Headaches; Pains in head, Hearing loss

This is just something to be considered, particularly in the first year or two after a stroke when every head pain must be something to do with my stroke…am I going to have another one. We’ve all been there!
But some Headaches may be nothing more sinister than a sign of hearing or vision loss. Hearing loss causes strain in the same way that eye strain does and brings on headaches.

I had a TIA 25th Dec. 2020; left side of brain, right side of body affected.
About 6mths after my TIA, I started getting pain in my head on the left side. Sometimes it might last minutes to an hour, other times it would be on and off for days, so I could never really figure out any particular pattern to it or activity to it or anything. Then by about December 2021 I started noticing a dip to my hearing particularly in the evenings; sometimes with the head pains and sometimes without.

By February 2022, I was getting concerned and saw my doctor. She referred me to both Neurology and ENT. Fortunately ENT got me in first in April and the result of it was I’m deaf! Well, “hard of hearing” or some such thing but anyway…
I needed hearing aids in both ears and from that day to this, I haven’t had that pain in my head! Oh and Neurology came up blank, had scans and what not with no signs of anything untoward.

So if you are suffering frequent, sporadic headaches/sharp pains in your head and you haven’t had your hearing or eyesight checked recently, consider this next time you see your doctor if it hasn’t already been considered and ruled out :wink:

Don’t soldier on weary of those headaches/pains being stroke related or ominous. They don’t always have to turn out that way.

And just so you know, if anyone is consider them, my hearing aids are light, discreet…and no, I’m not trying to flog you Tena Lady :rofl:, sit behind my ears without notice, you don’t even feel you’ve got them on.
They don’t get in the way of your glasses, you can wear headphones with them and they are free on the NHS. You can get a more techy with them by tuning them into your phone and things but that’s just beyond me now.
But I must, must, MUST always remember to take them off when getting in the shower :confounded: That’s because I forget I’ve got them on :roll_eyes:

They are the best thing since sliced bread 'cos I can hear EVERYTHING :laughing: And I never realised just how much I couldn’t hear until I got them. I’ve had them a year now and I wouldn’t be without them. Oh, I can still hear after a fashion without them, I can still converse without them and I’d hear alarms in the night when I haven’t got them on in bed. But I wouldn’t be without them during the day anymore!

EDIT:
Then by about December 2021 I started noticing a dip to my hearing particularly in the evenings;
I forgot to clarify remark. It was like the volume was gradually being turned down throughout the evening until it was turned of altogether…deaf as a doorpost! Nothing to do but go to bed, and the it would be right as rain in the morning again.

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Thank you Mahoney :blush: I had to stick a little reminder on the shower door to take them off. Worked well for a time before I had to make a much bigger…less discreet…in your face sign :rofl:

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Great post @EmeraldEyes. I don’t get lots of headaches but definitely do have hearing problems. I was aware of it before my stroke but have got some tinitus in my right ear since stroke (that’s the non stroked side).

I know I should have a proper hearing test but have so much to do, especially with work, physio and everything else being slowed by stroke. I was also nervous that it would cost a few thousand £ when I looked into it.

Out of interest, how did you get them free?

Thanks
Mark

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You can get Specsavers’s to come test your hearing at home if you struggle to get out? You just need a referral from your GP, or you ask GP to refer you for a hearing test and you can get it done at local hospital or gateway. :blush:

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Hi , NHS , hearing aids . Poss , through Specsavers? Have old versions, before stroke , 4 years ago . Don’t use now, can not manage putting batteries in .:joy:
Was told to wait , soon NHS aids will all be rechargeable. Is this so yet . Thanks David.

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@EmeraldEyes you’re so right. I think sometimes we are so focussed on our stroke that we forget we can still get other conditions the same as anyone else. My headaches post stroke were.stroke related but I still had eyes and hearing checked.

