For several years I have noticed that I have an increasing problem with hearing. When I first noticed, maybe five years ago, I asked my doctor for a hearing test. I could hear pretty much all of the tones. And I understood most of the words, but needed a few seconds to decode some of them. They said they didn’t think I had a problem hearing. In the time since it has gotten very slowly worse; I use the captions on DVDs and TV pretty much all of the time now. It doesn’t seem to be a volume issue so much, but a clarity and/or filtering issue.
The past month or so I’ve had some bouts with some serious ear pain. It is an unusual kind of pain; it feels like swelling in the ear canal. So I went to the doctor yesterday. My husband came with me so he could describe to the doctor the times when he feels like I understand conversation around me the least. She tooks some notes and then looked in my ears, nose, and throat. She said I have some damage to the membrane in my left ear and that it appears because of the damage I now have a bacterial infection, so she prescribed some antibiotic drops to put in my ear. She wants me to use it for ten days, let her know how I feel, and then visit an ENT about two weeks from now to have another hearing test.
I’d appreciate anyone who can share similar stories or info. Thanks. 
WHAT???
Sorry, couldn’t resist that little jape. I do wish you well with your problems…TRM
When I was 11 I got back to back ear infections, first in the left ear, then in right a few days after the first one healed.
In each case the eardrum ruptured. Several days of horrible equilibrium, pain and nausea since the fluid in the ear was leaking out.
I ended up with mild scarring on each drum as a result, leading to minor hearing loss. As with you it tends to be more “clarity” than volume and it hasn’t particularly impacted either end of the tone register. It’s worst in situations with lots of background noise. Don’t even bother trying to hold a conversation with me in a busy bar; it’s all just a wall of indistinguishable sound.
I read lips as an aid for the clarity loss. It’s a big help, but I sometimes have to explain to people why I’m watching their mouths rather than maintaining “proper” eye contact.
Since it’s been my default state for so long, it doesn’t particularly bother me or affect my daily life.
I hope your situation turns out to be even milder and less life-impacting than mine. Good luck.
My hearing has never been too good. I went to a specialist 15 years ago and he noticed that I had a perforated eardrum, and he could tell it had been perforated for at least 10 years, probably since childhood. Also the little bones in my ear had eroded. I had an operation to repair the damage but I never felt like my hearing was 100 percent. In recent years I have noticed that if I lay in bed with my right ear against the pillow I can barely hear the high pitched alarm clock, but if my left ear is against the pillow I can hear it fine. So I went to a different specialist, who told me my hearing was only slightly off and actually really good considering the work that has been done. But I definitely hear better out of one ear than the other, such that I can’t tell which direction a sound is coming from.
That’s okay, I was expecting it at some point. 
48 years old here. I always had good hearing. Suddenly my hearing has gone out. Tinnitus. I think it was from a fall about 3 years ago. I landed on my chin. I very nearly blacked out.
Everyone gets tinnitus once in a while. Mine is now covering up common conversation. I’ll be making another appointment with my ENT and audiologist this week.
Yes, my husband knows not to even bother if we are at a bar or a concert or someplace. Is it serious enough that you ever considered a hearing aid?
My mother had both conductive hearing loss and nerve deafness at an early age. In fact, I don’t ever remember her having anything approaching normal hearing. She got very good at reading lips, but even after a stapes replacement and hearing aids in both ears, talking to her was always an adventure.
As a result I’m, let’s say, overprotective about my hearing, but it’s more or less normal for someone my age. My wife, on the other hand, now has tinnitus so bad it’s interfering with her hearing.
For a long time now, I’ve noticed that my left ear hears better than my right. If I want to shut out the noise at bedtime, I simply sleep on my left. I sometimmes do need to read lips. I have started to use captions when watching movies fairly regularly. I know I need to get my ears checked, but I got laid off at the beginning of March and I didn’t have insurance when I did have a job.
Since I was having trouble hearing my husband’s voice, I got my hearing checked. Everything checked out just fine. I’ve since decided that my husband does a think-out-loud mumble most of the time he talks to me, as I discovered that I can hear everyone else in the world just fine.
Except for pissy teenaged cashiers who are bored with having to say their scripted lines over and over every day; they also do the sullen mumble shtick.
I’m 59, and I have some hearing loss in the high frequencies. I have tinnitus, too, and between the two, I miss some consonants. When I was last tested, the audiologist said I didn’t need a hearing aid.
Some TV shows seem to have a lot of very quiet talking, especially at crucial plot points. I got a pair of wireless headphones, and they’re connected to the television. Now I can hear the whispery shows, such as House and Fringe.
I seem to be able to hear, but comprehension comes a bit slower. I won’t realize what has been said until I say “what”. The last time I had my hearing checked everything was ok, but it is time to have it checked out again.
Any allergies by chance? I started getting nasty earaches from around 19 until maybe 24 or so. They were always accompanied by a nasty infection. Last time I went to a doctor about it was when I’d recently gotten off a plane and one of my ears clogged up and I couldn’t hear out of it. I figured a nasty infection & earache was on its way so I had the doc check it. This doc took a look in my ear and said “wow, that looks realllly infected. But you know what? It’s not. It’s allergies. But it probably will get infected.” So he put me on antihistamines and I haven’t had an earache since. My ears will still clog up sometimes though. One doctor wanted to put a permanent tube in my ear to help it equalize and drain but he said I wouldn’t be able to swim so I said no.
I’ve been almost completely deaf in my right ear all my life. I started losing the hearing in my left ear. About four years ago, I realized that a conversation that I had just had with SWMBO was"
“Buzzmumble”
“What? I didn’t hear you?”
“Mumblesnarfle”
“Huh?”
etc.
I got hearing aids a week later. Damn, the world is really noisy!!
You might want to get information on Meniere’s Disease. I went for several years before I was diagnosed by EENT Specialist.