Finding a Job with Hearing Loss

[HanaK]

Hi guys, I'm a recent graduate (Business) that has yet to get a job, but I somehow managed to ruin my ears to the point of having a 40 decibel dip at 8 kHz and 30 decibel dip at 4 kHz and more dips throughout my audiogram. It's amazing how both me and the doctors failed to diagnose/recognize my hearing loss all these years. I had a really hard time hearing in certain situations and even described my hearing as muffled/having ringing ears. Each time I went to the doctors, somehow it was deduced to earwax. (Guess I had a lot of buildup + hearing loss, so the hearing loss went undiscovered). It was not until recently did a doctor finally call for a hearing test and that was where I discovered my hearing loss. I should've been more smart to realize that loud music was the cause all these years.

I have to work soon and make ends meet despite having hearing loss though. Do you guys have any tips for getting a job when I have hearing loss? I'm scared I won't be able to hear people well, or that my tinnitus will be spiked by loud noises. The thing I'm most afraid of is taking phone calls, because I don't want to hold the phone up to my ear or wear earbuds... I'm also scared of being judged for having hearing loss at such a young age. I can still hear in quiet situations, so there's no need for a hearing aid just yet. (Never in my life would I thought this would happen... stupid concerts and earbuds ugh.)

I'm not sure what to do and how to handle going into the workforce. Still beating myself up/extremely angry at myself for self-inflicting my hearing loss due to lack of common sense and unawareness. It makes life so much harder now, job wise and social wise.

 

[Contrast]

Does hearing damage cause you to have chronic panic attacks, or is that just me?

Last year my hearing was complete broken mushy garbage, it slowly got better over the course of 6 months or so but never made a full recovery obviously.

 

[HanaK]

Does hearing damage cause you to have chronic panic attacks, or is that just me?

Last year my hearing was complete broken mushy garbage, it slowly got better over the course of 6 months or so but never made a full recovery obviously.

Sorry to hear that it causes panic attacks! I wouldn't say it causes panic attacks for me, but it definitely causes excessive worrying. Because some days my hearing gets worse and I panic like "Oh dear what did I do why is it like this, was it the shower I took, was it the door knob I accidentally bumped into? Will I continue to get more hearing loss?" The biggest pain though is having to re-plan my entire life around this darned hearing loss lol. Socially, career wise, etc.

Wow. I'm glad to hear that your hearing got better over time. There's a glimpse of hope there. I really hope over time your hearing continues to get better with even more time. We never know what may happen. Obviously old age will cause some decline though.

I think my hearing loss went undiagnosed because I thought it was anxiety related, ear wax related, or even related to some disease such as Meniere's since I had slight vertigo. I put it off for the longest time and didn't follow up with the doctors after my earwashes even though my hearing was still trash. my brain just went kaput and never connected two and two together so I continued to not use earplugs and listened to loud music up until my diagnosis.

 

[Tex]

Are you able to carry on normal conversations? Your degree is business, so an office environment job should be doable.

 

[Contrast]

How do people not notice SNHL in its early stages?

 

[GregCA]

I can still hear in quiet situations, so there's no need for a hearing aid just yet.

Either your job only involves quiet situations and you're all set (according to your logic), or it doesn't and you need a hearing aid (or 2).

Even if you feel you can wing it in quiet situations, it may be beneficial to have a hearing aid so that your hearing apparatus isn't deprived of input in certain bands.

My recommendation is to try hearing aids and see how that works for you.

 

[HanaK]

How do people not notice SNHL in its early stages?

I've definitely noticed something was off about my hearing for the past few years, just never thought that it was permanent hearing loss from loud music. I always blamed it on either anxiety, earwax, barotrauma, or something else lol. Now I know to avoid loud music/loud noises. Going to an ENT/audiologist never crossed my mind either. I definitely wasn't on top of my health issues.

 

[Juan]

Do you guys have any tips for getting a job when I have hearing loss?

Obviously office work would be best for you. It is easier to hear in silence than with background noise, even soft noises like fans or air conditioning.

What did you do in the end? How's your hearing these days?