The standard course of treatment for SHL is a high dose of steroids followed by steroid shots in the affected ear if the oral steroids are not effective. As each individual is different, I not intentionally not posting specific info about my treatment. However, I am confident that my ENT followed the protocol discussed the in Clinical guidelines for treating SHL. I have completed all possible treatment and am now in the holding period for a hearing aid. I have been told that I must wait 3 - 4 months from the onset of the hearing loss to get a hearing aid. Why? My ENT said that the brain actually remembers how to hear and that my brain must lose its memory regarding how to hear in order to get the maximum effectiveness out of the hearing aid.
While the medical treatment is important, what seems to be neglected from the conversation and work with ENTs and audiologists is the impact of hearing loss, especially sudden hearing loss, on one's life. Like many others, I was not given much information about my diagnosis. In fact, much to my frustration, I was not actually told what my diagnosis was but instead read it in the information in my electronic chart online. As a social work professor, I have access to therapists in my community and I am not ashamed to admit that I reached out to one I'd seen previously in response to a student issue I'd been dealing with. Two days after seeing the ENT and hearing the fateful and distressing words "good candidate for a hearing aid," while still in shock, I was in the therapist's office telling her what was going on with my hearing. It was among the best decisions I have made in this process. Following that visit, I have continued to see her to address issues with this and the roller coaster of emotions that comes with it.
Despite this, I remain mixed about seeing her. As I told her, if there were resources in the community for this, I'd be using them instead of seeing her. I found myself both angry at having SHL and angry at the lack of resources in the community to help me deal with this. The role of social support is critical in helping people respond effectively to a variety of issues. Hearing loss can increase social isolation. Given these two things, social support in responding to hearing loss seems key to helping people cope with it but there is little for us. People who know me know that I will soon make plans to address this deficit and I hope others will join me in doing so. Most of the resources seem to be online; what did people do before social media? There is a lot of support on Facebook. I have found these to be helpful and there may be other groups as well: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1732163127062917/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/284820492631/
No comments:
Post a Comment