Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Early memories after discovering your hearing loss

I’m sure each of us has memories from the days following discovery of hearing loss.  Moments in time that will forever be carried with us.

For me, one of those moments was when I attended hearing impaired classes in elementary school.  Every morning I would arrive early to school, put on a box with a transmitter and receiver, and then play with the school-supplied building blocks.  The memory is so vivid that I can still see the sun rising up as I would stack the blocks as high as possible before watching them come tumbling down.  It was such a special moment in my life as my journey started in the hearing loss world.

I believe my story is the perfect metaphor for how hard I’ve been working to stand tall and never give up, even when it seems everything is tumbling down around me.

Join us on Wednesday night to share unforgettable moments!

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Opening topic for Open Chat Night:  Taking on a greater responsibility

We had our first Walk4Hearing fundraising event in Milwaukee on May 16th, 2010.  I was in charge of coordinating the field volunteers.  This is the very first time I’ve taken the role of being a coordinator at an event and I found it to be a very challenging and rewarding experience.  I felt good about myself for taking on a new responsibility and getting involved in the community.  It was a real learning experience and next time I will be an expert!

Describe any new responsibility you have taken and share your experiences.

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Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Increase awareness for people with hearing loss

We all know there isn’t much awareness about the hearing loss community.  The last time I’ve seen a national televised commercial with a deaf person was during the Christmas season for Kay’s Jewelry.  It was about a guy giving jewelry as a Christmas gift to a deaf lady.  Since then, I really haven’t seen anything about hearing loss.  This type of awareness comes once in a blue moon.

So, I’m glad I started this group and got more involved at the Milwaukee Walk4Hearing.  I want to help bring more awareness about us.  Many of us have experienced different issues with people in the hearing world.  I think bringing awareness will help the deaf and hearing world understand each other in different situations.

Let’s share our ideas and any efforts you have taken to increase awareness for people with hearing loss.

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Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  How can we educate our co-workers?

We had an interesting conversation last week for dealing with co-workers on the job.  A question was asked how we can educate and inform our co-workers about hearing loss?  This will be a good topic to continue because everyone has unique experiences working in different fields.

As for me, I don’t have much problem communicating with co-workers since my hearing loss is mild, but there are times when people will come up to me and speak very softly.  That becomes a problem in a cubical environment because other people are in the same room.  Many would not want to be distracted.  Even though it can get very frustrating, I just ask them to repeat themselves and often times I ask more than once.  They usually know I have hearing loss by seeing my hearing aids, so I don’t have to explain that I have trouble hearing sometimes.

Share your experiences in the workplace and how you get along with your co-workers.  What are the positive and negative impacts.

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