If given the chance to be hearing would you?

deafannieboo said:
im not necessarily talking about ci. lets say a genie in a bottle says i can offer you hearing, u will just wake in the morning and be able to hear all you have to do is accept my offer.... would you accept or no and why?

have fun and think about what being able to hear would be like and if you would choose it. i have a feeling most hoh and late deafened would say yes. im just curious. but the question applies to everyone.

pls keep it friendly guys, thanks!:ty:
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This is a good question. I'm glad you posed this.

Sure, I would be curious to see what it is like to be hearing and to be able to hear all those sounds that are out there but, I don't think I would want to be hearing on a permanent basis. Perhaps, I could give it a try for a day but other than that, I'd prefer to be deaf for the rest of my life.

It is because I am accustomed to be deaf and have been deaf since birth. To be hearing, that will change my life as a whole. I don't think I would be able to adapt to that and bear with all the sounds that may be overwhelming/over-stimulated. That's one less headache I wouldn't want to deal with.

Also, being hearing, that will also have a preceding influence on the change of viewing the culture and identity on a different path, I'd think, so at least.
 
deafannieboo said:
haha thats funny. good point. so ur near shannon hosp right?
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No, Community. We are near Colts Stadium too. I like the fireworks after a winning game. Holly comes to tell me about something outside, I look - oooh so pretty.

Ah, deaf is fine. Easier on my tired old nerve. (yes, singular)
 
I would want to be hearing. I'm not completely deaf, but I'm half deaf in each ear and really, the kicker in choosing to be hearing is all the hassle of hearing aids. I don't know ASL (except numbers 1-10, lol), but I lip-read and I can hear well enough that I can understand people, and if some word keeps escaping me, I rely on lip-reading and the words surrounding the foggy word to figure out what that missing word is. So all I need is complete hearing to be happy.

I'm not rich, am never going to be rich, and hearing aids are EXPENSIVE! $160 for two ear moulds and MUCH more than that for the hearing aids themselves (I think mine were 1500 each (or for both?) with or without insurance (my parents paid for them, so I'm not completely sure). I'm past the age of 18 so I'm no longer under my parents insurance (which paid for 80% of the hearing aid stuff), but I can't afford insurance myself. Even without the prices, having to worry about getting set up with new moulds or new hearing aids (say the dog got bored during the night), and the care of them is something I can do without. But if I do without, they die faster. I just want to be a hearing person who doesn't even have to think about it. And don't get me started on if a hearing mould doesn't fit properly, or it's starting to shrink, and I have to deal with constant whining in each ear. After a while, punching myself in the ears tends to seem attractive (because pushing the mould into my head makes it fit better and the whining/squealing dies. Until the suction fades and the whining comes back again)

There are some pros to being half-deaf, in that I find some minor bonuses (like hearing music AND feeling the beat when you push your head against the stereo, lol), I'm a more understanding, patient person, but overall, I don't much like being hearing impaired. If I were completely deaf, I might feel differently, but I'm stuck in the middle in a hearing world, and I just want to be normal. Nobody giving a second-start when they realize I wear hearing aids, nobody getting an odd look on their face when I've got a blank look on MY face (because I'm trying to figure out what they're saying), nobody somehow making me feel like a second-class citizen (even though they don't mean to), etc. Too much hassle and worry, especially for someone with anxiety issues and a crippling shyness. Give me a genie any day.
 
Hearing of course, it would make things alot easier. It also gives you more job opportunities.
 
aussie it seems that u may have in the ear hearing aides. i use to have those and they squeeled all the time. hated it. i have behind the ear ha now and they are very comfortable. i forget i have them on. have you tried your local dvr or vr or dars office to get help to pay for ha> they paid for both pairs of mine and can help you find work with you hearing issue also. they are a great resource to have.

nan, i use to live at spring creek marina last yr for alittle bit and my dr was at community.
 
shel90 said:
With my HAs, I can hear children laughing..no problem. However, I am not sure about horses neighing as I am never around them.
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ever since I lost more hearing recently in right ear and only get vibrations instead of sound with hearing aid, I've been wondering about you because you got 120 db loss and still hear sounds, what about any vibrations? i just find it very odd haha if you dont mind me asking :)
 
deafannieboo said:
aussie it seems that u may have in the ear hearing aides. i use to have those and they squeeled all the time. hated it. i have behind the ear ha now and they are very comfortable. i forget i have them on. have you tried your local dvr or vr or dars office to get help to pay for ha> they paid for both pairs of mine and can help you find work with you hearing issue also. they are a great resource to have.

