What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey Into the World of Hearing Loss

by Monique E. Hammond

What Did You Say? is the book author Monique Hammond wishes she had when she was coping with and trying to understand her own sudden hearing loss. Weaving together her story with a wealth of information--causes of and types of hearing loss, audiology tests, hearing instruments and listening devices, support groups and organizations, resources and checklists, to name a few-- Hammond's wisdom and insight is invaluable, and her story is one that needs to be shared. This newly revised second edition provides its readers
- Noise-induced hearing loss research news
- Expanded Assistive Listening Device (ALD) and Hearing Loop information
- Aural Rehabilitation for hearing aid and implant clients
- News on implantable hearing devices (including cochlear, bone-conduction and others)
- Over 50 new diagrams, pictures, charts and graphs What Did You Say? provides readers with the information to understand their conditions, be involved with their care, persevere, and become their own patient advocates.

374 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2012

About the author

MONIQUE HAMMOND is a hearing loss expert and has just finished revising the Book What Did You Say? as a Second Edition.

Monique is a registered pharmacist. She graduated from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, with high distinction. Monique has worked in health care in Europe, the United States, and Australia.

Monique has always been committed to patient education and safety. She has done extensive public speaking on health issues and has published newspaper and magazine articles both at home and overseas. She even produced and hosted her own health-focused public access TV show “Over-the-Counter” in Minneapolis.

Monique entered the world of hearing loss in fall 2005 when—in a matter of four hours—she went deaf in her left ear. That’s when she found out that there is a lot more to hearing loss than not hearing well. Eventually, communication challenges contributed to the end of her hospital pharmacy career. However, this life-changing episode also put her on track to research issues regarding ear and hearing disorders. She ended up writing her book “What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey into the World of Hearing Loss,” now in its second edition.

In her book she tells her story—what happened, how it affected her life but mostly, she shares the critical details that she had to learn the hard way while trying to understand her condition. As she tells it: “Any knowledge gained that is not shared so that others can learn from it is of little value.”

The newly revised second edition provides its readers with:
- Noise-induced hearing loss research news
- Expanded Assistive Listening Device (ALD) and Hearing Loop information
- Aural Rehabilitation for hearing aid and implant clients
- News on implantable hearing devices (including cochlear, bone-conduction and others)
- Over 50 new diagrams, pictures, charts and graphs

What Did You Say? provides readers with the information to understand their conditions, be involved with their care, persevere, and become their own patient advocates.

Monique has served on multiple committees, boards and task forces related to hearing loss. She is a powerful public speaker and advocate and continues her involvement with support and community groups. She also works with employers throughout the industry as a Safety consultant on noise-induced hearing loss education and prevention. Visit her at www.moniquehammond.com

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey Into the World of Hearing Loss
Monique . Hammond


Imagine having your head immersed in a whirlpool or even standing in the middle of a rain forest where the sounds of the water flow and the air is dank and damp. Imagine listening to a concert where the music is so loud it’s deafening and the end result leaves holding your ears plus a huge headache. So many of us take our five senses for granted never realizing how each one plays a vital role in our every day lives helping us to function. Teaching her new class, hospital pharmacist, Monique Hammond would experience something during her early evening session that would alert her to the fact that something was wrong yet what she had no idea. Trying to focus on the questions asked by her students and not wanting to give away that she was having serious problems hearing what they were trying to say, she soon realized that something was clouding the hearing in her left ear. It was almost as if a huge fog descended upon her left ear, one that was so thick that the end result would change her life forever. Popping in her ears, almost a thumping feeling, strange sensations and then what follows would definitely frighten anyone.

Relating the problem to her husband his immediate response was to seek medical help but Monique thought that she might have a virus or some type of infection and opted for waiting until the following morning to contact her own doctor. But, sometimes circumstances play their own hand and all too often what we do not want to do we have no choice but to as her condition became grave, her ability to stand was hampered and she no longer had the capacity to hold foods or liquids. Despite her own feelings against going to the ER she had no choice. With a rapid response by the ER team and her own intuitiveness Monique would hopefully learn at least something that would help her understand what was wrong. Tests, MRI’s, blood tests, questions, not many direct answers and one young doctor named Dr. Todd who went above and beyond what most ER doctors do, she was led in the right direction. Not only that but when she was told she could go home and would be discharged she wisely insisted seeing an ENT specialist.

