- Hearing
Like many people, Ruth Zadoks didn’t realise hearing loss had crept up on her – until her partner brought home an electric toothbrush.
‘I listened to it with my good ear and I could hear it,’ she says. ‘But when I listened with my other ear, I couldn’t hear a thing.’
For Ruth, then in her forties, hearing in her left ear had become increasingly difficult.
— RuthI was straining to hear in meetings at work. I would try to sit in places which favoured my good side but it became harder. I would find that at the end of the day, I would have headaches from all the strain.
‘It started a bit insidiously. I flew overseas for a course and my ears got blocked and I thought it was just a cold. When my mobile phone rang, I would answer on my right side even if it was lying to my left. There were a few hints I probably could have picked up earlier.’
Ruth, a Professor of Veterinary Science at Sydney University, has a demanding and busy work life. While she first began to lose her hearing in one ear about 10 years ago, it took some time to realise that she needed to take action to give her the best chance of staying connected – at work and at home – as she got older. She’s not alone. On average, most people take nine years to do something about their hearing loss once they realise it is a problem.
Spreading the word on hearing loss
Ruth now has a cochlear implant. But she knows only too well how a journey towards hearing again can take some time and thought. She took to the airwaves recently with Director of NextSense Institute Professor Greg Leigh to discuss hearing loss. Speaking to Simon Marnie on ABC Radio’s Weekend Mornings program, Ruth and Greg hoped to help others understand that they do have options – and it is well worth exploring them.
— Professor Greg Leigh, Director, NextSense InstituteThere is stigma that people experience around hearing loss and there shouldn’t be.
‘For many people, hearing aids are what they first experience. They are an incredibly useful piece of equipment to help people re-engage with hearing. The journey may be different for everyone though and they are not for everybody. Sometimes cochlear implants may be indicated, and we know that only 10% of adults who can benefit from implants currently access them.’
At first, Ruth did try a hearing aid, but her audiologist realised that this was delivering no benefit to her. So, she was referred to the NextSense cochlear implant program – Australia’s largest – and began her journey towards sound.
‘There are pre-assessments and tests, then day surgery, and you do have to recover from the anaesthesia and heal,’ she says.
‘Then, two weeks later it is ‘switch on day’ but it’s not like putting a pair of glasses on and suddenly being able to read the print on the screen. You first hear garbled noises and then you begin to learn how to hear again. NextSense did explain this to me – they said it will be like learning a new language with that ear and it might take some time to become fluent.’
For Ruth, listening to podcasts was her way of practising her listening and one day, the familiar Scottish accent of the ABC’s Dr Norman Swan cut through the noise and she began to make sense of what she was listening to.
Now, she can drive to Melbourne and chat with her partner rather than sit in silence because she has access to sound from her left ear. And she can enjoy a dinner party and engage at work without having to worry about where to sit or strain to hear.
Bars and restaurants can still be a challenge but there is no longer an increasing sense of isolation.
‘It has made a massive difference to me as well as to my partner,’ she says. ‘We are not living in involuntary silence.’
How are cochlear implants different to hearing aids?
While hearing aids amplify sound, if the damage to hearing is too great, they may not be effective. In contrast, cochlear implants bypass damaged structures in the cochlea and stimulate the auditory nerve directly, providing access to high-quality, more detailed sound.