I was being a bit sarcastic, of course if I did lose hearing in both ears and could correct it with a hearing aid I would- at least while at work and running errands, but mostly likely not while on the bike or doing anything active.
I'm in the service industry and would not be able to keep my current job if I were 100% deaf. As it is I often have to ask people to repeat things, which is frustrating, but not enough that I'm willing to get a hearing aid.
Unfortunately for me, if my vestibular issues worsen as I age, I may have to choose to sacrifice my hearing, and it won't be correctable.

I know that there are a lot of issues surrounding cochlear implants etc. in the deaf community, and I certainly didn't mean to offend with my off handed comment.

I guess luckily for folks like us usually one ear goes at a time, so at least we'll have a while to think about it :( I might feel differently if it were both ears too, but I absolutely can not fathom living with vertigo on a regular basis. The week I had it I was bed ridden, it was probably the single worst experience of my life.

lol doctors couldn't figure out what it was until it was eating through the soft tissue of his skull, which led to full vertigo and so on. Ended up requiring the whole inner ear to get scooped out, we used to have pictures of it.

I also have vertigo but it only happens when a very something speeds by me very fast. Like a train. Also only sometimes..... usually when my darn sinuses are acting up.
I also have delayed hearing. What is that you ask? Ok its this....you say something to me and it takes me a minute to hear you. Very strange thing to happen. I asked my doc about that once. I have nerve damage in my ear so its not as rare as you think. he says that the brain "hears" the sound 1st then it reaches your ear and presto you hear something. Well when you have nerve damage the the sounds get haywire before it reaches your ear...hence the delay. Its funny when when i tell people to wait a minute and then I'll hear it. This also happens at least once a day.

Wow, this is a pretty big thread.

I am just about deaf in the right ear... birth defect that's gotten worse over time, they say. The audiologist said I was a good candidate for a BAHA or maybe an FM transmitter, but the ENT said it would be pointless. I'm not sure I like the guy anymore. I sometimes get vertigo, it's come and gone, but it's been a few years now.

Having cars pass me on the right that I can't hear does scare me now and then.

No offense taken. Many people tell me that they wish they were deaf so they don't have to listen to all the crap in everyday life, but when they actually lose their hearing, they become so withdrawn, angry, and depressed.

All I can say is, don't take your hearing for granted. People don't know how good they have it until they lose it.

Like my hair.....:(

FM transmitter for the HOH? I never heard that ...what is it?

I think Steven King could use this...:twitchy:

Instead of plugging into your iPod and transmitting to your car's stereo, it transmits from your "bad" ear (either a hearing aid or a mic worn around the neck) to your "good" ear. It requires wearing a hearing aid in the good ear, too... and I am not too sure about wearing a mic around my neck all the time.

LOL This is what the parasite was living in/thriving off of: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002045/

My dad uses his half-deafness to his advantage sometimes, he'll act like he can't hear someone (particularly his ex wife) just to drive her nuts. Or if the neighbors are partying, he rolls over on his left ear and can't hear a thing.

One of the complications could be brain absess?

Note to self: Buy Q-Tips!

You have no idea how much trouble this got me into with Mrs. A when our baby boy had sleeping troubles and I rolled over in my sleep.

So... BAHA. Worth it? I am thinking about getting a second ENT opinion (perhaps from someone who doesn't also do plastic surgery) on this one after the first one blew me off. I understand I wouldn't be able to ride with it... but how about the rest of the day? I also understand nothing's going to fix the ringing in my deaf right ear. And if this is too off-topic, PM me with your thoughts.

Yep, I am deaf in my left ear. I don't have any problems and I check and scan left and right all the time. Tried the hearing aid thing for my left ear but it was too weird and the noise was too foreign. lol.

My only problem is if there are other riders on my left side and they say something.

yeah... all of the people trying to chat me up on the right on group rides (or just the commute) think I'm a snob or something. :)

"On your left"
"huh, what? where the heck did you come from? :(" lol

and yes some times I wear headphones when I commute. while I can't really hear anything in my left ear I usually have the headphone in my left ear and I turn up the bass really loud. I can hear that.

After reading this post I've never had vertigo and I've always had excellent balance.
Good thing I'm deaf in my left ear because in high school we had to watch a birthing video every morning in health and I sat in front of the tv. :O just plug up my right ear and close my eyes lol.
Some times I think I'm losing my hearing in my right ear. so, now I'm going deaf and I have the worst eye sight ever (without glasses of course). boooo lol

I've been totally deaf in my left ear since I was 6,older brother punctured my eardrum with a wisk broom.I don't hear well with my right,old age.It doesn't seem to make any difference,my head would still be moving at all times.

The state of California gives driving licenses to legally blind people....

Yes, this is the great advantage to being deaf in one ear! I sleep so much better now. Sometimes my hearing will randomly get better, and I have trouble sleeping when it does. I'm always thankful for the more restful sleep when I go deafer again.
It does take me a long time to notice an alarm clock now. I've been late for work a few times because of it.

Yep........especially in hotels.

I have one (FM Transmitter that is). Deaf in left ear due to mother having rubella. Right ear is slowly going bad due to age. have worn aids on right side for years (since college) as it really makes a big difference. recently picked up a bicros (left side transmits to right side.) and I almost have stereo sort of... :-) but the transmitter is phenomenal. bluetooth from my iPhone to my pickup that I wear all the time that transmits FM to my hearing aid. Sweet! Also if there is FM transmitter in theater I pickup that as well on my aids. Device for TV to transmit to FM for my pickup and bingo don't have to turn volume up so high it scares the neighbors. technology is amazing. Even works with my iPad. (movies!). GPS on iPhone in car! Oh and my office phone has a bluetooth base station that my transmitter picks up and transmits FM to my aids. I had no idea how much I was missing on phone calls until this came along. I hate phones and hearing aids but this is truly amazing. Phone calls are now like sitting in a nice quiet room all by myself speaking with someone face to face. Even in the bull pen office cubicle space we use at work. IM me if you have any questions. I am not a sales person but I love this product. Back to bike.... I commute daily but do not wear the aids due to wind noise it's much better with new aids but still annoying. am looking into that little wind sock / sweat band thing to cover the aids while riding.

Oh LOL I knew what that was. Didn't know the name of it though. Thanks for clearing that up. I believe I used it once when I was in a movie theater. It blocked out all those noisy kids in the front. Felt so bad for the hearing people though. Phone calls are a pain so glad you found something that works. Ill have to look into that.

what I meant is that I don't wear it when I ride.. so I can't hear over there.... the BAHA was priced in at $6k apparently... insurance makes everything a bloated mess.


5cm is freaking huge, mine was only 3.5cm by the time i had surgery (nov 09') (Vestibular Schwannoma = Acoustic Neuroma... go figure two entirely different names for the same thing)