Just lost my hearing in one ear- now what?

[gayle_the_RN]

I'm older, went back to school, got my nursing degree. Been a nurse on a tele unit for about 3 years now. I woke up one morning and just like that, my hearing is almost completely gone from my left ear. Now, I wear a hearing aid, although I don't at work because I'm not willing to share weakness with the increasingly blameful and vicious management.

My question is, so what now? Can I really work the floor half deaf? I can't really hear lung sounds all that great with just one ear. And if you'd worn a hearing aide you'd know, it doesn't help for things like that anyway, it barely helps with speech. Am I dead in the water?

[Chin up]

I have 80 percent hearing loss, in my left ear, due to an accident 25 years ago. I became a nurse, 26 years ago and apart from talking very loud on occasion and having some balance issues, only when I have a cold, I have done very well. I have learned to compensate and sometimes forget I have a loss. I am reminded when people tell me I am talking too loud. I used to get embarrassed, but now i explain my hearing loss and ask folks to do me a favor and raise and lower their hands when I start to esculate. People then understand, and are " happy" to help me out. I can't whisper at all, you know it sounds quiet to me, but only me. LOL. But, I learned to be upfront with everyone so I don't need to whisper and if in a place that we must be quiet, I write things down. Anyway, we can do all things we want to do. Give yourself time to deal with this. I know how hard it is mentally, to realize you lost something so much a part of your life as hearing. It takes a long while. But once you accept it, you will be fierce in other areas. Peace!

[loriangel14, RN]

Why would you hide your hearing loss from your employer? They can't take action against you because of it, that's discrimination. I work with two nurses with serious hearing loss. One wears two hearing aids( and still does not hear you at times) and another relies on reading lips to communicate.They function just fine and both work on very busy floors.

[belgarion]

I have a 50% hearing loss and I wear hearing aids. Nurses and other medical personell do seem to have the habit of speaking in hushed tones so I still have difficulty hearing some voices, especially when there is a lot of background noise. At the risk of sounding sexist, I hear male voices much better than female.

As far as a stethoscope goes, I use a Littman 3000. It amplifies sounds something like 18x and uses one AAA battery. It cost around $250 but it has been well worth it.