help ive lost my hearing in one ear can i claim any help money??

Savvy_Sue

It could be worth the OP (and others) looking at this thread for tips and hints about coping with deafness in one or both ears.

bigturnip

asandwhen wrote: »

Being a passenger in the car is the bigest problem for me as my "good" ear is facing the window listening to the road noise. My wife can be having a full on conversation and I wont hear a thing.

I suggest that you investigate whether you have a hearing problem in your other ear, while I do have problems in this situation because of road noise, it is only missing the odd word, I have never not heard a thing.

asandwhen wrote: »

I have been told by my consultant that the hearing in my "good" ear will and is deteriarating at a faster rate than normal due to its constant use so will be fully deaf by old age.

I suggest you seek a second opinion, because that sounds like the biggest load of tripe I've heard in a while.

dizzybuff

Okay here goes
I have bi-aural high frequency deafness ( severe) . DLA would be a contributory factor if you had any other illnesses as said before.

You would be entitled to other help however , through your local council sensory service , if it effected your day to day lifestyle .

At work would be an access to work assessment . This would help with any changes needed such as a volume control phone etc.

At home the council would provide flashing door bells or buzzing child monitors ( as had when my son was born ) However you need to make the first move .

Which ever council you are with they should have a sensory team who will able to give you help .

However , both my brother and I are deaf and have never been entitled to DLA , I am severe my bother profoundly. So just because you have a disibility albeight minor you may not be entitled to anything.

Sorry it has actually angered me , I had to make my mil claim dla as she has terminal lukemia she was adememt she wasnt claiming as she could cope . Makes you think doesnt it .

Hear-Hear

Hi asandwhen,

Most PCT's will fund BAHA for folks up to retirement age, if it is an appropriate solution. However, I'm not sure that a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) solution would have worked for you. They are designed to deal with conductive losses (middle ear malfunctions) rather than sensori-neural losses (inner ear 'hearing nerve' damage) which you describe.

For SSD due to sensori-neutral hearing loss, a better solution would surely be a CROS (Contralateral Routing Of Signal) aid. You can do a google for some detail, but broadly this means a small microphone in the bad ear which then transmits the signal to the good ear for you. It takes a bit of getting used to, but for someone of working age, it is usually quite successful. Some of the older CROS systems are hard-wired between the ears, but more modern systems can communicate wirelessly. The aids are not much more expensive than conventional hearing aids, and basic CROS systems are indeed availble on the latest (01 August 2010) NHS Hearing Aid Catalogue.

Regardless of what you do with the bad ear, you must make sure to get the good ear re-tested at 12 monthly intervals. The usual interval between tests would be 24 months (if one doesn't have problems with their hearing, just like having the eyes tested every 24 months unless one has specific problems). 12 months is the maximum interval between hearing tests for those with hearing aids, for those with hearing problems, for those with SSD, and for all persons aged over 55 years.