Recently, I read a blog that mentioned kidney disease and hearing loss. You can read the post HERE.

My husband, Terry, and I have been married almost 26 years. He was born with only one kidney, and the one he has doesn’t work ideally. Because he has always lived an “alcohol/drug” free life, he is in good health considering!

I have noticed, however, that he has started showing signs of hearing loss. It started with the television. We “TIVO” everything so that we can watch favorite shows when we have time to sit down and watch them together. In recent months, I have noticed that HE is asking me to turn the volume up. I’ll let that sink in for a minute (grin). I’m deaf. Sure I “hear again” with a cochlear implant, but HE is asking ME to turn up the television. He usually has the remote that fast-forwards through the commercials (as I seem incapable due to vertigo in watching the screen and trying to hit buttons). I have the remote that controls the volume.

He is also saying “huh” more. I’ve noticed it at the dinner table and also in restaurants. Granted, both places can be noisy environments, but it has been a bit of an eye-opener for me to be on the other side of that “huh?”

So as we’ve aged, my hearing has gotten better and his – not so much. I can’t say at this point he will need hearing aids, but I’m thinking the probability in the next 10 years is very high.

I want to be the kind of spouse he has been. Terry has been my biggest cheerleader, support, and source of encouragement. It can’t be easy to be married to someone who is late-deafened when you fell in love with someone who could hear. He has shown me that what happens after “I do” doesn’t impact love, commitment, or a shared life. He hasn’t let it phase him that I have a balance disorder. He picks me up if I fall, brushes me off and helps me see the “funny” in it (as long there isn’t any blood). He encouraged and supports my having a hearing assistance/balance assist dog from Fidos For Freedom. He now actually serves on their board.

So if my husband with kidney disease DOES lose his hearing? I’ll be there for him too. In the meantime, I am helping him navigate living with some adjustments regarding VOLUME.

Denise Portis

© 2012 Personal Hearing Loss Journal

Link to story in Wall Street Journal:  Click HERE.