During that same time, I competed and won the title of Miss USA 1998, and by the end of my title year, I had officially been signed on as a host on DirecTV. I was thrilled by where this journey was taking me. But something wasn’t quite right.
When I Closed My Eyes, I Couldn’t Understand What People Were Saying
Traveling at times 20,000 miles a month while fulfilling my Miss USA duties, I began having trouble hearing and communicating. Toward the end of that year, I had a horrible head cold, and I felt like my head was incredibly full, and it just wouldn’t clear up. My doctor told me to take a decongestant for up to six weeks, but it didn’t change anything. I began to notice that when I spoke with people, I had to position myself closer to them, and I found myself becoming louder when I spoke. I also couldn’t let the mouths of the people I was speaking with leave my vision; if someone turned around and walked away, I couldn’t hear them. And during my acting class exercises, I wasn’t able to close my eyes and understand anyone. I realized at this point that I was reading lips — and that I needed to get some help if I was going to continue pursuing the entertainment career I’d begun. RELATED: What’s New in Hearing Technology?
A Surprise Diagnosis: Ménière’s Disease
After routine hearing exams, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam, and allergy shots, at the age of 27, I was diagnosed with a disorder of the inner ear called Meniere’s disease. My primary symptoms at this point were hearing loss, problems understanding speech, and horrible tinnitus (ringing of the ears), which kept me up at night. I also had problems with water retention, which caused my hearing clarity to fluctuate, and which worsened when I traveled and ate a high-sodium diet. For some people, Ménière’s disease also causes vertigo, but I was lucky enough not to have this symptom. I had no idea why or how this happened to me, or if it would worsen, but I was told to treat the symptoms and hope for the best. So with the help of a tremendous team of audiologists, I treated the symptoms with a diuretic, allergy treatments, and a pair of hearing aids.
A Second Surprise: An Acoustic Neuroma
But my health challenges were apparently not over. Just a year or two later, during a routine hearing screening, an MRI discovered that I also had an acoustic neuroma — also known as a vestibular schwannoma — on my left side. An acoustic neuroma is a benign (noncancerous) tumor that develops on the eighth cranial nerve, leading from the brain to the inner ear. I consider this a miraculous finding, because if the tumor had been left unmonitored, I could have developed irreversible facial paralysis and compromised brain function. By catching it early, I can monitor its growth with an MRI every six months. The eventual course of treatment will be to shrink it with radiation therapy, should it grow to threaten my health. While acoustic neuroma is completely different from and unrelated to Ménière’s disease, both conditions have the same symptoms. So the treatment and monitoring of each has been confusing, to say the least. I also consistently communicated with my audiologist when I had problems or perceived changes in hearing ability. We adjusted my aids frequently due to the particular hearing challenges arising from my acoustic neuroma, which has caused unaidable hearing loss on one side. Individuals who wait for years before trying hearing aids typically have a harder time adjusting to them. But if they can make it through the transition period, I believe that the more you wear them, the more your mind adjusts, and the version of you with hearing aids begins to feel like you.
Two Decades Later, Things Are Only Getting Better
It has now been more 20 years since I lost my hearing, and it’s hard to remember exactly how things sounded before I lost it compared with now. However, I can say that the technological advances of the past 20 years have enabled me to hear entirely better now compared with when I first started wearing hearing aids. I can especially talk on the phone better than I ever imagined being able to, which has kept me connected to the world in every way. The hearing aids I wear now, Signia CROS Pure Charge&Go, transmit the sound received from my deaf left side over to my right side, so I am now much more aware of sounds coming from all directions. My tinnitus has also subsided greatly and only comes in episodes on my left side; I’ve been told this remaining tinnitus is a result of my tumor. These days I spend a lot more time proactively caring for my health as I look at my young kids, who I want to hear sing, squeal, and giggle for a long time to come. I work hard to keep their hearing, along with the rest of their little beings, safe, and I make a point of teaching them how to communicate about their health as well. My unique health journey has also brought me to a new professional endeavor, the launch of Some 1 Like You. This low-profit organization was founded by a dear friend of mine in 2017 to privately connect individuals with rare health conditions so they can emotionally support one another. Since I’ve been involved, we have been able to connect thousands of pairs of people, sometimes clear across the country, helping them build the bonds needed to survive some of life’s hardest challenges.
Why Early Hearing Loss Detection Is Important
Since the onset of my own hearing loss, I have learned so much. One of the most important things I have learned is why anyone suspecting hearing loss should make time to get their hearing checked right away. Here are some of those reasons:
The most common kind of hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, is not something that can be recovered. Once any amount of hearing is lost, it’s lost for good.The average adult waits more than 10 years, according to researchers, between being diagnosed with hearing loss and actually getting hearing aids. Those years can cost a person in terms of further damage to their hearing, as well as the frustration of living with less than optimal hearing.Studies, like one from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Aging, have shown that people with hearing loss are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia. So by protecting ourselves from hearing loss, or further hearing loss, we may be protecting our cognitive function as well.
How and Where to Get Screened for Hearing Loss
Many audiology centers offer free or low-cost annual hearing tests. The tests aren’t detailed enough to prescribe hearing aids, but they can detect hearing loss. This means you can get regular hearing checkups and track your hearing over time. You can also take any number of free online hearing tests. While these tests don’t replace the tests an audiologist performs, if you’re worried about hearing loss, they can help you decide whether and how quickly to make an appointment with a hearing professional.