nan, i use to live at spring creek marina last yr for alittle bit and my dr was at community.
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I have behind-the-ear, and it's the only type I've ever had. I've never had a problem with them except for when the moulds would get too small from my growing and aging. I can't remember anymore if moulds will shrink from the chemicals in the ear (I know I heard that, but I haven't read it anywhere since). I just got new moulds a few months ago and they annoy the shizz out of me. Constantly squealing if they aren't situated in the ear JUST RIGHT. I'm a procrastinator, and extremely shy, so I haven't gone back to the audi to see if they can replace them, so I'm trying out Otoferm. Just ordered it and it hasn't arrived yet, so when it does and it still doesn't work, then I figure I tried everything and I'll get new ones. Don't put too much stock in my "rant" because that's what it is, 5 months of frustration, lol

I'm not sure what dvr, vr, and dars stand for, so I'm not sure we have them in my city, but when I was a kid, I believe the Purple Cross helped us out (we even did a little picture thing in the newspaper). My parents have always taken care of the costs of hearing aids, so I don't really know what went on. But I have been assured by mom that my parents will still help me out if I need it.
 
DVR = Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
VR= same minus first word
 
SkullChick said:
ever since I lost more hearing recently in right ear and only get vibrations instead of sound with hearing aid, I've been wondering about you because you got 120 db loss and still hear sounds, what about any vibrations? i just find it very odd haha if you dont mind me asking :)
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I also have a 120+ db loss but only at the higher frequencies above 1000Hz. I still have a decent amount of low frequency hearing. I read somewhere that Shel said she had a severe-profound loss. Her and my ability to hear are of course comming from the lower frequencies where we still have some hair cells. If all you are getting is vibrations, your cochlea is just one entire dead zone. Did you respond at all to frequencies above 500Hz and did they sound like beeps? Your response in the low frequencies are vibrotactile in nature. Once the sound intensity gets to around(in the range of) 75db at 125Hz, 90db at 250Hz, 105db at 500Hz, youll be able to feel the vibrations. Phi4sius responded at 100db at 250Hz and 110db at 500Hz but this was just vibrotactile. Hope this helps.
 
Being late-deafened (at 14)....so yes, I would rather be able to hear, especially music and my families voices. But I've come to terms with my deafness.
 
thanks everyone for keeping it friendly and on topic for the most part. keep it up. i am enjoying reading all of your responses. got some good posting going on. have fun and enjoy!!
 
If I could be hearing again I would definitely say yes. Hearing was always my way of grounding in space and navigating long distances. Now I can't "see" with my ears either. I am also a musician and while I can still hear music, I can't experience that crisp sound anymore, and I miss that terribly.

At the same time I do feel like it's an honor to be part of the Deaf/Hoh community. So I am divided.
 
I'm not going to lie...I would jump at a chance to be hearing. But I do realize that by being deaf, I'm able to be the person I am today...it does shape a person.

I want to hear music...the voices and laughter of my children...birds singing...the crashing of the waves at the ocean. I want to hear buzzing bees and roaring lions (as long as the roaring lions are kept at a distance, lol).
 
Honestly






If given the chance to have normal hearing....


I would jump at it, it would make me a lot closer to my family, make me more popular with hearing friends, it would also make nights out with them more fun when they are dancing away to music and listening to lyrics and I'm just stood there no knowing what to do. To be able to hear whispers in my ear, without having to look at people's face would be my dream. But people can dream cant they? :giggle:
 
DeafLissa90 said:
Honestly

If given the chance to have normal hearing....

I would jump at it, it would make me a lot closer to my family, make me more popular with hearing friends, it would also make nights out with them more fun when they are dancing away to music and listening to lyrics and I'm just stood there no knowing what to do. To be able to hear whispers in my ear, without having to look at people's face would be my dream. But people can dream cant they? :giggle:
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I thought you weren't interested in stem cells or any other way to be hearing because you don't want to hear 24/7? :hmm:

http://www.alldeaf.com/1401133-post3.html

You are getting tired of all those stem cell threads.

http://www.alldeaf.com/1398631-post99.html

In that post, you said youll never be hearing and that you love being able to enjoy silence without HA/CI

http://www.alldeaf.com/1396815-post17.html

You said "no way" to the chance to be hearing.
 
Because I know I will never be able to get normal hearing. I am happy being deaf but if there was a chance I would possibly choose it.
 
No. How will I get my decent 8 hrs of sleep having to hear B.S.?

Yiz
 
DeafLissa90 said:
Because I know I will never be able to get normal hearing. I am happy being deaf but if there was a chance I would possibly choose it.
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What do you mean by this? Stem cells can at least make one less deaf. If you could choose how much hearing youd like to have, what would it be? Would it be the same loss at every frequency?
 
If I had the chance to hear good I would have to say no because I would have to learn how to hear and talk. I don't feel like going back to speech class :lol:
 
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