If there were a cure for hearing loss would you take it

Dundreary said:
So the question is:

Would becoming hearing reduce the advanced skills I've developed as a Deaf person? You know, the kind that lets me read ultra fast, become a badass shooter, and other stuff?
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LMAO! Don't forget your superior capability with telekinesis.
 
Yes, and I would suggest anyone and everyone take it...

There are too many lost opportunities with deafness. The disability laws mean little. If you want to get ahead in business, arts, services, education...and whatever else, you are better off hearing.

I've lost many opportunities in business and even relationships because I was not sure what people were saying, or I misunderstood them...

As far as accommodations, such as ASL interpreters, captions, or whatever - they are never enough to truly let you fully participate.

If you have an ASL interpreter at a business meeting, after the meeting, how do you participate in any conversation taking place while walking out the door, down the hall, on the elevator, walking to the next destination...And yes, conversation is taking place.

Believe me, if you cannot keep up in conference calls, meetings, rehearsals, lessons, or whatever...you will be left behind by the hearing participants. They may accommodate you to comply with law...But that does not mean you get the same opportunities.

I do not mean to write this to get you depressed about your situation (because there is no pill). But I point these things out as it is the reality of the world. And all of us have to do anything we can to adapt to the world around us. It is not up to them, it is up to us to compete.

So please, for your own good - Do not pass up any opportunity to improve your situation. And if you are completely and irrevocably deaf - develop some skill that is valuable - no matter how simple a thing it may be. (Any time in life is never too late)...Make yourself a valuable commodity somehow.

...Actually this was a good question to make us think about our situation.
 
.... and not find ways to improve ways to communicate and accommodate NOW? I don't really care if I'm deaf or hearing. I've been deaf all my life and I don't think I COULD handle being hearing. 90% of the time I don't really bother with all that 'incidental conversation' type situations because I'm an introvert- and before anyone says "well that's because of the deafness!"...No.. I don't think so...I would probably have been an introvert if I were hearing. My mother is... so is my niece.

There are MANY successful deaf professionals out there. They managed just fine with or without accommodations (CI, hearing aids, ASL, CART, Notetaking, lipreading etc etc).

Yes I'm sure deaf would lose out. But...and this is how I see it- So do hearing people- they screw up in interviews also, don't know how to socialize, misinterpret many times (along the lines of deaf not hearing or missing parts of conversations).

What I would rather have RIGHT NOW is a pill for 'curing' vision issues/blindness/low vision.
 
Don't we all have something though? I mean, some of us are deaf/hoh, some people are blind, some people have depression, some people have learning challenges. I, for one, have this exceptionally large penis as my cross to bear. But I feel like most everyone gets something. Something that makes things a little harder than someone else. But people learn to adapt, they accept and deal with their circumstance and eventually, hopefully, it becomes a source of pride.

As a gay guy, people used to ask me all the time if I could be straight would I. I'd always say no. This is who I am. It's part of me. It's shaped a huge portion of my personality and if I wasn't this then I wouldn't be me. I'd be a different version of me, that I'm sure I'd still love and feel pride in. But I like the me that I am.

For those of you who are deaf or hoh if you weren't you'd be a different you. Your deafness has shaped you into who you are. And I hope that you all love who you are. Hearing might make life a little easier. But you'd just have something else to work through anyway.

Feel pride in who you are what you've achieved because it's yours. You've made a space for yourself in a world of people who don't care about making accommodations for you. And that takes courage and strength and perseverance and sometimes a "fuck the rest of you attitude." I think you should feel pride in that.
 
CaseyH15 said:
Honestly, I've been deaf/hoh all my life... I don't know the difference. I've never had hearing, and I'm so well adapted. The sooner you accept yourself the happier you'll be.
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I don't see it as us not wanting to accept ourselves. I do accept that I am deaf and I do live a quite happy normal life. However, the question was that if there was cure, would we take it. I do not see answering honestly as not accepting who we are. That would be like saying that a blind person should never have the desire to see. Just because we desire to have our normal hearing restored does not mean that we don't accept ourselves. This response is exactly why many of us do not speak our true feelings out of fear of being told that we just need to accept that we are deaf then we will be happier. We should be able to admit that we want to hear or that we wish to get a CI, hearing aid, implantable hearing aid, or any other device we can use to be able to obtain sounds.

Unless you were born being able to hear, you really do not know what it is like to suddenly be without sound. Yes, it is mainly those of us who are latened deaf that wish to have our hearing restored. I still catch myself wishing that I could hear. I envy my children sometimes because there is no barriers for them to have to overcome to get a job or to do what they dream of. If I could hear, many of the issues would just disappear. However, am I not happy because I cant hear? Nope, I am very happy with life. I just wish I could hear. Wishing for something is not the same as not accepting something.
 
Unfortunately, I have a CI and can tell you that the sounds you get from it are not natural. They have a more robotic quality to it and I found that I heard more when I had the hearing aids. Unfortunately, for me, the hearing aids stopped working thus forcing me to get a CI if I ever wanted to hear anything again.
 
Bear said:
Unfortunately, I have a CI and can tell you that the sounds you get from it are not natural. They have a more robotic quality to it and I found that I heard more when I had the hearing aids. Unfortunately, for me, the hearing aids stopped working thus forcing me to get a CI if I ever wanted to hear anything again.
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I have read of so many people having theirs continue to improve for even years. How long have you had it? Do you wear it all the time? Do you get regular mappings from your Audi?
 
