About.com: When you were hearing, did you know any deaf or hard of hearing people?
I knew some people who wore hearing aids. It always seemed to me that with the aids they were able to hear and understand. I never knew any one with the degree of hearing loss that I now have.
Looking back, I don’t think I would have had a lot of patience with someone who was not able to hear what I said. I know most people avoid speaking to me, knowing that I will not be able to understand them. I think I was much the same when I was hearing.
About.com: When did you start having a hearing loss?
When I lost my job as a firefighter, the onset of my hearing loss became a point of contention. Was my loss of hearing caused by this? When did my hearing loss start? Everyone seemed to have a different answer.
About.com: Do you know what caused it to start?
I do not know what caused me to start losing my hearing. I have worked in many loud situations. However, I know others who have worked right along side of me and they can still hear the proverbial pin drop.
About.com: How did you react to beginning to lose your hearing?
When I first began to think I might be hard of hearing, I wanted it to go away. I just wanted to be able to hear in work sessions, training events and when the alarms went off. My wife and son seemed to be talking more and more quietly. The TV was never loud enough for me. I craved loud noises. Something about loud sounds was appealing to me.
About.com: What is it like, not being able to hear?
It is somewhat like being in a foreign country where you are not able to ask even the simplest question. For me is it a bit different, I am "late deafened" and I can still speak and be understood. Sometimes my voice is louder then it should be, or not loud enough when there is a lot of background noise. One aspect of deafness is not knowing when to turn and face a speaker. I find I cannot hear well enough to join in a conversation.
I don’t carry a white cane, and I am not in a wheelchair. People don’t know that I can’t hear them. I have often thought I would like a button with an ear with a red circle and a slash through it.
About.com: Was there any impact on your social life?
My social life used to revolve around meetings. My marriage ended soon after I found I was hard of hearing. I lost my career as a fire fighter and was home most of the time. I guess I was pretty hard to live with. I couldn’t hear what my wife would say. I could never hear my son. I avoided them most of the time. I would spend my evenings in the woodworking shop, where I could hear, even if it was only the buzz of the table saw.
I live with and work for a hearing lady. My signing is not yet good enough to mingle with the Deaf. I can see a time coming when I will not want to live with a hearing person. I am dependent on my aids to communicate with her.
About.com: What were you able to do when hearing that you cannot do now?
I could understand a fire department radio. I used to talk on the telephone. I could hear in a meeting room. I could take a class and score very highly by just listening to the teacher. (Now I have to wear a special device that brings the teacher’s voice to my hearing aids. I have her wear a microphone and I wear a receiver.) When I was hearing, I could stop someone on the street and start speaking to them and I could understand him.
I used to travel a great deal. I was able to understand people who spoke English with an accent. If they could speak some English, I was able to converse with them. Now if they speak with an accent, I find it very hard to speechread them.
About.com: How did hearing aids help?
My first hearing aids didn’t help much. They were cheap. I could hear sounds but it was irritating. I found I could hear the clatter of silverware and plates, but I couldn’t understand what someone was saying any better then before.
Later, I got better hearing aids. I went to an audiologist rather than a hearing aid salesperson. I was able to get "state of the art" aids. They helped my understanding much more then the cheap ones ever did.
About.com: Did you learn any new skills, like lipreading?
In lipreading class, they told me "look at people when they speak." If you get in the habit of doing this, you will soon learn to figure out what they are saying. Some say that lipreading will only give you about 30% of what is said.
I guess this is not a skill so much as a coping strategy. I have learned to use the computer to do all my writing. This has kept me in contact with family and friends. I do not use the phone, not with TTY or relay or voice over. I know the technology is there, But I have just not had the need or energy to use it.
About.com: Did you join any hard of hearing organizations like Hearing Loss Association of America (formerly SHHH)?
I love going to the [SHHH] meetings. They are the only meeting where I am usually able to hear everything that is going on. They have assistive listening devices and they make sure that everyone speaks into a mike.
About.com: How did you know you had gone from hard of hearing to deaf?
I am not yet able to meet all the criteria for being completely deaf. With my aids in place, I am able to hear speech. I am now more comfortable in my sign language class then I am in my class for the hearing. I am not yet deaf, but I am getting closer all the time.
