My mother has, unfortunately, lost virtually all her hearing in her left ear. She is very distrssed by finding

out that this hearing loss is permanent. This happened about 7 years ago, and at that time her doctor told her there was nothing that could be done to restore her hearing. My question is, what can be done now? What technologies have emerged that can cure my mother? We hear about advances in eye surgery all the time (Lasik, etc.), but advances in the field of hearing seems to be lagging. My mother does not want to wear a hearing aid because she feels self-conscious.

Sadly...there is no "cure" for deafness. There are things like hearing aids or cochlear implants that can help to amplify sounds, but your mother just won't have hearing like she did in her younger years. Hearing aids and implants aren't like glasses or lasik in that you put them on and you magically can hear again...there isn't anything like that for hearing loss. Talk to her audiologist about either of these technologies and see if they would be beneficial to her. They make hearing aids VERY small now so that they are almost invisible...but if she has little or no hearing, aids may or may not help. The only way to know is to go to her audiologist.

You may also want to consider going to a therapist. Losing your hearing is a very difficult thing (I know...I'm still losing mine and I'm only 22) and there is a grieving process. This may help her to better accept her hearing loss and be more willing to try different technologies.

There are several things that can be done, but you must consult an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) who can recommend which treatment is most helpful for her type of hearing loss.

hearing aids today are not the big megaphones thay used to be... they make them very tiny you cant even feel them or see them... also implants are available... take your mom to a specialist... you know how small batteries have gotten??? hearing aids are the same way...

Your Mom needs to wear a hearing aid. She may not like it, and it will be uncomfortable at first, but the improvement in her hearing will make up for that, if she will give the hearing aids a chance. She needs to see a reputable audiologist, get the hearing aid and wear it daily for 3 weeks. Thay are very small now and can be hidden completely in her ear, no one needs to know she has it but the family. It took me a while to try mine, and now Im so happy I did. I had forgotten the sounds of rain on the roof, or bacon frying, or the wind blowing. But she has to give the aid a chance. If not, suggest she ( and the rest of the family) learn sign language, or check on implants. How sad that help is there for her and she wants to give up. Let her know you love her and help her get the help she needs. You'll be glad you did. Good Luck!