A topic was posted in my forum about “Do many hearing impaired people have many friends?“.

Along with other interesting topics of conversation, I thought this might be a good one to discuss during Wednesday’s Open Chat Night.  Looking back to when I was in middle school, a friend of mine in class (Kory) asked me to sit with him during lunch.  He was sitting at the cool table with popular kids.  When I joined the group, the others gave me that look as if I didn’t belong there.  Seeing their faces made me feel like an outsider.  I was heart broken and never sat at that table again.  It was difficult for me to make friends because I was the only kid wearing hearing aids in the entire school.  We all know kids can be so mean and immature at that age.  I would never forget that day and it reminds me of the new challenges I am facing today. 

I ask myself whether everything happens because of my hearing loss.  I don’t think that’s entirely the reason.  It is because of the bad experiences I’ve had with many broken friendships at a younger age.  Therefore, I have become responsible for pushing people away and making mistakes by trying too hard and being down on myself.  All the hurt feelings still remain deep inside me that I couldn’t let go of over the years.  Also, I haven’t had much experience building relationships with people and whenever the opportunity comes, it becomes a greater challenge for me.  Honestly,  I have found myself failing many times but have kept trying and learning from my past mistakes.  Never give up on yourself.

Just remember, any of you out there having similar experiences are not alone in this world.  I am very fortunate to have built a community to share my thoughts and hearing loss journey with others.

I am excited for the next Open Chat Night on Wednesday, December 2nd.  Let’s all continue to make this a great place to communicate and learn with others in the hearing loss community.  You will be part of a wonderful group of people willing to help and share their story.

www.OpenChatNight.com

Thank you for reading.

A member of the hearing loss community doesn’t own a computer, and so during the past few Open Chat Nights he has taken the time and effort to find a computer with Internet access in a library. Open Chat Night has actually become a part of someone’s daily life. That made me realize how important it is to continue and reach out to others. Here’s a recap of some interesting topics discussed during September’s Open Chat Nights:

* Learning to adapt with hearing loss at a younger age.
* Different types of rehabilitation services that cover hearing aids in each state.
* Don’t be afraid to ask people to repeat themselves. How to deal with this situation.
* Share information about our parents, family history, and cultural background.
* Giving support and advice on how to make new friends for people with hearing loss.
* The challenges of learning ASL and lip reading.
* And a Wisconsin Walk4Hearing Chairperson was nice enough to join and share useful information.

Because of the success and feedback, Open Chat Night will continue on Wednesday of each week at 8pm EST in the upcoming months. The chatroom is open to everyone including audiologists, teachers, ASL Interpreters, students and anyone else who would like to attend.

For those in my group who haven’t joined yet, please remember that you are not alone in this world so join in and have some fun!