I had hearing problems all my life and speech therapy through grade school. I always say that it was as a result of speech therapy that I do not really have a Texas accent! (Although some people would disagree.) I don't know why I didn't have hearing aids as a child, but I always sat in the front seats of classrooms to be sure to hear.
Getting the Details Right
The first time I ever saw a cochlear implant, it was on the shaved head of my new neighbor, a kindly retired librarian. I actually thought it was some kind of fancy Bluetooth device. I was that clueless. My education came quickly enough, though.
Teaching by Example
I am open with my students about my hearing loss. I want them to be as comfortable with it as I am, and understand it requires some adjustment on their part, just as it does on mine. In order to hear them I have to ask for silence in the classroom when another student is speaking, because background noise is a killer when I am trying to listen to someone individually.
True Talent Comes in All Forms
We can’t let other people dictate who we are, only you know who you are and what you can do. I want to prove to myself and show others what I can accomplish and succeed at despite my hearing loss. Another motivation is seeing the lack of individuals with disabilities in TV and film. There are some actors who are deaf or hard of hearing, but they represent a very small percentage of the entertainment industry.
Unlocking the Key to My Problems With Balance
I am an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University and became interested in the fields of hearing research, biomedical engineering, and neuroscience in part from my own hearing loss. I have had severe to profound hearing loss since early childhood, diagnosed at 2 ½ years old. Fitted with powerful hearing aids, I learned to speak and listen only with intensive speech therapy. I am the only person with a hearing loss in my family, so we always thought the cause was due to illness or possibly ototoxic drugs.
Why Suffer?
If you have a hearing loss, why suffer? The price you pay for not fully hearing well is far, far more than the perceived vanity lost from wearing hearing devices. This type of health benefit should be no more of a stigma than self improvement through wearing braces or glasses, and equally as commonplace.
Classic Rock to Classical
When I was in college, I saw the British rock band Jethro Tull in concert in Illinois, and was enthralled and starstruck as I listened to their music blasting through massive speakers only a few feet away from me. Although the sound was a freight train roaring through my ears, the distortion and pain were not enough to budge me from my spot in front of Ian Anderson and his electric flute.
Do the Best You Can Until You Know Better
There’s a quote I like by the writer, Maya Angelou: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” So I got up off the mat, brushed myself off, mask in place, and put one foot in front of the other. I then went back to that drugstore and simply, in silence, found what I needed.
Distance Learning With a Hearing Loss
In the classroom, Alex has a captionist who ensures that he gets most of what the teacher is saying. He also carries a small microphone, or mini mic, for teachers to talk into so that their speech streams directly into his hearing aid and CI. Together, these two tactics were by no means perfect, but they worked for Alex. Unfortunately, like every other student across the world, Alex’s in-person education routine was interrupted a few months ago.
Dealing With a Sudden Loss of Hearing and Five Ways Loved Ones Can Help
I was a high school senior when I got the news that my moderate to severe, bilateral, congenital hearing loss had just got worse (genetic, 60-85 dB loss in both ears). “Discrimination dropped from 82% to 15% in her left ear and 72% to 12% in the right ear...” the audiologist reported, confirming my sudden, significant drop in hearing. Though I could hear the difference, I couldn’t believe it. The words stung more than I could have ever imagined.