I am hearing impaired, Hard of Hearing, half deaf and there's a whole lot of other ways to say that. There's so many ways to say it but only one way not to. Don't ever call me stupid.
I might not have a "beamer" in the driveway (yet), I might not have Yale academics, but I do have plenty of life experience and very dear friends, that know I ain't no dummy.
What I would like to achieve with this blog is:
- to share information on hearing impairments
- educate those who either are hearing impaired or those who have friends and family with hearing impairments.
- an outlet for my meandering thoughts!
If you haven't had your ears tested, go make an appointment! The first thing I realized as a HOHer is that you can't tell without testing, that you have something wrong. I waited many years before I realized what was going on. Maybe denial had something to do with it, but I made the assumption that I was fine... I could hear people saying things, just not make out what they were saying!
So, there couldn't be anything wrong. Boy was that far from the truth!
I have slowly, progressively lost the high end of my hearing. To the extent that I no longer hear above 1500 Hz. (Before I get on the technical stuff in future posts, I will finish what I'm saying)
The low end is pretty good actually. I have what's called a "Ski Slope" hearing loss. Picture the triple diamond! Starts out really high, then plummets to a severe low.
What am I doing about it? Nothing. There isn't anything anyone can do. Although, I have read an article on re-growing lost hair in the cochlea, they haven't figured out how to isolate it to the cochlea. See Guinness' world records for ear hair! Eeew. That is not something I would like to be known for !
Hearing aids are not like glasses, there is no instant "fix". There is much to consider in adjusting hearing aids, and even then if you're like me, you go back to the audiologist every week or so, trying to perfect it! We still have a long way to go. There are so many different adjustments you can make to hearing aids these days, it's not a simple "crank the volume."
Don't get me wrong, I love my hearing aids. I am currently wearing Phonak's Naida. See Phonak's web site if you're interested in looking for pics. They are about the same size as my very first pair of hearing aids!
But, they come in PURPLE. Stylin! I have yet to get them in purple....
The power of purple compels you!...... sorry.
I even got an FM system by phonak that allows me to hear my teachers without struggling, or lip reading a whole lot. I'm still exhausted after classes from trying to understand things, though! Never mind the late nights researching the many papers I have due, or have handed in already.
College, yeah. Ain't it great!
I am currently working on my associates in "Business Technologies." After that who knows?
Bachelors, Masters, PHD??? Options are grand. Potential even better! I wouldn't mind getting up there in smarts like my good subject "Joseph Pulitzer".
Mr. Pulitzer was an immigrant from Hungary. Learned, then later mastered English, studied law on his own time, purchased a newspaper, rose to great heights as a journalist. There's so much more to the mad man with manic depressive disorder, and retinal detachment that I can't possibly start writing on him now. Maybe I'll post my paper on him when it gets a grade and returned.
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