hello, I just joined and looking for support

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meowcat

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Hello, im a 19 year old hard of hearing girl in England. I'm quite a peculiar case as I never used to be hard of hearing until one day two years ago I woke up not being able to hear on my right side. I was rushed to hospital to be told it was a migraine yeah right! After about a month it still had not returned and I was struggling so I went to my doctor. Who told me it was wax so I had my ears syringed four times with no improvement he sent me too an ent who stuck a running fork to my forehead and immediately told me . Had sensorineural hearing loss and sent me for scans and a hearing test my test showed I had a -50db in my right ear and surprisingly -20 in my left they fitted a hearing aid in my right but not my left as it was not so bad 3 month's later I found out I had a heart condition and needed a pacemaker 2 weeks before it was fitted I woke up to not being able to hear in my left ear I went back to have my hearing tested and my right was the same but my left was at -60db so now I have two hearing aids they think it was my heart stopping that caused it but they are not sure and I have to go for regular tests as they are unsure if I wI'll completely lose my hearing at the moment I am struggling to come to terms with this and get angry looks when I ask people to repeat themselves as I can't hear them I'm learning to lip read but I'm really bad at it and have unintentionally upset people by misunderstanding what they have said I'm afraid to tell people I am hard of hearing as I am afraid they will not speak to me has anyone else been through this? Many thanks
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles.

I have a heart problem and am deaf, but luckily no problems with impatient people around me.

Hopefully you will find a way to change them. Or pick your own friends who are decent when you leave home.
 
Wirelessly posted

Thanks for your encouragement I hope that too it hurt the most when my family said I was ignorant but the fact was I couldn't hear them
 
I was born hoh due to some infection, over the years it has progressed and now I am legally deaf unaided, can hear some but not much. Yes it is hard, people get frustrated but that's just them, not you as they don't know what its like and cant come to terms when someone is different. I used to lip read very well but has lost that touch since I went to a bad school and caused a lot of confrontations so I backed off, now I am learning to lip read all over again... not easy but its growing on me. Yes people get frustrated repeating themselves, don't let it get to you. I just say Pardon? when I don't hear them, after the second time I say Im nearly deaf... some understand, others don't... if its a real issue keep a pad of paper/pen handy. Write on the cover you are hard of hearing/deaf.
 
I used to be able to hear pretty well with my left ear, regardless of hearing aide or not, but that was years ago, and I am just days away from turning 30, and I've come to terms with the fact I have now lost most of my hearing since turning 18, and I have to rely more on visualization to survive. If I didn't, I probably wouldn't be alive now. I hope you can find friends over there who'll help you, and help teach you how to survive.
 
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I hope so too the amount of times I've almost been run over by cars these past weeks has been horrendous
 
I teach and remind myself to look both ways BEFORE setting foot in the street, and because I ride a bicycle, I'm required by law to do so.
 
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Amazingly I do look both ways but where I live is around blind corners so I cannot see the cars coming towards me only hear the car which I can't
 
I ride on a route with a lot of blind spots, which requires me to slow down at least a block before reaching that blind spot, so cars will have time to go through before I reach it. As for being on foot, where I live also has a couple of blind spots, because of the walls supporting train tracks above my head, as well as a bridge, so I do know how you feel. I'd recommend moving to a location with less danger, and that should increase your chances of survival.

As for your family saying you were being ignorant, that's just plain wrong-- having a deaf and/or hard of hearing family member should mean they embrace new challenges, and try and learn how you will adapt to your life-changing experience, and try and support you any way they can. You will find plenty of that here, and we always welcome new members.
 
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Thanks and they said I was ignorant as I was being tested I asked them how long this was going on for they said a while but just thought . Was being a teenager guess they where wrong my mum does get frustrated with me at times when I ask her to repeat but I can't blame her she blames herself
 
There's no point in blaming anyone or anything-- it's an opportunity to learn a new language and a whole new world, and you said you asked how long a hearing test took, and it DOES take a while-- they want to make sure the information is accurate and refer you to the appropriate place that can better help you and your family. Here in the US, many cities have places for hearing families to learn about ASL and how the child will adapt. In England, I have no clue what they use for sign language over there, but your family should be encouraged to try and learn some signs to make it easier for all of you. They can also sign up here, as well, so they can receive the support they'll need, and who knows, maybe there's someone over there who might be able to help you all.
 
