Just introducing myself.

H

Hoh112

New Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2014
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Hi, my name is Aaron. I live in Texas although my family is from Illinois. I am deaf in my right ear and hearing loss in my left. I grew up mainstream/oral/hearing culture but had many challenges with it (there was no other hard of hearing or deaf playmate...)

I hope to be able to find out/share what other's challenges were and how people experience life. I went to college for Deaf Education to see the other side and found it rewarding in ways - but could never feel myself within the deaf realm or hearing realm.

I guess that does for an introduction
 
Welcome :wave:

I'm deaf in my right ear and have hearing loss in the left, grew up in hearing culture as well.
 
Hoh112 said:
could never feel myself within the deaf realm or hearing realm.
Click to expand...

I see, you are HoH and therefore you are part of both (and neither) worlds. I am completely deaf but I grew up as a hearing person and feel the same as you :)
 
Thanks. I haven't joined a message board in years and never have joined one for hearing loss.

Thank you for the welcomes and its nice to know that there are others out there who immediately get what I am saying.
 
Hoh112 said:
Hi, my name is Aaron. I live in Texas although my family is from Illinois. I am deaf in my right ear and hearing loss in my left. I grew up mainstream/oral/hearing culture but had many challenges with it (there was no other hard of hearing or deaf playmate...)

I hope to be able to find out/share what other's challenges were and how people experience life. I went to college for Deaf Education to see the other side and found it rewarding in ways - but could never feel myself within the deaf realm or hearing realm.

I guess that does for an introduction
Click to expand...

Hi there. My mother's family was from Illinois, and I lived in Texas for many years, although now I live in Iowa. Both ears deaf...

Where did you study Deaf Ed?
 
I studied Deaf Ed at Stephen F. Austin State University although I did not complete it.
 
There are many of us here...HOH but grew up in hearing/mainstream culture with little/no exposure to other dhh kids.
It's a weird situation to be in.....but on the other hand, the "deaf" experience really isn't all that " here's the deaf experience, and here's the HOH experience".....there's a lot of crossovers and mutual understanding....Very few Dhh kids grew up "voice off with only "spoken" ASL.... I've found a lot of commonalities, even with my friends who are deep profound "voice off" only "spoken" ASL.......
 
@deafdyke - I've noticed crossovers too and I have also met completely deaf - Deaf people who I absolutely admire and am very jealous of.

I grew up oral. My voice is the same as a hearing person's - that confuses (frustrates) many who think I can normally.
 
Welcome! I am deaf and Deaf (the big D being culturally) but like you, I was raised very hearing even though I have been deaf since birth.
 
Hoh112 said:
@deafdyke - I've noticed crossovers too and I have also met completely deaf - Deaf people who I absolutely admire and am very jealous of.

I grew up oral. My voice is the same as a hearing person's - that confuses (frustrates) many who think I can normally.
Click to expand...
Hoh112: Welcome to the forum. Were you deaf or HoH at birth? I was born with an impairment and over many years but am deaf now as predicted. My biggest issue has also been people saying, "But you don't look or sound deaf." It's annoying for me but understandable. I also spent many years getting out of class to go to speech therapy. Still managed to do fine in school eventually once I found my groove ... sort of.

I live between worlds now but my few associations are hearing. It is difficult for me and pretty weird even though I knew it was coming (going deaf).
 
NYNY, and Hoh112, do you wish you'd had access to at least a dhh program growing up? You guys sound like you grew up pretty much "very little access to dhh stuff like regional programs or even summer camps" and mostly hearing stuff right?
Just really annoys me that the mentality for dhh and other kids with all sorts of disabilities, is that we're supposed to magically assimilate into the greater society with little/no specialized disability support......
 
NYNY - Deaf in right ear due to CMV related loss at birth. This was before screening so was not picked up (nor the virus) until I was about 4 years of age. Hearing loss in the left ear is sensorneural (sp). Severe to profound. (started out mild to moderate).

I did lip reading in middle - high school and it did absolutely nothing for me. I struggled to lip read while others were forming deep bonds with each other and those tools were not really taught to me.

Majority wise most of my associations are with people who are hearing. I did have a girlfriend who has a cochlear - but I broke up with her a few weeks ago.

Alleycat - I wish I grew up big D. I think it is too easy for parents to just sit where they are comfortable to really go outside their paradigm or really consider what it is to be deaf or hard of hearing...and make the right choices. Seems like to me it becomes "their" struggle, rather than a child's natural right to getting 100% information completely...Big D would have suited me very well.

Deafdyke - no HOH, Dhh program growing up. I did go to AG bell twice, both during the camps for the children (LOFT) but that was only for a few weeks and there was no lasting involvement (effort on my own or parents) - I grew to resent deaf and hard of hearing people because of course, I was hearing! (AG Bell is strongly oral and stoic considering "we can do it even though we don't have it..." - Of course everyone knows how AG Bell truly felt about deaf and hard of hearing people, no matter how assimilated...in that man's mind there was always a separation of inferiority...like most today.

Parents took me to an ontologist (sp?) in Dallas, Dr. Rowland. He recommended the oral mainstream way when I don't understand how an onotlogist (sp) is an educator, psychologist and social theorist all in one....hearing aids at third grade. Enough audiogram tests that I can cheat on them.

I think it's a stupid mentality to have for parents as the goal should be getting the information to the child, and putting them in the correct social setting with like children so that they grow up socially fit. I feel that would be the greatest way for a child to become emotionally, socially stable with a great chance at having a financially successful career. That being said, I missed out on a lot of social events and I have pretty serious depressions at times.
 
Welcome to the forum. I was born hearing, but lost almost all of my right ear hearing-- I could feel sounds, but not hear them. Voices in that ear were null. My left ear is HoH, although it is slowly diminishing. Expected to lose it all at some point in later years, and a while back I thought I had, but it looks look fluid buildup or something. Today my right ear is completely deaf, and my left is expected to follow later on.
 
@ Chicago Blue - I hate the feeling of losing the left ear too. I feel like it goes too slow
 
Back
Top