Throughout the book we hear the author’s innermost thoughts, fears and her frustrations. But, she illuminates the reader with her detailed and precision like research, her new found understand and realizations of many definitions and areas related to hearing loss that most people would never touch on when meeting with a hearing specialist. As she takes you through her long and arduous journey to finding answers to her problem we learn about the inner workings of the ear, she defines outer, inner and middle ear and includes diagrams to help readers with fine-tune their own understanding. The author also includes the definitions of audiologist, their job description, and audiogram and ENT specialist. The authors long and hard look at many causes of hearing loss which everyone, including young adults and teens need to be more cognizant of starting with loud noises, some illnesses that can add to your problems and much more. Surviving tinnitus can be a feat within itself as she devotes an entire chapter to help readers understand tinnitus and Ménière's.

The second half of the book or Part 2 is devoted to discussing the many different types of tests needed in order to diagnose hearing loss. It also includes extensive and detailed research into the anatomy of the ear, how the ear works, the Ototoxic Substances, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and the training and treatments she had to undergo to regain her balance. Chapter 21 focuses on balance and Chapter 23 Meniere’s Disease, which my aunt had and can be extremely debilitating.

Tinnitus is the first chapter in Part three and after her ear incident the author was readmitted to the hospital for tests to control her nausea and correct her blood electrolytes. But, what must have been really frightening was during that stay in the hospital she began to hear an occasional strange noise in her deaf left ear. The volume of the noise did increase and the end result would be more hearing loss. Unfortunately, as related to her by Dr. Todd she was developing subjective tinnitus. The remainder of the chapter goes into this area in detail. As we learn that Dr. Todd did inform the author that many people with “hearing loss come down with Tinnitus.” This is a very detailed and well-researched chapter, which includes information on tracking and tinnitus signal, followed by Chapter 25, which incorporates Tinnitus Types and the Importance of a Medical Evaluation. But, the author explains how she managed to live with it, her reactions and attitude and why after so many medical checks they failed to identify “underlying treatable or fixable cause, all tinnitus suffers face.” The challenge of dealing with the noises can definitely impair the quality of a person’s life. She explains how to deal with these noises by becoming as “phantom-neutral in our responses as possible.” She continues with many different methods of how she deals with it including a most revealing lecture. The hardest part is accepting what she could not change, trigger management and improving her diet. She continues to explain how to manage noise and very important, avoiding total silence. Chapter 27 is most important as she reveals hearing aids and tinnitus relief and how she sought out professional tinnitus management.

Part four does focus on hearing instruments, styles and technology sales. Imagine attending your first hearing aid class for five college credits and then learning that there is no cure for hearing loss, amplification and sensitivity issues, real-ear measures and the importance of changing your lifestyle. Like any novel or mystery some things you need to solve and learn for yourself so I will leave the rest of part four to you to uncover the secrets about hearing devices and how she managed to choose the right one and even more. Part Five includes Assistive listening devices and speech reading with a specific focus in Chapter 35 on Sign Language and Speech Reading. Chapters 36 and 37 focuses on Hearing Device Implants and Chapter 38 Cochlear Implants followed by Bone –Anchored Hearing Aids in Chapter 39.
Part 7 is quite compelling as the author reveals her feelings and emotions regarding her hearing loss. Sharing her emotional roller coaster her feelings and the changes she had to make the author relates to readers the emotional consequences attached to hearing loss and the challenges that accompany them. Included in this chapter are the consequences she and others face with sudden hearing loss, the fact that she often has to strain to hear and why at times she misunderstands what is said. Conversations between people are hard and no matter how interesting she finds it hard to keep it straight and often trying to make a point can be tiring. She includes the Contorted Path to Healing, never denying the medical facts about her condition, finding a new reference point and the hardest acceptance and peace within. Once again like a mystery novels of those without a specific ending that might have a sequel you will learn about her communication challenges only by reading Chapter 41 and getting the answers yourself about how she reconnected with society and much more. Chapter 42 will help anyone who is experiencing hearing loss learn about associations, organizations and support groups. The appendixes that follow are invaluable are you will learn. They include numerous checklists that will not only help you to prepare for a doctor’s visit but will you prepare your questions, give you some guidelines as to what to expect and hopefully make your journey easier should you be experiencing hearing loss. But, for everyone else this is a super resource that will help if a family member is experiencing any type of hearing problem, children that might have wax in their ears or are constantly speaking too loud, this is an invaluable resource to tell you what your first step is and what you need to do to be able to say: I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID and hopefully will not have to keep asking: WHAT DO YOU SAY? References and glossary terms are added in and the author’s journey is really quite vividly described and as she describes her journey you the reader will experience much of what she went through along with her and will hopefully learn from her experience. A must have resource.
Fran Lewis: reviewer

