Comments on: This is What It’s Like to Be Hard of Hearing

By: Kelsy

Kelsy — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:30:53 +0000

I’m hard of hearing. I wasn’t born HOH, but as a newborn, I got really sick and my illness cause my impairment. A lot of what you said is what I do. Im a expert speech reader so I relay on lips. It’s hard to be the new kid and be HOH, you are teased and made fun of , but I learned not to let them give crap to you over a little trait you have. I have never have surgeons on my ears but I
just have to learn to love out your hearing loss.

By: Frieda

Frieda — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 02:51:01 +0000

I am new to your site and this is the page I landed on….what a trip~ I am in my mid-forties, a mom, and officially out of the hoh closet. You touched on many things that I can relate to: teasing, isolation, invisibility, and sensitivity to my own hearing loss. I, too, have CC on all the time, stay away from noisy electronics, can’t understand men’s voices, and yes, I am a spinner…can’t tell where the heck a sound/voice is coming from.

I just started my blog and just beginning to share my story. I will definitely be following yours!

By: Sonia

Sonia — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:45:37 +0000

I’m working on my website. Hey lady. Love your blog. I mention you on the blog I am getting ready to publish. I have an undiagnosed, or maybe I should say self-diagnosed hearing problem. Sometimes I think its because I am not paying attention, but generally I find myself really leaning in and listening intently to make sure I do hear. Either way I’m going to have to do something about it soon. But, it won’t be a hearing aid – I’m at Cougar status and a grandmother, but I don’t want the grey hair nor the plug in my ear. May eventually have to deal with both, but not right now.

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:51:06 +0000

thanks for posting this! and what a lot of people don’t realize about hearing loss, is that many hearing aids just amplify sound, without making that sound more distinct…so it’s still hard to hear!

By: Brenz

Brenz — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:51:04 +0000

And yet when I met you in that noisy club, you understood me on every pass, whereas I was unable to comprehend anything anyone said in fewer than three takes.

…I’d go get my hearing checked, but they tell me it’s better than it ought to be.

By: lamesabassman......

lamesabassman...... — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:59:52 +0000

hey sistah….. am still misty…. but that was deep…… yeah… am crying as I write
this….. after all the pictures…. the smiles for miles…. that edge that gives you
that edge…. and so it’s true….. when one has less… it brings out the best…..

lamesabassman…… makes you who you are…… hellacool.

By: axe

axe — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:13:19 +0000

Thank you so much for posting this.

I’ll admit I was completely ignorant as to the difficulties of being hard of hearing and Deaf until I met my now best friend.

There are so many things that could easily be made easier if people just took the time and thought.

I’m still pissed that the apple store doesn’t offer more movies with CC, that employers can easily deny someone a job (and just make up some other excuse), and how insensitive people can be.

By: chickpea

chickpea — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:51:03 +0000

Great Post, Twanna! I am also hard of hearing, but only in my right ear. Doctors think it’s the result of an inner infection that I had as a baby that went untreated. I have perfect hearing in my left ear. When I was in 5th grade, my parents had me fitted with a hearing aid, but I hated to use it – aside from the teasing (I also wore glasses), it was a hassle for me at that age, especially with the annoying feedback.

Now in my mid-20s, like you, I’ve learned to adapt. I always have the captions on when I watch TV, and thank god for DVR, if captions aren’t offered, I’ll rewind so I know what was said (actors & their mumbling!). I tend to walk or stand on the right side of people so I can hear them, especially if we are at a loud venue, and if someone leans over to speak to me, I’ll immediately turn my good ear toward them. I also look around to figure out who’s called me form a distance, and the most annoying for me is hearing a siren while driving through NYC and looking in all of my mirrors to figure out which direction the cop car/ambulance/fire truck is coming from. I’m not too shabby with speech reading, either.

Unless I tell people that I am hard of hearing in one ear, it’s not recognizable unless you notice that I have a slightly louder speaking voice. My friends have to remind me at times to lower my voice, and for those that don’t know, I explain to them the reason why I tend to speak loud.

Now that I’m a little older, I’ve considered getting a hearing aid, but I’m not sure that it’s especially necessary right now. I do know that I should probably have a check up on my hearing, it’s been a while!

By: dkzone

dkzone — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:09:18 +0000

That really sucks. Sometimes I wonder if my hearing is slipping or if people aren't directly addressing me. Like if I'm in one room and there are multiple people in the room, If you don't say my name, I'll have no idea you're talking to me. Sometimes I'll hear a high pitched tone that no one else hears.

kids can be cruel.

and honestly, if the answer to a guy not hearing you well, is that you have to get closer.....I'd be all over it. I mean who wouldn't want a woman as fine as yourself to be closer and interested in what you have to say. although conversations get difficult if you end up making out every 5 minutes

;)

By: Baba Doodlius

Baba Doodlius — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:05:08 +0000

I would be my usual obnoxious self and make a comment about HAVING TO TYPE LOUDER, but that would be hurtful, offensive, and decidedly unfunny.

'Course I did it anyway. I'm one of those shitty little assholes you hated so much as a child. :)

Surgery in both ears? Yikes, that's harsh. Is it anything that more recent technology can help with? One cool thing about medical technology - it tends to get better. I don't know anything about ear surgery, but I know that an ACL rupture in the 70's was the end of an athlete's career, and now they repair those things every day. A snip-snip here and a sew-sew there, and you're as good as new! (Almost.)

Anyway, I'm sure the guys in those crowded bars that you have to "lean in close" to do not mind in the least!