As a second grader, Joy Keatley and her parents didn’t know she had a severe hearing loss in her left ear until she took the school hearing screening. With no diagnosis as to the cause or her age when the hearing loss may have occurred, Joy simply learned to live with it.
“At the time, hearing aids that could benefit my particular condition had yet to be invented,” says Keatley, now 55.
She made adjustments to accommodate the hearing loss. She remained involved in all the typical activities of an active child and young woman such as playing with friends, dating, socializing, going to school and eventually marrying and having children.
“My family and friends knew I needed some compromises and would try to meet my needs such as speaking toward my right side, seating me at the table a certain way, etc.,” she says. “Sometimes my hearing loss was an annoyance – such as riding in a car and having a hard time hearing conversations in the back seat – but it never kept me from doing what I wanted to do.”
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
Although Joy did not let her hearing loss slow her down or affect the quality of her work, she did notice that some of the compromises she had to make for it were taking it’s toll.
Her job as a senior clinical office manager at Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center requires her to talk on the phone, and she has to awkwardly hold the phone between her neck and shoulder to be hands-free for typing.
Keatley says she was unable to wear a phone headset because she needed to be able to have her right ear (her “hearing ear”) available to listen to the person who was standing at her desk. Over time, this put strain on her back. Eventually she required physical therapy.
REDEFINING HEARING LOSS
Technology finally caught up to her hearing needs. In 2007, Keatley was told about a new hearing aid called a CROS hearing aid. This device would use her left ear as a microphone and send sound signals into the other ear. Although she would still have what is called “mono hearing” (one ear) versus stereo hearing (two ears), this would not only amplify what she was hearing but also allow her to have some sense of hearing from her environment.
She remembers the subtle things we take for granted that she suddenly noticed. She could hear voices from the back seat of the car without having to turn around and heard birds and other nature sounds, even if they were not on her “good side.”
Keatley still has mono hearing with enhanced sound in her left ear, but now she uses a Phonak ComPilot that is smaller, less conspicuous, more comfortable and wireless. The device uses Bluetooth technology to sync to her CROS hearing aid. Her hearing aid lets her transmit through the device so she can work — hands free — and talk to clients and co-workers simultaneously.
She can sync her iPhone to her hearing aid so she can talk on the phone or listen to music while enjoying hobbies such as exercising, walking the trails near her home or creating jewelry.
Keatley has advice to share with anyone who lives with a hearing loss or suspects they may be developing one.
“I highly advise getting your hearing tested as soon as possible,” she says. “You don’t realize the impact a hearing loss can have on your life or the lives of those around you, especially if it is a gradual loss. You don’t know what you’re missing. Your quality of life can be much improved with a hearing aid. Today’s technology is so advanced; you can find just the right device that suits your lifestyle and keep up with all your favorite activities even as you age.”
