Hi everyone! Another New Zealander here. :)

[AngelBait]

Hi everyone!

I used to post here a really long time ago, but my old ID seems to be gone, so I've made a new one. New beginnings are nice anyway, I don't really mind. I'll upload a photo and add some more info about myself soon, I just wanted to post and say hi to get things started.

I live in New Zealand (I see there are a couple of other kiwis here too - Kia Ora!) and am currently at university. I used to work, but I'm actually retraining now - Since I was a photographer before but my vision is deteriorating now, so I've had to rethink my long term career aspirations. I was born hearing but started losing my hearing as a teen, and have been profoundly (bilaterally) deaf since I was a young adult. They originally thought my deafness was due to Cogan's Syndrome but now they have confirmed it's really Usher Syndrome type 3.

Because I was born hearing I was of course mainstreamed, I speak, and since becoming deaf I learned to lip-read/speech-read pretty well. However I don't really fit into the 'hearing world' and don't really want to these days. I sign (NZSL) now, though not fluently and though I often still have to speak and read lips, or read/write notes, signing is my preferred method of communication where possible. I hate it when I don't know enough signs to convey everything I really want to though, or when I don't understand everything someone else signs - I get really frustrated - So I'm always trying to learn more.

I don't really relate to the whole 'late deafened' label though - not because it isn't true, but because the vast majority of LD people I have met are elderly, lost their hearing slowly late in life, and still struggle to be (and feel that they should be) a part of the hearing community. That's not my experience at all. I relate more to the 'big D' Deaf community in a lot of ways, but feel really distanced by having a different childhood experience so not having those long established relationships from school etc, a lack of fluency in my NZSL and just being really shy - Which never helps socially!

I wear HAs for environmental sounds, music and safety for my daughter mostly, I can't understand speech with them. I don't think I'd consider a CI at this time, though as my vision goes who knows if I'll want to reevaluate that or not.

Anyway, more about me...

I have a daughter (just one), who I love dearly.
I love talking to people online, about all sorts of things, I think because it's an easy communication medium for me so I can really have a decent conversation and get to know people without the usual language barriers.
I have a fat ginger cat who is very affectionate, he's great and I'm definitely a cat person.
My daughter signs, but my parents don't. My mum is starting to lose her hearing and for the first time is beginning to understand when I can't understand her and why I've always wanted her to sign - She is just starting to learn a few signs now, which means so much to me!

If there is anything you'd like to know about me, just ask me. I like questions, so I'll try to answer if I can.

Other than that, I'd just like to say "Hi!" and it's good to be back here!

 

[MsMotif6]

Nice to have you here. I am pretty new too.
Me and my twin sis (thesynthfreq) are both deafblind. We have residual hearing and vision but use ASL and Braille as main mediums. We are able to use large print but for short amount of time and we speak since we were born HH. We wear Naida V UP/Ultra power blue tooth hearing aids with iCom. I love it so much and boy..they are strong! LOL. I can feel many sounds on my ear drum but still have troubles telling what things are and still hear speech but don't understand it well. Kinda confusing to me..
Anyway- we are musician, self taught and compose music everyday. We have a modified studio that works well with someone that has both vision and hearing loss.

For those who are HH, its sometimes hard to relate to those who are capitol D/Deaf and their community. I am in the deafblind community but some deaf people there are been in the deaf community a long time. We have deafblind chat at Starbucks and enjoy meeting new people with various levels of hearing, vision, blindness, deafness and communication abilities.

I think it is sort of neat to be in both communities at once, rather be able to join in and communicate in both. But the deafblind culture is unique in itself since people have both vision/hearing loss at various degrees.

My Twin and I have CVI/Cortical Vision Impairment along with severe hearing loss- so we make due with the technology, communications methods and abilities we have.
I think its real important for those with decreasing vision to learn to use Braille or large print for those times when vision is very limited or vision loss may happen later in life.

Take care
Crystal and her guide Umbro

 

[~SG~]

Welcome to AllDeaf!

 

[Bebonang]

back to AllDeaf forum, even if you lost your old account. I hope you can stay around more and get to know us, Aders. Just have fun reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here.