Well I just have to stick my neck in here on this one. First I guess some of you would say late deaf? I've worn hearing aids for over 50 years and have had a CI active just over one month. First to those that were born deaf or those that were deaf very early in life, realize that those in the hearing world ( which is the majority) have no clue as to what it is to be deaf. They can plug their ears all they want and still hear. You can however feel blindness or simulate it. I suspect this is the reason blindness gets tax breaks that deaf don't. Due to the desire to communicate the majority use sound, yet all different. Many, many different languages. I can not understand my wife with sound or writing in her native communication skills. Fortunately she has/is learning English. With that in mind, we have ASL and other means of communication. I used to be able to spell with my deaf friends in grade school but find I am way out of practice now and never did learn ASL, probably due to not knowing any deaf folks in mid,later life.
Now back to the subject, why did I come here? First to find out as much as I could about CI as I had been recommended for one. Had never heard of them 6 months ago. I find a lot of good information here and also some animosity between those that are hearing or partially hearing and those that do not hear at all, the deaf "community" which I admit I don't understand. I just don't see the separation or the need of it. Seems like going backwards to segregation again. Maybe not quite that strong but a separation that I don't feel needs to be there. After all,it's exchange of information regardless of the method. All of us here write, some better than others, and most of us have other means of communication as well. That does not mean we need to look up or down on anyone else. I like to think that maybe I have something to offer once in a while and I know there are many others that have a lot of knowledge and experiences and I for one enjoy reading them. Now for a question being that this is a ha and cl forum. what is the opinion on FM versus magnetic induction. One better than the other and why? Should be people that have some experience with one or the other. How do you use them and for what purpose? General hearing? Music? speech? Noisy places,quiet places. Ok let's see what comes of this.
