Re: Hearing

If you have the implant, I hope everything works out well for you Steve...

Re: Hearing

gee i am still glad one of my ears are ok he says i have lost the nerve in my ear your right stvmk same here around water and in places like the mall
feels like tins in you ear when talking as for me there will be no opps not a option as on wafrin for life

Re: Hearing

Pixe, It is possible to stop Warfrine for an Op.your consultant should know this, they can give you something else temporary. You I think would have to stop it for about 4 days prior to your op. Ask him, if you havnt already done so, Im sure there is a way.

Re: Hearing

That's scary I am glad I have one ear that's ok went to the mall to day
Was hard to handle all the chatting my husband was with me I could not go alone

Re: Hearing

I've more or less decided I don't want the implant Mags.

I've had a long chat at Audiology and was told that not everyone gets on with Cochlear implants BUT the problem then is that ordinary, over-the-ear Digital Aids won't work as the operation actually cuts the "feed" from the inner ear completely and redirects it to the processor that's implanted in the back of the head.

That cannot be reversed!

I know that there is still research going on, mainly in the USA and Germany (can't get funding in the UK!!) and some of that is promising because they are trying biological implants but the last I read is that the rejection problem is still a long way from being overcome; a bit like early organ transplants.

The hollow channels of the inner ear are filled with liquid, and contain a sensory medium that is studded with hair cells.
THAT'S how you hear, because sound waves moving through the fluid push the filaments; if the filaments bend over enough it causes the hair cells to respond and the sound waves are transformed into nerve impulses to the portion of the cerebral cortex dedicated to sound.

American surgeons have grafted a tiny "mat" of microscopic hairs that was inserted in a deaf rat a few years ago and the results were promising but then rejection set in and I can't find anything now about whether they got any further.

There's also research into the creation of nanobots, tiny robots that can be inserted into the body and programmed to travel to a certain part of the body.

In theory they can be loaded with repair "hairs" to try to mend some of the broken hairs but again the body's response via the immune system has to be overcome so the problem is finding a material that is artificial but mimics stem cells for example.

In this country it's Cochlear Implants - or nothing on the NHS so, as private treatment is far beyond what I could ever afford, I'm stuck with the NHS "solutions" for the time being.

I waited seven years before the local NHS went over to Digital Aids, despite the fact that I was working full-time and elderly patients up and down the UK had had Digitals for years - that really annoys me because, in a way, my hearing problems cost me two jobs and then were a barrier to my getting any work at all.

It doesn't matter that the Law says Employers cannot discriminate against the disabled Mags, they find reasons to let you go or NOT take you on and there's nothing in the Law to back you up!
That's the major problem for disabled people now and the infamous ATOS decisions which are actually based on theoretical solutions with no substance in most cases.

It's no good saying that someone in a wheelchair is fit to work if there's access problems but they adjudicate on the premise that, if the employer makes this or that change, then that person can get access and do the job.

There's no consideration for the fact that very often large amounts of money are required to make structural changes to the actual buildings, only the IF they do this or that!!!

Anyway, sorry to go on a bit.

It's so frustrating knowing your hearing is gradually going and there's nothing that can be done. stevmk2

Re: Hearing

Thanks for explaining it, Steve - I can now understand why Cochlear implants need a lot of thinking about before taking that step. I did know about the hairs cells assisting in relaying sound to the brain - it would be wonderful if doctors could eventually find a way of grafting microscopic hairs in the cochlea ..... goodness know what the cost would be though My digital aids cost me a couple of thousand pounds last year, I thought that was bad enough

Interesting post, Steve ... I wish you well.

Re: Hearing

I wish you well too steve, I endure terrible problems with both ears, operation would be dodgy, so I just take medication and get on with it, its miserable though and feel for you too....

Re: Hearing

Ann darlin' - me too, but you can have operations. What happens is that you stop taking the Warfarin several days prior to the operation and its replaced with Tenzaparin (these are injections - into the stomach - they are somewhat painful, but it is a way of allowing you to be operated on).

Re: Hearing

thanks for the info joe never knew about that

Re: Hearing

Good luck to all those with hearing problems.
We learnt sign language because of our grandson ... the little devil now has new digital hearing aids, (when he feels like wearing them ) so he doesn,t sign now..unless he's with deaf friends.
It is different for him though, he was born deaf and his hearing improved a little! It is far worse to lose that sense with age, because when young the other senses heighten.