Curlergirl

I pulled this information below off the internet from a ENT who was asked the same question. I am facing the same issue myself, my sac decompression surgery was not successful and I have lost an additional 20% hearing now at 45% in my only hearing ear. I need to get a hearing aid and was wondering the same.
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Off the internet.......
Hearing isn't what keeps your balance, balance is kept by the pressure felt by a small organ inside your ear. That's why people born deaf can still have good balance, as long as their deafness isn't related to damage of the rest of the ear. (because the balance organ isn't damaged) And thats why those who lose their hearing to catastrophic physical damage of their ear, such as an explosion induced overpressure, also lose their balance. (because the tiny organ gets damaged too)

So, no. A hearing aid will do nothing for your balance.
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Me here again, I would think you would get some benefit if you could have more of a perception of where you were in time and space. Your balance is made up of several componates and the improved hearning should help. The down side is that most hearing aids are more hearing amplifacation systems more than anything else, you still have some desernment issues.

Have a blessed day!

Rich

I talked to my ENT about a hearing aid. What he said was that it doesn't affect balance at all. And, since hearing loss isn't stable with MD, it was really hard to calibrate a hearing aid. I could come in 1 day and have it calibrated so that I could hear well. But the next week my hearing might be worse, and it wouldn't work, and I'd have to have it calibrated again. And a few days later, my hearing might bounce back, and I'd have to have it recalibrated again because then it would be too loud. So, he did not recommend it - at least at my hearing loss levels (I have about 50% hearing in my affected ear).

Thanks for the feedback. What you've said makes sense. I will probably out off looking into hearing aids. I am having major problems getting my long term disability reinstated and have used up most of my money on living expenses so I couldn't afford a hearing aid anyway.
Thanks again.

Curlergirl
I held off on hearing aids as long as I could but probably need to get more focused on the subject. My vertigo is not controlled so I worry about falling or drop attacks and smashing my hearing aid. I see the hearing tech on Friday of this week so will se what she recomends. I am sorry to hear about the problem getting your disability re-approved. I would not hesatate to get advice from an attorney who is good on LTD. They in most cases will listen to you about your case, if they think they can win will take it on a contingency basis. If it is a Social Security Disability case the fee is taken from your back pay when you get reinstated, the amount is dictated by law what they can charge.

Let me know if you need more information

Rich

I just learned the following:
How is hearing loss described?

Hearing loss is measured in decibels, but is usually described in terms of degree of impairment for hearing conversational speech.

Sometimes people give their hearing loss as a percentage, for example, I have a 50 per cent loss of hearing. This may seem easier to understand, but it is not really the best way to describe hearing. A 100 dB hearing loss is a considerable impairment, but it certainly does not mean total deafness.

Percentages are only used by audiologists for purposes of compensation when describing a hearing loss caused by a noisy work place or accident. In these cases, a percentage disability is estimated to determine how much compensation a person may be due.

So % is used for disability, but not reflect my capability. BTW, my ENT said the same as the 1st post, to random for hearing aid due to fluctuations.