May 25 2010
Unforgettable Moments
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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Hi Senthil. It was nice meeting you at the Walk4Hearing. The Walk was very special, and so successful. Thank you for all you did to make that happen! I hope you will be attending the HLAA convention in Milwaukee. There are special events for young adults, and I know several couples who are now married who met at HLAA conventions! Who knows….you might just meet someone special there!! I encourage you to try Hearing Loss Nation via the national HLAA site too.
You ask about when we first knew he had hearing loss…I don\’t really remember a \’moment\’ in time, but I do remember a segment of my life. I was in college when I suddenly realized that I was rushing to class so I could get a seat in the front of my lecture classes…no one wants to sit in the front, right? Without realizing it, I needed to sit there or be lost. I participated in a small fun group of friends who sang folk songs; played the ukelele (of all instruments…and yes, I\’m dating myself!), and had fun. We couldn\’t afford sheet music so we listened to albums to get the words and music we used. I learned that I was great at rhyming words! The problem was they were not always the right ones! I\’d be merrily singing a completely different song than the others. The strange looks I got were unexplained until I realized I wasn\’t \’getting it\’ they way others were. I was working on a degree in public speaking, along with my education degree when we had a unit on communication disorders. My friend and room mate picked up the behaviors and related them to me…of course I denied it. I was the last person to know I had hearing loss! Because I was an adult, I received no services at all and had to find my own way over the years. The docs told me that hearing aids wouldn\’t help, so it took me 15 years to try one…which did help a little. I was given no hope of a cure or even a good quality hearing aid. FM systems were not even available then (60s and 70s), and I knew of no other technology in those years. Eventually I discovered SHHH, which is now HLAA, and found the information there that no one else had been able to give me. That encouraged me to try more technology. And all of what SHHH offered gave me hope for my \’hearing future\’. Five years ago I received a cochlear implant. It has been a miracle for me, and works well with my hearing aid on the other ear. I feel blessed to be living in times when technology is so good. My message to others is to always have \’hope, for there are always new things available. I sure didn\’t feel that way when I discovered I was hard of hearing though. In fact I felt \’old\’. Not knowing anyone else my age with hearing loss was really the hardest part. Again, SHHH/HLAA came to my rescue. Through the organization I\’ve met so many wonderful and interesting people….sometimes I actually feel lucky having had the hearing loss that gave me all of those other opportunities!
I\’m sorry I don\’t participate in many of your web chats. The schedule is difficult for me. I think you\’re doing something special and look forward to getting to know you better.
Julie Olson