alienating and it is not healthy. The thing was, I still seemed to hear so many things others didn't. Well, that's not diagnostic because hearing loss is not uniform across frequencies. It's not like I was wearing plugs. I could not tell what people were saying.

A really fantastic audiologist and hearing aid company that stood behind their products–and the effort I put into making it work–produced an amazing outcome for me.

Don't put this off. Take care of business.
 
A shot of hydrogen peroxide in each ear for about 5 minutes will do as much or more than the dewaxers. The bubble action mechanically helps to remove the wax. I tend to use Q-tips from time to time, but aside from the dangers, they will actually move the wax to the eardrum, so its better to use a method that actually removes all the wax.
Randy
 
Dave,

Properly tuned hearing aids will reduce tinnitus for many. I definitely noticed a reduction. Go for it.
 
I've got tinnitus bad. It is pretty rare to have moments where I don't hear some kind of ringing. Even as I sit here typing, both ears are ringing like crazy. It is normally a steady high pitched ringing, but every now and then it is like a switch gets flipped and the intensity and tone changes dramatically, sometimes even being uncomfortable. At night, if I lay on my left side, the right ear rings. If I lay on my right side, my left ear sounds like a leaking air hose flopping around making a raspy whispy sound that is pretty loud and hard to hear over, but it totally goes away if I roll back to my left side. It is very annoying.

I have ALWAYS worn the -30db ear plugs when riding, mowing, weed eating, and even over the ear protectors with ear plugs when shooting. I never really did the concert thing a lot like some folks did. I can hear folks when we are talking, but noisy restaurants are annoying. But I have always found them annoying, even when I was younger. I just don't like all the commotion. I once read that some restaurants intentionally create a noisy environment because they found that it got people out the door faster and more customers could come in, so they made more money (in theory). I just try to avoid them altogether.
 
Many years of competitive shooting, motorcycles, rock concerts, and 41 years of tool and die machining. I can hear some. Very directional. Nothing can be heard when tv's or radios are on. Tinitus like church bells. Use plugs when shooting, cannot hear a 22 go bang! Left ear has more loss due to the machines!
 
What? You have hearing loss and tinnitus?

Go see a professional. Get tested. Get the right hearing aids. Be sure you are not plugged with wax.
 
"Sound" advice for sure (groan) but I'm still amazed at the people who refuse to protect what hearing they have left by saying "I'm deaf already so it doesn't matter"...... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr It's especially disheartening when you try to gently persuade someone younger and they blow you off.
 
And being friends of people that can’t hear and do nothing about is a pain in the ****. Also, it affects the mental well being of the one who can’t hear to participate in conversation, etc. isolating.
 
I’m experiencing some hearing issues where words tend to be garbled sometimes. I think it may be the age of my phone, Galaxy S5. Had it many years, maybe speaker going south. My wife doesn’t really “speak up” so to speak so not sure if I’m experiencing any hearing issues. But..... I like to play the I didn’t hear you card when it works for me.
 
TxTiger:

Here is the reality: women's voices are higher frequency. Hearing nerve damage dramatically cuts those high frequencies. With my wife and two daughters: final straw was when my youngest daughter got so hacked at me not hearing her she demanded I go see audiologist. So yeah. do it.
Its not your phone. Its your hearing bandwidth.
 
We had safety hearing tests yearly after the first base test at hire. The nurse told me I had moderate to severe hearing loss. I replied I don't doubt it after thirty years in the trades riding motorcycles and three marriages and two divorces. She laughed like I was joking.
 
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