Jane B. said:
I have read of so many people having theirs continue to improve for even years. How long have you had it? Do you wear it all the time? Do you get regular mappings from your Audi?
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Even if they had done or are doing all of those things, not everyone's hearing with a CI will- or can- 'continue to improve for even years'. Not only that... it seems that in general- those who were late deafened tend to see better improvement than those who were born deaf or deaf very early in life. Of course there are always exceptions- and it sounds like Bear is one of those exceptions.

Can't say for sure if their experience is positive or negative or if their feelings are positive or negative.
 
Bear said:
I don't see it as us not wanting to accept ourselves. I do accept that I am deaf and I do live a quite happy normal life. However, the question was that if there was cure, would we take it. I do not see answering honestly as not accepting who we are. That would be like saying that a blind person should never have the desire to see. Just because we desire to have our normal hearing restored does not mean that we don't accept ourselves. This response is exactly why many of us do not speak our true feelings out of fear of being told that we just need to accept that we are deaf then we will be happier. We should be able to admit that we want to hear or that we wish to get a CI, hearing aid, implantable hearing aid, or any other device we can use to be able to obtain sounds.

Unless you were born being able to hear, you really do not know what it is like to suddenly be without sound. Yes, it is mainly those of us who are latened deaf that wish to have our hearing restored. I still catch myself wishing that I could hear. I envy my children sometimes because there is no barriers for them to have to overcome to get a job or to do what they dream of. If I could hear, many of the issues would just disappear. However, am I not happy because I cant hear? Nope, I am very happy with life. I just wish I could hear. Wishing for something is not the same as not accepting something.
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I would add, that the issue of acceptance is one that has been transferred upon us , for years SL was fighted against, it had a bad name, unless there was no option, Lip reading, speech therapy, HA and what not was somehow imposed on us, my parents were told to avoid me getting in contact with total deaf people and children and stay away from SL. Eventually, I was enrolled in a regular school and I had to struggle with so many unnecessary stuff, and pain... but I never had a problem with being deaf or HoH, I never ever thought that myself or anyone else with Hearing loss would be considered inferior... until I came to the US and I realized the big stigma people think it is.
I think, we are very behind compared to people with vision/sight issues. Today no one would thought twice about wearing glasses, or there is no need for invisible glasses, but I can’t help to be amazed when I am complemented about my HA not being noticed ( I am considering getting them in neon colour ). It is a problem that society has with hearing loss.
i agree with what you wrote . I don’t have a problem being deaf/HoH it is part of who I am.
Would I take a cure to hear 100% ? , perhaps
 
Jane B. said:
I have read of so many people having theirs continue to improve for even years. How long have you had it? Do you wear it all the time? Do you get regular mappings from your Audi?
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I dont exactly recall my implantation date. The post is here somewhere. However, it has been many years since I have been implanted. I do go for mappings as often as they ask me to which is not often anymore because we have found one that I am happy with. Also, I used to wear it all of the time but not anymore. I am becoming accustomed to not hearing anything. There is some improvement over time but it is not what I would hope for. Some people love their CI's and for them I am happy. Some of us dont particularly care for it, I happen to be one of those.
 
I don't think I would choose to be Hearing again. I used to deny my hearing loss and didn't sign very much for a long time. However, about a year ago, some Deaf people were kind to me and one person in particular really thought I could sign fairly well. I felt safe enough to talk about my hearing loss and using my hearing aids and signing. I ended up accepting myself as HoH.

At present, I do not feel that I have "lost" anything. I feel okay with myself the way I am.
 
Looks like an old thread popped to the top....

Absolutely, I'd be first in line for a cure for my deafness. I'd run over my own mother...well maybe not my own mother, but I'd run over yours...to get my hearing back.

I do agree with some earlier comments that the late deafened are certainly more likely to feel this way than someone who was early deafened and active in the Deaf community.
 
DeafNerdMommy said:
I have been in the hearing world too and feel like such an outcast. I didn't discover the deaf world until I was about 14 years old. I felt lost until than. My parents and school kept telling me I was hearing and chose not to. Later when I was 16 I tested in the moderate to server area and at 18 I was diagnosed with capd. Until that point everyone tried convincing me I was hearing. So no I don't feel a need to re join them. My husband has learned asl, my friends know asl, and my babies are learning. I am happy with where I am at.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using AllDeaf App mobile app
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You really had a tough childhood, when they don't realize or accept your inability to hear it is demeaning. Kudos to you for standing up and learning ASL, too.
 
I wouldn't, to be honest. I've never known anything else, so I wouldn't miss it, and losing the ability to turn my hearing off just wouldn't be worth it to me.
 
DeafNerdMommy said:
I have been in the hearing world too and feel like such an outcast. I didn't discover the deaf world until I was about 14 years old. I felt lost until than. My parents and school kept telling me I was hearing and chose not to. Later when I was 16 I tested in the moderate to server area and at 18 I was diagnosed with capd. Until that point everyone tried convincing me I was hearing. So no I don't feel a need to re join them. My husband has learned asl, my friends know asl, and my babies are learning. I am happy with where I am at.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using AllDeaf App mobile app
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Good for you. I was mainstreamed and no HA's were available until I was 16. I did not realize how much I missed out on because of my deafness until way after I became an adult. I did not learn ASL since the school insisted on teaching me to speak correctly. To this day I am somewhat of a misfit, but I am content in my own skin. like you I would not seek to 'cure' my deafness. I would like to find a Deaf/HoH community near me, though and learn ASL. Only know a little bit of it.
 
I would not take it yes being deaf is a struggle but it my identity it who I am It what makes me me I’m different and that ok I like being deaf i learned a beautiful language and got to be apart of the deaf community and we become like family because being deaf brings us together to let’s others know we’re not alone
 
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