Therapist for Acoustic Neuroma Support in Los Angeles

One sided hearing loss is often one of the first noticeable symptoms of acoustic neuroma. Increased hearing loss or even total deafness in the affected ear often result from the treatment.

If you are living with one sided hearing loss or deafness,you may be familiar with some of the following scenarios.

You are crossing a parking lot and hear someone calling your name. You can't tell what direction the call is coming from. You can't tell how far away it is either.  You look around for visual cues. In the meantime your friend calls out a few times, "Over here!" You have no idea what "Over here" means. You yell out,"Where?" and they repeat, "Over here!" You are tempted toshout out, "State your location precisely!"  You do a 360 degree turn and finally see yourfriend.

You have gone to a work related lunch meeting at a noisy restaurant. You arrive early and carefully choose a seat, where your affected ear will be facing away from most of the group. You leave your jacket on your chosen chair to mark it as taken. You dash off for a quick visit to the bathroom. When you return, the whole group has suddenly arrived. Someone has taken your seat and your jacket is now on a chair where your deaf ear will be pointed toward the group.

Your neighbor's stereo is on really loud. You have reached the point of deciding it is time to go and ask them to turn it down. The trouble is, you can't tell what direction it is coming from. All you know is that it is permeating your living space. So, you go out on a walk about, looking for visual cues. You are starting to feel frustrated with these investigative walks.

You are at a meeting at work. You wish people would talk one at a time, and listen to each other. With your one sided deafness, it is almost impossible to hear the designated speaker if there is side talking going on. Your ear will seem to fill up with the side talking going on around you, cancelling out what the speaker is saying. You happen to look to the side, and see that the person sitting beside you, next to your deaf ear, is moving their lips. They seem to be talking to you. You have no idea how long they have been carrying on and how much of it they assume you have been listening to.

The following tips are being offered to help you cope:

• Use visual cues to help figure out where someone is when they are calling you.
•  Use seating arrangements to your advantage, to the degree that you can.
•  Become familiar with your environment and eventually you will have a sense of other people's habits, to help you solve the mystery of "where is that sound coming from?"
• Communicate your needs to others, so they know that your preferred seating arrangement is a strategy toward hearing them better.
•  Assert yourself. Chances are others can't hear well either, and will thank you for suggesting that people talk one at a time, or asking the speaker to repeat an important point.
•  Be easy on others when they forget your hearing needs. They will appreciate your graciousness and be more willing to cooperate.
•  You will probably have to remind people routinely and in a matter of fact way.
•  Have a sense of humor. You really do have to in this situation.
• Relax! Learn to roll with not being able to hear everything. You can always catch up with people one on one later, to talk more in depth than you can in a larger setting.   
• I hope these tips have been helpful to you. I wish you thebest in your acoustic neuroma journey.

Kate Boswell MFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist in the Los Angeles area. She helps people with depression and anxiety, especially when it is related to coping with health issues. Her Marina del Rey location is near the communities of Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Del Rey, VeniceBeach, Culver City, Inglewood, Westchester, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.