Comments | cerebral_palsy: hearing loss

ryotboi in cerebral_palsy

hearing loss

Jan 02, 2007 06:43

hello ( Read more... )

questions, secondary medical issues, cp related medical issues, aging, symptoms

Comments 7

maccaj January 2 2007, 22:18:40 UTC

I was wondering about this just the other day. My hearing tests as a kid always came back normal (just), but I'm 25 now and the phone is becoming more and more hellish to deal with. Which is saying something, as I have a lifelong hatred of the phone! I can't sort out background noise anymore, and higher frequencies are either uncomfortable or don't quite register (I get a delayed reaction of "oh, *that's* that noise" or "*that's* what she said.."). Ironically, I do fine in pubs, which are nothing *but* background noise... presumably because I have ample visual cues. I get tinnitus relatively often too. It's usually a brief episode.

I did have scores of ear infections as a kid, but this is a recent development - the past 2-3 years out of 25. I haven't been able to find any data on it, but I'm leaning toward this being in the "aging with CP" basket along with the 75 other things no one knew/told us about.

a_dawn January 3 2007, 02:58:37 UTC

No hearing loss (that I'm aware of), but I also have retinopathy of prematurity. Only was diagnosed with it 3.5 years ago.

ryotboi January 3 2007, 21:44:27 UTC

yeah, i found out at 16 about the partially retached retina (stage 4), and then the eye doc thought it was probably due to ROP, since I fit the criteria: born early and weighed 2.5 lbs, and was exposed to oxygen at some point to mature my lungs when i was in an incubator for the first 2 months of life.

nightengalesknd January 3 2007, 05:48:08 UTC

The best we can tell my hearing is fine. I'm refusing to get it tested, though. If you don't take a temperature, you can't find a fever.

I have a friend-of-a-friend with CP who just got hearing aides for the first time. She's 19? 20? So I wonder if this is the same phenomonen.

magslife840309 January 4 2007, 02:05:21 UTC

I don't have hearing loss but I can related to high frequency sounds being uncomfortable to my ears. For me particularily, it is sirens. I can't stand them and have to plug my ears when I hear them. I am often made fun of by my parent and friends for "being afraid of sirens" although I explain to them it is uncomfortable for me to hear.

Hearing isabella_mrose January 13 2007, 03:36:24 UTC

I'm a 43-yr. old woman with mild CP affecting mainly the right side of the body and my speech. My hearing started going downhill around the age of 30. According to the last audiology test, I'm in the low-normal range, with my right ear falling below the threshold on different decibel levels.

Using a phone is difficult and worsening, and if there is noise behind or beside me, I can't follow conversations. I've started using closed-captioning on my tv to follow shows. My hubby says my voice is getting louder and I'm constantly asking him and the kids to repeat themselves. Often, other people talking sound like Charlie Brown's teacher to me: muffled voices of blah, blah, blah.

And... high-pitched noises increasingly drive me berserk!