Wirelessly posted

I do have a therapist which is helping a lot my mum understands more and so do I, thanks for your comments they really help
 
Going to a therapist is a good start. It'll help you get to understand why you lost your hearing to the best of your ability, and it'll also keep any big problems from coming up, but there's so much more that can happen, and since you're newly hard of hearing, I can understand if you're hesitant to try a new language or something, but don't be, though-- you will benefit greatly.
 
meowcat said:
Wirelessly posted

Thanks for your encouragement I hope that too it hurt the most when my family said I was ignorant but the fact was I couldn't hear them
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That is really awful about what your family said. You should turn on the TV and mute it or turn the sound way down then ask your family if that made them ignorant too because they can't her the TV. Your family are the one that are asking ignorant , it might help to educate your family and friends about what you're going through . I hope you'll be able to find out why you're losing your hearing and try not to let people get you upset as this could not be good for heart.
 
People being upset at hard of hearing people either don't like the deaf, or have no time to keep repeating themselves. However, as more and more people are becoming aware of the Deaf world, they see ASL as a new way to learn something, and make new friends. That in itself could be a benefit someday in life.
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. I hope you can adapt to the silence world and just get use to the environment sounds. Listening is not helping much but if you can use the paper and pen because you have become Late Deafened or Late Hard Of Hearing (HOH). It will take a while to get use to the life of being Hard Of Hearing or Deaf. Enjoy reading and posting here and see you around here. :wave: :D
 
It certainly is. Many people either have a deaf family member or a deaf friend, and that's what likely spurns them to either learn ASL or become an intreperter. Either way, the more hearing people become aware of the Deaf Culture, the more they benefit, and they just might encourage their friends that learning about Deaf Culture is one of the best things they've ever done, and tell them to do the same.
 
meowcat said:
Wirelessly posted

Hello, im a 19 year old hard of hearing girl in England. I'm quite a peculiar case as I never used to be hard of hearing until one day two years ago I woke up not being able to hear on my right side. I was rushed to hospital to be told it was a migraine yeah right! After about a month it still had not returned and I was struggling so I went to my doctor. Who told me it was wax so I had my ears syringed four times with no improvement he sent me too an ent who stuck a running fork to my forehead and immediately told me . Had sensorineural hearing loss and sent me for scans and a hearing test my test showed I had a -50db in my right ear and surprisingly -20 in my left they fitted a hearing aid in my right but not my left as it was not so bad 3 month's later I found out I had a heart condition and needed a pacemaker 2 weeks before it was fitted I woke up to not being able to hear in my left ear I went back to have my hearing tested and my right was the same but my left was at -60db so now I have two hearing aids they think it was my heart stopping that caused it but they are not sure and I have to go for regular tests as they are unsure if I wI'll completely lose my hearing at the moment I am struggling to come to terms with this and get angry looks when I ask people to repeat themselves as I can't hear them I'm learning to lip read but I'm really bad at it and have unintentionally upset people by misunderstanding what they have said I'm afraid to tell people I am hard of hearing as I am afraid they will not speak to me has anyone else been through this? Many thanks
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I'm sorry to hear that, if your friends were true friends (your family included), they won't downsize you because of that. I used to have those fears, but I was born with hearing loss, and I've been wearing hearing aids in both ears for about almost 14 years now (I first got them at age 5, and I'm 19 now). My own mom used to be annoyed sometimes because I couldn't hear her, but she's gotten over that now, and my dad completely understands it, because he's hearing impaired too. I just hope I don't lose anymore of my hearing, I'm visually impaired too, I just got my 3rd pair of glasses in 4 years. My vision is getting slight worse *Sigh*

Have you ever tried close caption on the t.v?
 
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