Marie-Anne’s Story: Coping with Sudden Hearing Loss
In 2016, Marie-Anne was watching television when her husband walked in and commented on how loud it was. This was when she realized that she could not hear the television very well. Her immediate thought was that something must be wrong. The simple comment made by her husband would go on to be the start of Marie Anne’s hearing loss journey.
Soon after this interaction, Marie-Anne decided to go to an audiologist to get a hearing test. At her appointment, she found out that she had lost hearing in her left ear. This hearing loss was enough to make things like hearing the TV more challenging and explained why she had the TV turned up louder than usual.
Later, in August 2017, Marie-Anne began to quickly lose her hearing in her right ear. Eager for answers about why this was happening, Marie-Anne tried to see an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist. At the time, the waiting list was over a month long, and she was feeling very anxious about her sudden loss of hearing. She decided to go to her family doctor instead, who was extremely helpful and allowed her to be seen as soon as possible and was able to get her an earlier appointment with the ENT.
Coping with Sudden Hearing Loss
The next few months were not easy for Marie-Anne, as she was trying to find ways to cope with her sudden hearing loss. She found that it was harder for her to follow along in conversations, both at home and at work. Talking on the telephone was also more difficult, and it was important to Marie-Anne that she found a solution to help her reconnect with those around her.
After conversations with her doctors, a cochlear implant (CI) was recommended to bridge the gap between her hearing loss and the sounds she was missing out on. Marie-Anne was very nervous about getting a cochlear implant, because it would involve getting surgery. Before taking the leap, she decided to visit the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association – Newfoundland and Labrador (CHHA-NL) to seek guidance on her sudden hearing loss.
Our knowledgeable hearing loss support specialists were able to provide much needed support and information to Marie-Anne. This information included general guidance for hearing loss, hearing assistive technology solutions, as well as a referral to the Cochlear Implant Resource Group offered by the Association. The resource group gave Marie-Anne the chance to speak with people who already had cochlear implants, and they helped to relieve some of her worries about having to get surgery.
Armed with all this information and support, Marie-Anne was ready for a new chapter in her life – getting a cochlear implant.
Marie-Anne’s Advice
Marie-Anne believes that having support is especially important for anyone’s hearing loss journey. For her, family, friends, CHHA-NL, support groups, and her medical team were all essential to her success with coping with sudden hearing loss. The biggest piece of advice Marie-Anne would like to tell anyone going through a hearing loss journey of their own: Do not wait. Seek help as soon as you think you are starting to lose your hearing. Find the right support to help you get through this. You CAN get through this.
Looking for more information about hearing loss? Click the links below.
- Understanding the effects of hearing loss on mental health.
- Learning more about hearing loss.
- Marie-Anne is one of CHHA-NL’s Board Members. To view a listing of current board members, please click here.