There is a reason I use the ocean theme on my home page. It played a part in a day I will never forget.
I was born with nerve deafness. Despite being told I was deaf when I was 4, I never wore hearing aids. I always managed to get by. Without realizing it, by watching people’s lips and facial expressions when they talked, I had become a superb lip reader. Coping was difficult but became much more so as a teenager in high school. There the larger class rooms presented problems and the pressures of social life became much more intense. In fact, I avoided that scene as much as possible.
Seeing my struggles, when I was 15 my Mom and Dad decided it was time to go see our friend Dr. Howard House at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles. Knowing there had been major advances in hearing aid technology since the days of my first hearing aids, which had cords running from my ear molds to a battery in a shirt-pocket, now was the time.
We spent the day getting fitted for 2 new in-the-ear hearing aids. Hearing tests were taken to determine the extent of my loss and in what ranges. Ear molds were fitted and as we were leaving Dr. House’s final words were “It will take you about 1,000 hours to get used to them.”
The next day we went to the beach. It was a beautiful, warm, summer day. As I walked across the sand toward the water, wearing my new hearing aids, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Living near the beach I had been here many, many times but this was different. For the first time in my life I heard noises coming from the gray and white seagulls circling overhead. For the first time I heard the sounds of waves crashing on the sand. I had never heard these glorious sounds before. It was as though a beautiful painting had come to life.
That day on the beach is as clear in my memory as if it were yesterday. I was struck by the realization of what our senses add to our lives. I visit the ocean often and am ALWAYS remindful and thankful for the sounds of the beach.
I WANT TO HEAR U
I encourage you to write to us of your experiences, both as a deaf or hard of hearing person or a loved one who shares their life. Please share with us.
There were so many firsts to follow, each one memorable. For the first time I heard the sound of my own feet shuffling as I walked along. I heard a seal barking on a buoy at the entrance to our harbor where I also heard a fog horn for the first time. I heard kids screaming with delight as a wave knocked them flat.
As Dr. House had told me, there would be an adjustment period. To go from zero sound to all manner of noise takes some getting used to. The hearing aids do not just amplify the voice you are trying to hear. Nearby conversations, clanging dishes, wind, music, on and on are also amplified. So much so that it is near impossible to isolate the target voice. Second, the volume of all this amped up noise is being collected by your hearing aid and fed into your ear molds in one jumbled cacophony of sound. You can take this for so long and then you want to scream. As Dr. House predicted, it was going to take a while.
Hearing aid manufacturers like to tell you their latest and greatest hearing aid has the ability to separate the good sound from the bad and feed you only what you want to hear. I am still waiting for that miracle.
I WANT TO HEAR U
I encourage you to write to us of your experiences, both as a deaf or hard of hearing person or a loved one who shares their life. Please share with us.THE LIGHTHOUSE
To mariners the Lighthouse is a symbol of many things. That magical blinking light you see in the distance, as its beam of light sweeps in a precisely timed arc, can be a welcome source of comfort. On a dark, stormy night it can project strength, give direction, warn of dangers and guide you to safe harbor.
I use the Lighthouse here because to me it is a symbol of the many, many people who have dedicated themselves to helping better the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing. We are where we are because of them. Every morning when I wake up, sit on the edge of my bed, put my hearings aids on and snap the batteries into place, my silent world becomes filled with life.
The scientists, researchers, doctors, volunteers, fund raisers, donors and especially the families of the deaf and hard of hearing who’s understanding and push-to-the-limits patience, are appreciated beyond words.
You can’t tell by looking at someone whether they are hard of hearing or not. Thus the estimated 48 million Americans among us and millions around the world with some degree of hearing loss are in stealth mode. Most people not only do not know who they are they have no idea what their life is like.
To get a taste of what it is like, give this a try. One day, as you head off to work on time, assuming you heard your alarm clock, stuff your ears with cotton before leaving the house. On the way to your car notice there are no birds chirping or sounds of wind or raindrops. Turn on the radio in your car. How does that sound? Order a cup of Joe at a drive through. I defy you to decipher what comes through the speaker. Take a phone call on your cell phone. Good luck with that.
As the day goes on and you experience the everyday interaction required to exist in our world you begin to see why hard of hearing people have difficulty. Maybe you missed a key phone call or a key word or phrase in an office meeting. Maybe you had to check with someone after a meeting to go over your notes. You begin to see why they dread meetings or gatherings, whether at work or socially. They are never really sure of what is being said and, as a result, are often hesitant to speak up for fear of making a fool of themselves. The old standby joke is, “Ask a hard of hearing person what time it is and they might reply, ‘Wednesday’.” Given a choice they would always, always prefer to communicate one on one, often going to great lengths to avoid groups; tough to do in a business environment.
At the end of the day you decline to get together with friends after work because they are most likely going somewhere noisy and poorly lit, difficult for you anyway and a severe blow to your ability to lip read. As you head home you will be content to watch some TV, thankful for closed captioning, a luxury not available to all the hard of hearing.
There are all degrees of deafness; everything from a difficulty discerning high pitched or low sounds to profoundly deaf to struggling with certain words and sounds regardless of the volume. Some comes from advancing age, permanent damage from loud noises, illness or birth defects. Most can be helped by hearing aids while many face a silent world.
I WANT TO HEAR U
I encourage you to write to us of your experiences, both as a deaf or hard of hearing person or a loved one who shares their life. Please share with us.
There are people with blindness, those that are hard of hearing, wheel chair bound or have brain wiring that doesn’t quite mesh. They get by but thankfully there are advocates for all these groups that have done heroic work to improve their lives.
As much progress as has been made by these dedicated people, I feel we are on the verge of a giant leap forward in improving the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing. As one who thinks the invention of closed captioning ranks up there with the invention of the wheel, penicillin and others, I think the next big advancement is at hand. The Americans with Disabilities Act assures those with disabilities they are entitled to communications equal to those with others. We are not there yet.
The purpose of this Blog is to help take that next step. In an effort to move our cause along I will be telling my story of life as a deaf person. In so doing I will tell of experiences and difficulties the hard of hearing face on a daily basis.
Secondly, I would hope many of you will write us with your comments and experiences, even a video. Tell us the good along with the difficulties you have faced and how you have dealt with them. Maybe your kids are struggling in school, you missed a bus stop or flight at the airport or you were treated harshly by someone who didn’t realize you simply didn’t hear them. Let’s see what happens. I feel the technology is there now that can get us much closer to “equal communications”. If our voice is loud enough, we can make it happen.
I WANT TO HEAR U
I encourage you to write to us of your experiences, both as a deaf or hard of hearing person or a loved one who shares their life. Please share with us.Latest Posts
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