Of couse its painful. I never implied that it wasn't. And of course you feel a sesne of loss. That is one of the main differences between the late deafened and the congenitally deafened, and their attitudes and values regarding their deafness.
However, I still believe that one who is late deafened and has the skills already in place to deal with that life change will be better equipped to deal with it than one who doesn't. That's all my post was saying.
