My 17 year old son played the drums for over a year, practiced daily and went to loud concerts. Not anymore. He has hair cell damage in one ear. It drives him crazy. He has no hearing loss per say, just a weird buzz, crackle in that ear. He was told that loud noises such as concerts, drums and such can make the tiny hairs in the ear lay down much like grass when you walk on it. If you don't stand or walk on the grass again it will slowly start righting itself and eventually be standing up again. The best way for someone to not "walk on their hair cells" is to stop exposing oneself to loud noises or to wear protective ear plugs. There are all kinds available in drug stores and from ear doctors. There are even special ones that can be custom made for musicians. I took him to an Audiologist who suggested wearing ear plugs every day until the problem corrected itself. After months of no improvement, I took him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. An MRI of the brain was done on him thinking the problem might be related to a tumor or aneurysm since it was only affecting one ear. Thankfully his brain looks fine. We will now investigate custom ear plugs from an audiologist. I hope this helps your daughters realize the seriousness of loud music, I know my son is pretty bummed by the prospect of having this irritating problem in his ear all the time. By the way, I was a nightclub DJ back in the 70s and 80s. Our legal limit for both records and live bands was 110db. I had a decibel reader and had to keep harping on the lives bands to keep the levels down. They hated me for it and contiued to push the limits all the time. Your only defense it seems is to protect yourself by wearing good ear plugs. Jodi-

Hi sweeby - I lost total hearing in my left ear as the result of a brain tumor. It is a daily struggle to participate in conversations, but I work really hard at trying to listen when someone is speaking to me, I give them my undivided attention. I do have to ask people to repeat, and most of the time it isn't a problem. There are many times that I am not aware someone is talking to me, so they literally need to be in my face LOL It is obvious that you are really trying to work with your hubby, and I see your frustration. I know my hubby has to constantly be aware when he is speaking to me and it is alot of work for him as well. Sounds like maybe your hubby is in denial? Especially having profound hearing loss at only 50. Wish he would go to an audiologist because there are so many wonderful hearing devices available. Some so small that you can't see them in the ear. It has been 8 years since I lost my hearing and there has not been anything on the market that would help me. My hearing nerve was removed. Anyway, there is a brand new device that was just approved and I will be getting mine next week. I am very excited!! I know it will not replicate what I had pre-brain tumor, but it will sure make life easier for me and everyone around me. Hang in there!! matti

I have hearing aids now for quite a few years. I have moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears. I should have been wearing them my whole life, but kids can be real cruel in the first grade! Back in 2006 I finally broke down, got tested and went over the different kinds of hearing aids that were available. BTE, CIC, etc. I chose CIC and have not regretted it at all. I have both low and high frequency loss of different decibles. The brand I have now are Audibel, these are digital. The right one is red and the left is blue. I had mine fitted just for me with a substance that was poured into my ear to make a mold. I hardly know they are there. To avoid that stuffed up feeling, the tiny air vents needs to be cleaned at least once a week. I just went back to the specialist for a in depth hearing test. I have loss some more % of hearing in the past 6 years. I was given a phamplet of the brand Focus by Microtech. These are also digital. I can still hear the dog lapping out of the water bowl and the leaves crunch under my feet as I walk. I'm am still very happy with my Audibel brand and don't plan on getting any new ones just yet.

One of my Shih Tzus lost her hearing at the age of 11 1/2. Not all of it but quite a bit. I would have to talk to her ear (louder) until the end. She heard loud bangs but a lot of the hearing was gone. I always thought that she lost her hearing at the same time, or around the time when she had a retinal detachment (went blind in 1 eye...). I swore that it all happened during a thunderstorm. She would shake uncontrollably. My holding her didn't help. Valium didn't help. She lived with limited vision in 1 eye, and hearing almost all gone until the ripe age of 18. It seemed that she learned to compensate for the hearing loss and the lack of vision with her smell and maybe a sense of vibration, because she would know when we came home or were around her. It was amazing how she developed an extra sense to know what was going on around her. She never missed a treat ;) I kept the furniture and other things so she didn't have to learn new ways. Although, we moved when she was 16, and she adjusted just fine. The Shih Tzu I have now is 13, and her vision and hearing seem fine. However, I'm not 100% certain that she is purebred. She's a puppy mill dog that looks 95% Shih Tzu.