Glad you like your hearing aids. My hubby has some and he never uses them. Grrrrr4. Conversations in our house can be interesting at times :rofl::rofl:

Because i have sensory overload and he is very hard of hearing we use bluetooth headphones to watch the tv otherwise we have to sit in separate rooms :grin::grin:

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As @joopifer said, just ask your doctor for a referral, you are over 50 so it’s free. And you can take that referral to your nearest Specsavers for example. It’s the same as they’d do for prescription glasses. They’ll have an NHS selection for free, and then they’re designer, state of the art, designed to break the bank collection, and it’s down to you not to be taken in by the hard sell :wink:

All the more reason for you to get your hearing checked if you didn’t have it before the stroke! I’ve had tinitus since I was 8yrs as a result of measles, nothing can fix that…yet :wink: But yours could be a sign of hearing strain so worth getting it checked out…nothing ventured nothing gained…you could be eliminating another needless pressure :smile: And you can easily get an appointment at the likes of Specsavers that fits in around work and physio schedule as they’re open weekends too.

I know some SS experience a pressure in there head from time to time, especially when tired. It’s nothing like a pain/headache/migraine, just this sort of tightness around your skull like you’ve got a compression stocking on over it.
This could be another way for reducing that pressure, as you are removing another of the brain’s stressors.

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I don’t know if the are available on NHS yet, mine aren’t and wasn’t offered the option. In the beginning, whilst hand dexterity was still poor, they were a fiddle both to get the batteries in and to insert in the ear. I was always afraid of breaking of that little door the battery is held in :sweat_smile: But I just saw that as another of my daily rehab exercises to be done so I persevered and not a problem now :smile:

Could it be that everything was just too loud he hasn’t given himself enough time to adjust. They day I arrived home with mine in my daughter greeted me at the door and I had to tell her to stop shouting :rofl: She said that was usual volume when talking to me, and as it turned out, everyone in the house had to get used to reducing their volume talking to me :rofl: :rofl:

@EmeraldEyes

I wish that was the case. He’s had hearing aids for years. First some NHS ones. He never got on with them so opted for some expensive ones. He went back & forth with them a few times saying they weren’t working. They even replaced them but same problem. So he now has an expensive set of hearing aids sat in their case gathering dust. :grimacing::grimacing:

I’m trying to convince him to get his hearing tested again but maybe go to Boots instead of Specsavers :grin::grin:

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That sound just like my father-in-law before he died. They must have spent a small fortune on hearing aids over the years and he never was happy with any of them. But he never tried going elsewhere either :roll_eyes:

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Thanks , yes good exercise! David.

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Hi , tv headphones. Possibly I should consider these. Kinder , quieter, for my wife. Have Bluetooth on tv , yes . Can I use any Bluetooth headphones? Seen some , need to connect a box ? First to tv , what make & any good ? Thanks David.

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Hi David

The ones I got are these:

Avantree HT41899 Dual Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless Headphones for TV Listening (Set of 2) with Transmitter (Optical AUX RCA) & Headset Stand, Individual Volume Control, 40Hrs Playtime, Plug n Play, No Delay

I bought them from Amazon but you can buy them from Avantree too. I had to get Ines with Bluetooth box as I don’t have Bluetooth on my tv. If you already have Bluetooth tele you could probably get some without the box.

They were great as I couldn’t sit in same room as hubby when he has tv on as noise was unbearable.

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EmeraldEyes. I know I was a bit - well maybe more than a bit! - deaf before my stroke in Oct last year but immediately afterwards I was suddenly very deaf but a different deafness! I have the tightness round my head and my ears and head feel full of cotton wool! It’s a very strange feeling and not very pleasant. So I bit the bullet got a referral from my GP and went off to the hospital for a hearing test. Apparantly I have mild to moderate hearing loss! So aids ordered but for some reason they take 8 weeks to arrive and I will see how I get on and if I lose the tight band round my head!

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Yes, it took about that long for me to get mine but worth the wait, good things come to he who waits they say :wink:

I found that hearing loss I got stopped fading once I had the aids, well, it certainly stopped me going completely deaf by the end of the day. Now I take it a warning sign that I’m tired whenever I find I’m turning the volume up on them. That’s take a nap time or go to bed for me. You see, I still have no off switch for being tired, I haven’t fully regained those usual indicators for sleep…but they’re coming.

Hope you notice some positive improvements from them too :smile: