Q&A

Subject: Hearing Distortion

From: LWW

My question concerns an 86 year old female relative of mine who, unfortunately lives in Illinois, not Maryland. She is experiencing the frustration of hearing loss as well as the inability to find a competent doctor or hearing aid specialist. Is there a type of hearing loss that makes it possible to hear conversations but not to understand what is being said? It doesn't always seem to be a matter of volume but of clarity.

She was referred to an ENT doctor by her primary care physician. I have been trying to prompt the idea of a visit to an audiologist. Is there a way to find one other than walking thru the yellow pages? The relative in question lives in a retirement community in IL. She's been the Miracle Ear route and currently has an aid with a remote control -- which she finds annoying. Nothing she's tried has seemed to work. Can you PLEASE advise on this? Many many thanks. LWW

Dear LWW,
How very frustrating!! First, let's draw a parallel between various types of visual problems. Near sightedness or farsightedness are pretty basic and very successfully helped by proper glasses. However, individuals with cataracts will still have "foggy" vision, even with glasses. Those with macular degeneration have distorted perception of what they see with blind spots as well.

Well, in hearing loss, problems of volume are quite easy to fix with amplification. But many folks with hearing loss also have distortion in what they hear. The distortion takes place within the neurological pathways of the auditory system and there is little that we can do externally to correct the distortion, since the sound must still travel that same auditory pathway. This does not mean that hearing aids are not helpful. Given the damaged auditory system, as clear and comfortable a signal as possible is of great benefit, but it can not do the whole job.

Encourage your relative to think of using a three-pronged approach to communication...listening and watching and thinking. Some auditory training or lip reading classes at a local university or adult ed program can be very helpful in learning ways to supplement hearing alone. The Self Help for Hard of Hearing organization is a nationwide network of hearing impaired individuals who meet regularly to help each other or invite speakers present useful information.

The American Speech and Hearing Association is the national credentialing association for audiologists. They will be happy to provide lists of providers of therapy and testing services across the country. Some audiologists are employed by ear doctors to do testing and even to fit hearing aids. I hope the doctor consulted by your relative either had an audiologist do the testing or referred to an outside audiological facility.

Let me know if you need further help. Thanks for browsing our site!
Solveig