I played guitar onstage steadily for the better part of 10 years, and every hour I was allowed to spend in front of a crowd was the product of ten times as much time rehearsing. And like my guitar heroes, I wanted, I craved, I “needed” to play through the legendary Marshall amplifier stack: 100 (sometimes for me, 200) watts of harmonically distorted power blasting through 8 speakers in 2 cabinets (4 speakers in each) stacked 6 feet high!
Hear Me Out
That I would have tinnitus or even a hearing loss wasn’t that surprising. I’d spent the better part of my adult life as a music journalist listening to loud music, either via headphones or at clubs and concerts. Back in my 20s my gauge for a satisfying night out was if the bass levels were so intense that my stomach hurt. Not the healthiest of benchmarks.
I’m 24 and Have Hearing and Balance Challenges
During my third year at University of Michigan, where I was studying biochemistry and French, I became aware of an unfamiliar, jarring sensation—extreme dizziness. If I closed my eyes for just a little bit, I’d feel my surroundings spinning. It was around the same time I recognized my difficulties hearing in large lecture halls.
Memories and Music: My Life as a Real-Life ‘CODA’
I cannot tell you how many times in my 32 years people have asked me, “What is it like to have parents who are deaf?” My answer has always been the same, regardless of who is asking or how old I am, “What is it like to have hearing parents?”
A ‘Complicated and Special’ Case
In June 2010, I stepped off a plane in Los Angeles with a painfully full left ear, muffled hearing, throbbing eyes, vertigo, and a migraine. I also got off that plane with no idea I would straddle the line between a nondisabled and disabled identity for the rest of my life.
Family and Friends Don't Understand Your Hearing Challenges?
If, like me, you have a hearing loss, you know what your hearing challenges are. But what about your friends and family? Do they have challenges communicating with you? I bet the answer is yes. Why wouldn’t they? Hearing loss is a communication disorder that affects all the people in our lives.
Just Because Hearing Loss Is Invisible Doesn’t Mean It’s Less Real
I think because I was in my 20s and thought working at a nightclub was fun and interesting, and I was surrounded by talented musicians and entertainers, I didn’t stop to consider that I was going to the equivalent of four concerts a week. Not even concerts with two-hour sets—more like multi-day music festivals with four bands each performing two-hour sets!
’Should I Get a Cochlear Implant?‘
For Alex, getting a haircut in town becomes an opportunity to talk about his cochlear implant with a curious stranger as well as reflect on his own experience getting an implant at a very young age.
Helping Others Has Helped Me
Despite all this, including owning earplugs, it didn’t occur to me until working on the Keep Listening prevention campaign for Hearing Health Foundation how damage to your hearing is cumulative, and that I’ve been doing additional damage to my hearing through some of my daily routines.
Let’s Let More People Learn About Hearing Loss
I would tell someone with a new diagnosis of hearing loss to persevere, know that you can get used to it, and think about the positives and not the negatives. It’s important that you don’t let people bring you down for wearing hearing aids. Take the opportunity to explain about hearing loss and using hearing aids. Let them know more about it!