Is it normal to be be afraid of losing hearing?

Question

I am deaf but sever to profound in my left ear and I can hear some out of my right ear. My family thinks I can be able to hear all my life but I warned them not to get their hope up because I may be deaf like happen to one of my friends who went from hard of hearing to profound (can't hear at all. No or very little precentage of hearing left). I am kind of scared because I got use to hear some noises like tv very loud and dog barking or whatever... I know I will be okay if I lose my hearing fully but yet again, I am afraid of losing my hearing. Is this feeling normal even I am deaf but can hear some?

Answer 1

yes this is normal

♂♂

Answer 2

Yes. While I am not deaf, I ask God not to let me lose anymore of my hearing in my right ear. I want to be able to hear the birds sing and my cat meow.

But mostly, I find that I can't talk with more than 2 people in a group tops. If too many people are talking at the same time, I can't hear what they are saying and therefore, cannot join in the conversation. And don't even have background noises like a TV on or music. This is with hardly any hearing in my left ear, only my right.

It is normal because it is scary. I hope that technology has some new device that can help your right ear so that you can hear even better.

God bless

Answer 3

It is perfectly normal. I think all of us that have partial hearing have some level of that fear. I have profound hearing loss in one ear and severe hearing loss in the other. Despite this, I absolutely adore music and dread the possibility of not being able to indulge in this passion of mine due to losing what hearing I have.

I also understand having family that have a sense of denial about your hearing. I have occasional tinnitis (ringing in the ears) which is part of the reason why I fear I may lose what hearing I have. I can remember my grandmother and father swearing up and down that the noises I was hearing that obscured all the other sound for a moment was my hearing "coming back" no matter how often I explained I never had it and my nerves are too damaged to get it.

All I can say to you is what I do myself...just live each day, go for your routine hearing tests, and face the next day as it comes. I've learned to not focus on that irrational fear of losing my hearing as much as I used to...because there is no way to know if I will and no way to prevent it beyond taking care of my ears. Good luck to you.

Answer 4

Like you, I have no hearing in one ear, and limited in the other. The fear of losing what hearing I do have is always there. Especially since my hearing loss is part of a degenerative condition that is likely to worsen as I age.

You are fortunate to be living in a generation in which there are solutions for extreme hearing losses. A few years back my mother had an ear implant done which allowed her to hear sounds with her one ear which she had never done before. SHe never reached the point of being able to understand speech with that ear (she could with the other), but she was able to hear the load tv and dog bark types of sound.

Some very famous people, such as radio host Rush Limbaugh, have managed to function inspite of deafness. I am producing a stage musical this summer, and danced in one last year, in spite of my hearing.

So while it can be frightening, whenever those thoughts come, you just remind yourself that there is nothing you can't conquer. Theres an old saying about fears, you can;t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can keep him from nesting in your hair.

Answer 5

I am a late deafened adult who has less the 15% of my residual hearing left. I don't hear doorbells, dogs barking or the telephone ringing. ON a good day, I can sometimes hear a Jet plane.
Before I began to loose my hearing and before it was clinically diagnoised, I played guitar, piano, flute, sax and a recorder.
I did not even realize I was loosing my hearing until some of my friends pointed out all that I was no longer hearing.
Being afraid of the inevitable hearing loss that you may or may not experieince will not help you or your parents to deal with the situation.
Begin to learn to sign. Have your relatives learn as well.
Practice your communication skills such as cued speech (often mislabeled as lip reading).
Learn how to use a tty properly and get one when you need one. Also get one for your parents. Get a flasher for your phone.
Become acquainted with the deaf community in you locality as they will help you to develop your skills as well as to learn other adaptive practices.
Get a tv that has closed captioning and use it as few things are more annoying for the hearing community than having to put up with your screaming tv. (I used my closed captioning tv to help teach my daughter how to read. She is in the first grade adn reading on a thrid grade level!)
Despite the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, do not expect the world to accomodate you and your hearing loss. It will not happen.
Many persons will immediately regard you as developmentally delayed (formerly called "retarded") because of your hearing loss. Waiters and waitresses will not speak to you. They will speak to the persons you are with to find out what you want. Sales clerks will often do the same.
It will be difficult going to the movies as you will often not be able to follow the dialoge when actors are filmed from behind. Rent movies and watch them at home with the closed caption tv.
If you get pulled over for a ticket, sign to the officer. It will confuse them and they will often let you go (happened twice).
Sing only when you know you are alone.
Learn from your experience and become an advocate for other members of the hearing impaired/deaf community.
Life will go on and it will be everything you choose to make it.

