Even though I work with individuals with disabilities, starting the process of treating my hearing loss feels like I’ve been thrown into a new world about which I know so little. After my hearing test and official diagnosis, I was shown a few hearing aid models to choose a pair. Simple, right?
Inside My Head
My difficulty became noticeable when I was working as a newspaper reporter in the late 1990s. I could manage okay on the phone but had trouble following conversations in person if there was any ambient noise. Crowd situations were unbearable.
A Wonderful Stroke of Luck
My stroke eliminated the 20-year age difference between Bruce and me, making me older than him in some ways. I was supposed to be pushing him around in a wheelchair at this stage of our lives. He is, after all, 94 years old.
Katelyn and Solenne
Sisters Katelyn, 12, and Solenne, 11, of Connecticut, are among the tens of millions of individuals who benefit from advances in hearing loss research. Both girls were born with severe to profound hearing loss but showed no benefit from hearing aids. They have both since received cochlear implants (CIs).
Family Ties
My own difficulty hearing came on so gradually it was hard to notice. But I do remember vividly the day I realized the difference between my left and right ears. I was then a parent of three young children, living in Bayonne in a two-family house with my mother.
Restoring Teachable Moments
Terry Harris, who lives with a severe-profound sensorineural hearing loss, teaches special education in Glenview, IL. His life and profession changed dramatically when he experienced three months of total deafness — prompting him at age 40 to undergo cochlear implant (CI) surgery to restore his access to sound.
I Hear a Symphony: For U-M Violin Student, Hearing Loss is Not a Disability
Violin teacher Danielle Belen uses a lot of gestures and hand signals but not many words. Her student, Abigel Szilagyi, relies on vibrations, muscle memory and instincts.
Everything Sounds
I'll never forget the first time I had my hearing aid on while giving my children a bath in our cramped little bathroom. I thought the loud noise from their splashing and kicking and laughing would drive me crazy with my aid in my ear.
I Would Love to Hear the Conversation
Music for Alex, and for many others with hearing loss, is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes loud music volumes, especially in crowded spaces, can be a distraction for him. This recently became apparent at dinner in a restaurant with our parents.
Bodybuilding Against All Odds
Meet Elizabeth “Elizzy” Galvan, a 40-year-old professional bodybuilder from Fargo, North Dakota, who doesn’t fit the stereotypical presentation of someone in her chosen sport. She is deaf, lives with Usher syndrome, and has one arm.