By Celia Johnson
Like many people with hearing loss, I have struggled with communication outside of my home during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, I’m happy to have discovered new ways of staying connected that work for me.
My hearing loss is profound and treated with bilateral hearing aids, and I prefer to see people’s lips when I am talking to them. Face masks, of course, make this impossible.
Author Celia Johnson is pictured with her husband at a Halloween dance event.
I also have trouble wearing a mask with my behind-the-ear hearing aids. Taking the mask on and off moves the aids and could knock them to the ground. They are far too important and expensive to lose—or to be eaten by my dog! Before COVID-19, my dog ate one of my hearing aids and, in addition to replacing the device, we had to have a doctor X-ray his stomach for batteries.
In spite of these difficulties, I am remaining social and engaged in the world from the safety and comfort of my home. This is so important to do when you have a hearing loss. For almost three decades—since I was in my early 50s working as a secretary in a bank—I’ve so appreciated the value of hearing aids to stay connected and to be able to function. Now, I’m feeling immensely grateful for electronic communication, too.
Since the pandemic began, I’ve been attending church services online with my husband. They are wonderful because the minister stays in one location, facing the camera, so I can hear him very well. Most churches use visuals for their live streams, too, like captions and song lyrics. During normal times, I have to be a lot more selective with the services that I can attend. When I’m able to attend church in person, I have to sit close and lipread the pastor’s face, which isn’t always possible, especially if he has a beard. In-person services sometimes use hearing loop technology, which I don’t like because I feel cut off from all other sounds around me.
A Zoom meeting screenshot shows Celia’s friends square dancing from home.
I’ve also enjoyed socializing online while I’ve been home. I’m a bridge player, and playing the game electronically lets me interact with my friends all over the country. Plus, it’s quieter to play the game on my computer in my house. Sometimes playing bridge in person is distracting with the noise from 12 or more tables in a single room.
I love Zoom for many different types of video conferencing. I use it to talk to my mother, age 103, who also has a hearing loss and lives in a nursing home. I also use it for Bible studies and to take an American Sign Language (ASL) class. Some of the ASL lessons are live and some are recorded. Lastly I have been using Zoom for virtual square and line dancing. It is not the same as in person but is still fun and keeps all us dancers in touch. I feel very blessed to be able to do this.
Communicating online almost feels easier than that in real life! I am fortunate to have the tools that are available to me, both my hearing aids and internet access. For years I’ve known that my hearing aids are necessary for me to remain present and now I am finding delight in using them to pray, socialize, and learn in new ways.
Celia Johnson lives in Rock Hill, SC with her husband.
