About 12 years ago. Came out of the pool and thought I had water in my ear. Unfortunately, the hearing loss and sense of fullness in my ear did not go away. Had my ears checked out and was put on an antibiotic for a possible ear infection. Didn't help. Finally went to an ENT specialist who ordered an MRI to rule out a tumor. No tumor but significant scar tissue behind both ears.
I've had oodles of hearing tests all indicating the same thing--a profound hearing loss in my right ear and moderate loss in my left.
I fought the idea of hearing aides for a half-dozen years. More vanity than anything else.
Finally, I stopped being dumb and explored what aides were on the market. I did not want to pay $5000+ for appliances, so I went to the myriad list of online options. My first set were Eargos, in-the-ear devices. I liked them a lot and was amazed at the difference they made.
Turns out the world is a very noisy place. 
The Eargos lasted three years before the internal batteries died.
I'm now wearing Jabra, a small behind-the-ear appliance. I wanted to try something different. The sound quality is very good and the Jabra offers Bluetooth. I can use the aides for my phone and listening to podcasts on my walks. No need to switch over to AirPods.
There's lots of choice out there with at a variety of costs.
I would recommend making an appointment with an ENT doctor and getting a full auditory test before buying anything.
It's a journey but worth getting the help you need.
Good luck, yankee!
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