Meet Chris Mennan. Chris developed single-sided hearing in the year 2000. Soon after, he joined a community support group for the deaf and hard of hearing. He did home visits and talks to people about hearing loss and coping with hearing loss. With that experience, Chris began working in the repair clinic at the hospitals in his local area. He volunteered for nine years, visiting three clinics a week. Last year, he received a position as a technical officer in Audiology. All this is quite a contrast to the 25 years he spent as a police officer, 17 years of which he was a dog handler. As Chris puts it, “the people I saw then were never as happy as the people I see now.” Here’s Chris to tell more of his story…
My Journey in Finding a Single-Sided Hearing Solution
By Chris Mennan
It all happened very fast. One night about 14 years ago, I awoke to loud popping and banging noises in my ear. Even after seeking medical help, within a week, my left ear ceased to function whatsoever, and I was left with very loud tinnitus.
“Tinnitus (TIN-ih-tus) is noise or ringing in the ears. A common problem, tinnitus affects about 1 in 5 people.”