"The physio and vestibular audiologist explained the situation to me and referred me to a vestibular audiologist, Kathryn Penno, to get hearing aids and auditory rehabilitation. The outcomes have been incredible and I feel more stable."
- Mr C (2026)
I really love supporting my clients to have a good quality of life, and you'll see this reflected in the time, energy and evidence I educate you with during your consultation. A heartfelt thank you to Chelsea for taking the time out of your busy schedule to write this piece. My reflections and comments are at the end.
Quick Stats (piece by Chelsea):
Mr C (Names have been changed in this article to protect the client's).
Male, 81yo
Audiology results: Normal sloping to moderate-severe sensorineural (permanent) hearing loss bilaterally (in both ears).
Job: Retired
Likes: family time, golf, shares.
Dislikes: the vertigo symptoms.
"My vertigo & hearing aid story
Several months ago on a Thursday morning, my wife Mary slipped on a wet surface as she was bringing the washing in and had an almighty fall landing on her left side. I took her to urgent care where they did x-rays and found she had fractures in her leg and ankle. She had also injured her shoulder. She was then taken to emergency at Fiona Stanley Hospital via ambulance. We waited for hours in the emergency waiting room, with our daughters taking turns with me to wait with her. In the early hours of Friday morning, she was seen and sent home mid-morning with a wheelchair, a Zimmer frame and other assistive devices, such as a commode chair. She was unable to bear any weight on her left foot. She was suddenly house-bound, and I became a full-time nurse and cook.
On the Sunday afternoon – three days after Mary’s fall – I lay down for a rest, which I would rarely do. I did so because Mary was having one, and I was tired. One of our daughters was at our place about to do some cooking and help me with helping Mary. Suddenly, I felt like my head was exploding. My world went upside-down and I couldn’t see. I screamed out to my daughter. She called triple zero and accompanied me in the ambulance to emergency at Fiona Stanley Hospital. This time, I experienced ramping, not that I saw much of it because I was horizontal with my eyes closed, and I was feeling very unwell.
After two nights in the emergency short stay unit, I was able to go home. Fortunately, the doctors didn’t think anything sinister had happened, such as a stroke. The diagnosis was vertigo caused by vestibular neuritis – inflammation of a nerve in the inner ear. The next few weeks were quite a shock for everyone. Mary and I had gone from playing golf one week to being house-bound the next and needing help with meals, bathing and medication – with nearly everything!
We both had a range of follow-up appointments in the weeks and months that followed. Fortunately, I managed to get an appointment a vestibular physio in the early phase of my recovery. In addition to testing me and giving me lots of exercises, they informed me about the condition. That meant I had a better understanding of what had happened to me and the recovery. I had more of an idea that it was perfectly “normal” to be feeling dizzy for a number of weeks or months. Prior to receiving that information and understanding it would be a long-ish process, I was very worried. The first appointment with them changed everything for me. It gave me a pathway ahead, and I was prescribed lots of exercises for me to do each day, as well as walking in the fresh air.
A couple of months later, as part of the various follow-up appointments, I went to another hearing clinic for a range of hearing tests. The results showed that along with the vertigo, I’d experienced permanent damage to a nerve in my ear, which had caused some permanent hearing loss. The physio and vestibular audiologist explained the situation to me and referred me to a vestibular audiologist, Kathryn Penno, to get hearing aids and auditory rehabilitation.
In recent weeks, I have visited Kathryn several times. She has found the right hearing aids for me (& my wife). The hearing aids not only help with my hearing, but they help stabilise the vertigo. I’ve returned to Kathryn several times to get the hearing aids just right for me, and I can contact her whenever I need to. It has been comforting and such a relief to know that I can greatly improve the vertigo and even get back to playing golf thanks to the help of Kathryn and my vestibular physio. It has been incredible to receive such care from a holistic point of view, I never felt rushed or simply a set of ears in either consult.
The whole experience of engaging with so many aspects of the health system has been eye-opening for me and my family. The range of health-care professionals that we have been in contact with – paramedics, doctors, nurses, OTs, physios, radiologists, audiologists, medical receptionists, pharmacists and orderlies – have been kind and caring, and we have a new-found appreciation for what they all do."
With sincerest thanks, Mr and Mrs C.
These are the important take aways I like to educate and discuss with my clients, however each consult at Perth Audiology & Dizziness is personalised to the person in front of us:
1. For optimial benefits with hearing aid use, my expectation is you wear them all day when you are awake. My expectation is 8-10 hours or more per day or hearing aid wear time.
2. This allows your auditory pathways of the brain the best chance for neural reorganisation, especially if you've had a long standing hearing loss (long standing meaning the number of years you have deprived your brain of sound / audition). The longer you wait to manage your hearing loss with hearing aids (or implants), usually, the longer it may take for your brain to rewire. Imagine, thats years of asking for repeats and frustrations between you and who you are talking with.
3. Auditory listening: Learn to listen. Practicing listening skills everyday. Demonstrate good communication behaiours.
In summary, your inner ear is a marvelous organ. It houses both your hearing and balance (cochlear and vestibular) system and as you may see from this client's journey, can have profound and debilitating outcomes on your quality of life and health if left without the needed rehab.
Leaving your hearing loss untreated (doing nothing about it) reorganises your neural pathways, usually to visual or tactile ones, meaning you are relying more on lip reading and touch to comprehend or understand speech. This deprivation to your brain means other cognitive resources need to "pick up the slack". This can lead to a heavier load on your brain in parts that don't require it, and increase your risk of falls, listening fatigue, brain strain etc.
The word mild is such a deceptive word in healthcare, and with hearing loss, as it is an invisible change in a functional ability, having a mild hearing loss or one that isn't evident on a hearing test, can leave client's feeling disheartend or lost. A mild hearing loss can have big consequences. The good news is, we can help you improve your quality of life.
I wish Mr and Mrs C all the best with their hearing and balance rehabilitation journey. Getting updates when I talk to my clients has been great, and I am really proud of everyones progress. This level of care you won't find anywhere else in Perth and this is what we strive to do for all our motivated clients.