Jul 06 2009
My first column
It has been a year since I started my hearing loss community, and throughout the past months I have connected with people from all over the country by sharing hearing loss stories. During the month of June, I contacted the hearing loss chapter in Milwaukee/Racine area, and decided then to attend their next meeting. The word about my community was passed along to the hearing loss chapter’s leader in Wales, Wisconsin. She writes for the Journal Sentinel and had shown interest in posting an article about my hearing loss community, which she recently did. I am proud to have my first column posted describing some of this year’s accomplishments, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know so many great people.
Here’s a link to the hearing loss article: Living Lake Country Community Blogs
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Great Website,
I have been hearing impaired since age 4 (1972) and have worn hearing aids now for 36 years. This site is much needed and I look forward to checking it out in the future. I struggled with hearing impairement and was not a good student in gradeschool and high school because of it and did not understand how to learn at the time. The early 70’s was not as informational for children with hearing impairment and their success in school environments. I was young and not much support in how to approach academic excellence. My parents had difficulty in understanding how to help me in terms of school. At age 37, with much experience in hearing loss and everything that comes with it, I entered college and receive my bachelor’s in hearing, speech and language sciences. I graduated with others at the top of my class after teaching myself to be responsible for my hearing loss and what you said Senthil is correct. If you are in school, an individual with hearing impairment must work twice as hard or even harder, no matter what level of school, in order to stay on par with other students in the classroom. As an adult and after review of how my academic experiences were as a child and young adult, I put together a regimine of success that has taken me to the next level. I am now 41 and will be starting graduate school to study and earn my doctorate in audiology. I am ready to share with the world what I know about hearing impairment. Personally and Professionally! I feel that I will have a unique perspective when, hypothetically, that 5-year-old child and their parents come to me with questions about their child’s hearing loss. I now know why I was dealt the card of Hearing Impairment. My purpose is obvious from this point. I love this site. Let’s get active and share what we know for those coming into the world of hearing impairment. It is not a bad word anymore. We can achieve what any individual with normal hearing can achieve.
Senthil,
I look forward to your future posts. Maybe someday we will cross paths and share our stories. They sound very similar. I received a full ride for my first year of Graduate school starting September 1st. I credit my hard work and persistence based on what I knew needed to be changed in terms of approaching learning as a youth and becoming successfull at it coming from an individual with hearing impairment. I finished undergraduate school with a 3.8/4.0 G.P.A and was accepted to 4 out of 5 graduate level universities I applied to and believe me, if I can do it then anyone can do it with persistent dedication to your studies. PERSISTENCE pays off if you have the tools to learn as an individual with hearing impairment!!! We do not learn equivalent to the individual with normal hearing and addressing this will undoubtedly increase productive performance of any kind for individuals with hearing loss issues. I firmly believe this as I have experienced it as a child and an adult.
Fred