[Michael Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Response to Hearing Loss
This book describes how the author reacted to sudden hearing loss as an adult. She never found proof of the exact cause of her hearing loss, but it may have been a virus. She gives a lot of information about what to do if you have a sudden hearing loss. She did not become deaf, but hard-of-hearing (HoH). Dealing with hearing loss is more a matter of coping than curing.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss
The author experienced sensorineural hearing loss, which is damage to the sensory neurons in the inner ear (cochlea). Once these cells die, they are not replaced, and you can no longer hear sounds in their frequency range.

Causes of Sensorineural Hearing Loss
• Long-term loud noise
• Acoustic trauma (for example, hearing a shotgun blast near your ear)
• Head trauma
• Infections: adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, influenza, herpes simplex, mumps, measles, Rubella, meningitis, syphilis
• Acoustic neuromas (treatable with gamma knife radiosurgery)
• Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (AIED)
• Ototoxic drugs: aspirin, aminoglycoside antibiotics, quinine, loop diuretics, cancer chemotherapy with platinum compounds

Hearing Tests
• The audiogram hearing test is performed by a Clinical Audiologist
• Result: left and right audiograms, plotting decibels versus pitch
• Word Recognition Test (Speech Discrimination Test)
• MRI (watch out for pacemakers, cochlear implants, hip replacements, pumps, stents)
• Auditory Brainstem Response test: often used on newborn babies

Hearing Aids
The author discusses a wide variety of hearing aids, analog and digital, behind-the-ear and inside-the-ear, and of widely varying sizes

Induction Coil
The induction coil is a tiny metal coil in the hearing aid that responds to an external magnetic field. The external magnetic field comes from a telephone or a room-perimeter wire. The induction coil is also called a telecoil, T-coil, T-switch. The hearing aid has a switch for choosing between the hearing aid microphone or the room’s looping system. Looping systems are often found in museums, churches, schools, airports. Looping systems are more common in Europe that U.S.

Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a phantom noise, constantly with you, often a high-frequency hiss. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease. Tinnitus is also known as ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is a warning of impending hearing loss. Tinnitus involves the dorsal cochlear nucleus in the brain. Tinnitus is a phenomenon distinct from auditory hallucinations. There appears to be a connection between tinnitus and the somatic nervous system. Glutamate aggravates tinnitus. Tinnitus can be masked with running water sounds, white noise and pink noise. Cochlear implants sometimes reduces tinnitus

Exploding Head Syndrome
Some older people experience the imaginary sound of an explosion shortly after falling asleep. This is called exploding head syndrome. (Note: Your head does not actually explode).

Hyperacusis
Hyperacusis is a heightened sensitivity to sounds. It often accompanies hearing damage. Autistics are often sensitive to sounds. Dr. Marsha Johnson, Doctor of Audiology, of the Oregon Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Treatment Center is an expert in the treatment of hyperacusis. Misophonia is related disorder where there is an intolerance for particular sounds, only.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ)
Symptoms of TMJ: jaw pain, clicking sounds when moving the jaw, tinnitus. It is often itself caused by stress and teeth grinding (bruxism). I have read elsewhere that patients should avoid costly quack treatments.

Vertigo
A common type of vertigo is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). It is caused by otoconia (otoliths, ear rocks) braking loose from the utricle and enter the semicircular canals. Nystagmus (involuntary eye movements) is sometimes a symptom. Nystagmus can be measured by an ENG (electronystagmography). One treatment: the Epley maneuver, which tries to use head manipulation and gravity to move the ear rocks back where they belong.

Meniere’s Disease
Sometimes, for unknown reasons, people have an endolymph fluid buildup in the inner ear. Symptoms include hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. There is no cure, but there are symptomatic treatments such as vestibular sedatives (Meclizine).