May it all be well with you.

(By the way, I can "lip read" in several differnt languages, I have two undergraduate degrees and a masters. One of the biggest hurdles you will have to overcome is employment. Employers will often not call you when they learn that your telephone is a tty as they don't know how to use one and are often unwilling to learn.)

Answer 6

yes, its normal! I had cancer and lost my hearing for a while and its scary when you can hear some noises, then don't again. Its even worse when a person gets it all back, as I did. The loudness still makes me very nervous so thats a two edged sword. Its probably better the way you are having to do it. I guess a person compensates for their hearing. I do think your family needs to be more understanding though. Good luck!

Answer 7

Absolutely normal. One of the things therapists face when working with injured or disabled people is the fear their patients have that "something could happen" during therapy that would make their condition worse.

Its common for people who have heart attacks or problems to be so afraid of having another that they wont even laugh in case that causes another attack.

When you have lost part of yourself it is perfectly normal to be terrified of losing more. If you know your condition can be progressive the fear doubles.

If you have no control over what could or might or will happen all you can do is let go, give it to God and enjoy your life as much as you can everyday.

Remember fear can hold you back from so many other things. When you look back at your life years and years from now you dont want to know you spend most of it in fear of what might happen - you have survived your hearing loss and you will survive if you have a complete loss.

Let your parents hope, you are their child and they want what is best for you. Just agree with them and know this is their way of loving you and encouraging you -

Answer 8

There are lots of good answers here. I have one suggestion. If you find yourself becoming obsessed with this thought, where it enters your mind several times a day or is intrusive to your life, then please seek counseling.

Even hard of hearing people need counseling.

Be sure to get a counselor who understands hearing loss and sign language.

You could benefit then from behavioral or cognitive therapy which just gives you a new way of thinking.

Think of a counselor as a shortcut, when friends and family do not have the answer.

That's if these thoughts about hearing loss are intrusive, got it?

It's normal to worrry some.

My father lost hearing in both ears, to the tune of not hearing trains and planes. I do wonder at times if/when that will happen to me.

The folks with hearing loss and wore aids, were constantly checking them. My father did too. So, there you go.

Good luck. Technology is constantly changing too. Hopefully you'll be one of the ones to benefit from it in regard to your hearing.

Answer 9

Yes, it's ok to feel scared about losing all your hearing. I assume you have talked to your regular doctor and or an audiologist. I have moderately severe hearing loss in both ears but I don't have nerve damage so my hearing loss isn't getting worse. I don't know anything about cochlear implants and don't know if they are an option, but would get several different options. You are not alone and other people are in your situation. Best advice is to listen to the advice of an audiologist.

Answer 10

i once popped the ear bud a little more than normal by accident and was paranoid for weeks that i have ruptured my ear drum and will go deaf.....
or when i'm on the phone and i go " what? what?" and the other side replies "whats wrong with you?" which makes me wonder(again paranoid) if i am losing the ability to hear....

so yeah this feeling is pretty normal

Answer 11

totally normal. my nana is deaf, and i am very hard of hearing, so i have a very good chance of going deaf before i turn 20. i used to worry about it all the time, but then i realized that even though my nana is deaf, she still has a loving husband, many children and grandchildren, and many friends, all of whom love her VERY much. being deaf isn't the worst thing that can happen to a person. do you kno how to speak sign language? i do, and i've found it very useful.

good luck and god bless :)