Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Facing challenging tasks due to hearing loss

During the past few months I have shared a lot of my life’s experiences in my blog.  I was socially challenged, depressed and lonely, and that was just the beginning of what seemed like a never-ending and painful existence.  I am discovering that my hearing loss community is helping me overcome these obstacles.

For instance, last weekend I attended the kick-off event for Milwaukee Walk4Hearing.  This gave me the opportunity to get out and interact with new people.  I was really nervous and shy to be surrounded by new faces, of course, but I was proud of myself for adventuring outside of my comfort zone.  My goal is to get more involved with the hearing loss group in Milwaukee, and I already have more things planned in the months ahead.  Thanks to everyone in the hearing loss community, I am breaking new ground and feeling more confident.

Share any of your obstacles and how you have or plan on overcome them.  Let’s make overcoming obstacles a goal for all of us as Spring approaches. 

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Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Share those embarrassing moments you never wanted to tell

We have all had embarrassing moments at some point in our lives.  In the past, I read a blog where people were sharing their embarrassing, but funny, deaf moments.  I thought this would be a good topic to share on Wednesday night.

One of my crazy moments was at the movies with my mother.  The previews were playing and it was very dark in the theater during that time.  We were trying to find a seat and I couldn’t see my mom clearly, and I had trouble hearing her because of the loud background noise.  Apparently, there was another guy in front of me and I thought he was my mom.  Without knowing, I patted his shoulder and said, “Mom, where do you want to sit?”  I heard this guy’s voice saying something like, “Oh, I think your mother is over there!”  I was truly embarrassed at that time, but now it’s one of those funny moments I look back on and laugh.

Tell us about any embarrassing stories related to your hearing loss.  It may have been so embarrassing that you haven’t wanted to share it with anyone before, but let’s have fun and laugh with each other.  After all, laughter is the best medicine.

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Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Important people who have helped you

My hearing impaired teachers in elementary school were the most influential people in my life.  I will never forget the first year of school when I wore a hearing aid box strapped around my shoulders.  The box was relayed to a microphone that teachers used so I could hear.  I was a slow learner because I didn’t hear all the sounds and learn the words during the crucial stages of my life.  My teachers worked very hard to get me caught up and that always seemed to be their primary goal.  As I entered third grade, they slowly moved me into regular classes with hearing students.  That was the turning point of my life.  I wouldn’t have gotten there so quickly without their help and effort. 

Share the most influential people in your life.  How did they help you cope with hearing loss?

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Opening Topic for Open Chat Night: How to communicate with people in the hearing world

I was enrolled in hearing impaired classes at the age of three.  The teachers wanted me to learn sign language but I refused to learn, and soon discovered that hearing aids were the solution.  It helped me hear all the sounds as a normal person would.  I didn’t need to rely on other forms of communication such as asl or lip reading.  However, there are times when I have trouble communicating with people in the hearing world.  It becomes a burden in social gatherings, especially at places with lots of background noise.  I often struggle in these situations to hear all the words and have to ask people to repeat themselves.

Everyone in my community has a different level of hearing loss.  What forms of communication do you find most effective when speaking with others?  For any deaf individuals using sign language, how do you interact with people not familiar with signs?

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Please help me support HLAA by joining my team for Milwaukee Walk4Hearing on May 16th 2010!  If anyone cannot attend the walk, you can still be a part of my team to show your support.

Here’s the Website to learn more about my team: http://hlaa.convio.net/goto/senthil 

Feel free to download the Milwaukee Walk4Hearing flyer (pdf format) to pass around to anyone interested in attending the walk.

Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Keeping up with technology

I started wearing hearing aids at the age of three.  They were these big analog ones worn behind my ears.  I kept my hair long to cover them because I was very sensitive and uncomfortable.

Digital hearing aids became available in the 1980s, but weren’t very popular because of their size.  In the mid 1990s, the technology improved and they became more popular.  Even though the aids were still noticeable, I wore them during my college years and they definitely helped me hear better.  Also, they had features such as not having to adjust the volume manually.  During recent years, I’ve seen the technology improve and they continue to get smaller.  For about four years now, I have been wearing ITC (in the canal) hearing aids.

I went to an ENT specialist and got my ears checked a month ago.  He informed me of even smaller hearing aids which include a thin wire and are far less noticeable than what I was aware of.  I will be doing research on this new technology to learn if I can benefit, and whether the expense is worth it.

What hearing aid technologies are you aware of?  I think sharing this information will help everyone in our community.

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