My Father Has Lost His Hearing

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Hi all - first time in this forum, so apologies if the info I'm looking for is already in a thread somewhere.

A little background....

My father is 72, and hasn't been well for a good few years. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis which has gotten worse over the last few years. He also has a form of cancer that affects his blood - myeloma.

As a result he's on a lot of medication which seems to affect his immune system - so this means he's prone to picking up infections such as eye, ear, throat, chest infections etc... He's also suffered from pneumonia a couple of times.

Anyway, the myeloma seems to be kept at bay - not getting better but not getting too much worse.

So onto the hearing issue....

Over the course of the last couple of months we've noticed that his TV is louder than normal and we are all having to repeat ourselves when talking to him.

Then all of a sudden earlier this week his hearing almost disappeared overnight. He can still hear us if we speak loudly into his ear. He went to his GP, thinking that he needed his ears syringed but after checking the doctor said that they were clear - and he's just going deaf!

So - I'm researching options around hearing aids. I've never looked into this before so I don't know where to start.

I see on the hiddenhearing.ie website that they offer a free hearing test and that they can call to your home (which would suit him as he's not too mobile).

I'm wondering about the expense involved - he is on a medical card. So really I'm just looking for some guidance. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

Seaneh

Get your GP to refer him to an Audiologist and and ENT, if you have private cover just organise it yourself, nobody here will be able to give you better advice than they could.

alanajane

Hi there,
Yup hearing problems the hidden disability..anyhows as regards your father I wouldnt be waiting on medical card assistance for hearing aids you could be waiting a couple of years for a test...regardless of your fathers current conditon.
Hidden hearing excellent, great service. Not completely sure but you pay roughly half the total expense of the aids with medical card. At least that was the story in my case. Still very expensive tho. Over €1500 in my case, still paying off the credit union a year later.
In saying all that hearing aids are great but that is what they are, aids! There is no cure. I do still need people to "work with me". They are not the be all and end all.

the_syco

Hugh Drab Puff wrote: »

My father is 72

Has he worked before he was 66? If so, he may be entitled for a grant. See http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/treatment_benefit_scheme.html for more details. Grant usually works out at €500 per aid.

Sidetracker

Hi all, I read your post, with interest, as I have a hearing loss also. I am 71 and I went to Hidden Hearing for a free test. Nothing wrong there. I was informed that almost all of the hearing receptors in my right ear were head and would not improve. My left ear was 40% dead but could be improved. OK. They do accept people with PRSI, but do NOT accept people with Medical Cards. A bit of a bummer. Later on I discovered that my ears were popping and my hearing became very loud and went up and down, but I was told that my receptors were DEAD. I have to say that I was very skeptical, as I felt that there was a very large SELL emphasise about the whole thing.
I am now waiting for a hearing test by the HSE Audiologist.

Dude111

Im so sorry about your dads hearing loss!!!!!

I hope he gets better!! (And you also sidetracker)

Mango Joe

Age related hearing loss is never as 'sudden' as you have described. You'd be dealing in decades, not weeks IMO.

- Get a good ENT to assess properly, my guess is the respiratory infections are blocking eustacian tube and causing knock on clogging of ears.

GP perhaps should have gotten some more detail before cashing out.