My new film about my Broken Cochlear BP100

[demosure]

Recently, I purchased a book and am practicing and learning ASL. I feel bad because for most of my life, I didn't even know that there was a Deaf Culture. I was told and believed that my one ear disqualified me from learning ASL and identifying as deaf. "You are not deaf, you have one ear." I was shocked to learn that there were Deaf identified people with hearing aids and some degree of hearing from both ears.

 

[Steinhauer]

Thank you all for your support and your kindness. And your understanding. I have never had much contact with any of the deaf community and other hard of hearing folk. I grew up with parents that did not think being born with one ear was significant enough to warrant any special sort of accommodation or action. They did enroll me in speech therapy for four years. It baffled my parents that I could not speak correctly. I was never given the option to learn to sign either. My parents, the uptight mainstream suburbanites they were, are still, to this day, in complete denial of my "old one ear" deafness (hard of hearing I'm not sure how to put it without offending anyone.)

I called Cochlear yesterday. I spoke with a man and he seemed nice. Even though I had the tracking number and my BP100 was signed for by their repair facility in Colorado on the morning of October 15th, they cannot find it. He said he would call me back and never did.

I also had a job interview yesterday too. I forgot how difficult it is to understand verbal questions without my hearing aid. I was interviewed by several people at once and I realized just and how much I rely on body language, lip reading and other cues just to tread water in a social situation. My rapt attention to all of these things I'm sure came across as unbalanced anxiety and desperation. I probably didn't get the job.

I really appreciate everyone's understanding and kindness on this forum. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Old One Ear

Demosure, I am severely hearing impaired and have been so since the age of 4. I wear two BTE digital HA and they help me in day to day functioning in the "hearing world". However, without my HA's I am completely deaf. I have had them break before, and replacing them/fixing them was always outrageously expensive and my parents had to prioritize .... so, there have been times I had to go to school completely deaf.

I understand and empathize with what you are experiencing. It sucks. I hope things improve for you. I have no understanding of how bone attached HA's work and wish I could help more.

I started to learn ASL when I was about 15 years old when my dog thought my HA was a decent tasting chew toy. I also had a "starving artist" period of my life when I could not afford to fix my HA's. So, I know deaf culture intimately as well as "hearing culture" intimately.

The two worlds are completely different.

 

[Steinhauer]

Recently, I purchased a book and am practicing and learning ASL. I feel bad because for most of my life, I didn't even know that there was a Deaf Culture. I was told and believed that my one ear disqualified me from learning ASL and identifying as deaf. "You are not deaf, you have one ear." I was shocked to learn that there were Deaf identified people with hearing aids and some degree of hearing from both ears.

I also went through this. For some strange reason, unknown to me, I was intentionally withheld from the deaf community when I was in public mainstream schools. People like you and I are sort of "stuck in the middle" in regards to the deaf and hearing cultures.

My condition is hereditary and will progressively worsen over time to the point I will be completely deaf. I can still remember when I was a kid having full verbal conversations with my father (he is also HoH - Hard of Hearing). He is now completely deaf and having the same conversations with him is a "no go".

He never learned Sign Language. He always had a lot of pride, and felt that he wasn't going deaf, just that other people were getting quieter. When I saw what was happening to him, and how difficult it was for him to "fit in" with his hearing peers, I decided to learn ASL.

I found many, many deaf friends when I made that decision. Conversing in ASL has many advantages. It would be hard to explain all of them. The first thing that needs to be realized is that ASL is not English. Expressing emotions is so much more fluid and articulate in ASL than it will ever be in any spoken or written language.

 

[DDU]

deaf i am

Recently, I purchased a book and am practicing and learning ASL. I feel bad because for most of my life, I didn't even know that there was a Deaf Culture. I was told and believed that my one ear disqualified me from learning ASL and identifying as deaf. "You are not deaf, you have one ear." I was shocked to learn that there were Deaf identified people with hearing aids and some degree of hearing from both ears.

if the shoe fits,,,,,, any degree of hearing loss can make people feel different. from moderate to severe a hearing loss automatically changes your life. some people will identify with deaf and some will avoid the deaf tag. there is an organization called SHH or something like that for people who feel more hard of hearing than deaf. i knew some people in that organization and they usually signed badly and prided themselves on their ability to hear and speak with a hearing loss.
so there is always a shoe that fits you

 

[demosure]

Thanks DDU & Steinhauer,

I'm very glad about the internet! Y'all are the greatest, and I really do appreciate the support. The Clinical/Technical manager at Cochlear Americas for the Baha product line actually emailed me, and they did find my hearing aid, I guess it was "lost" for a week and a half between the time it was signed for by FedEx and actually was recieved by the repair people. I'm sure that for every person like me that makes a film short and goes online and shares their story, there must be 15 people who don't. Thanks again!

 

[deafdyke]

feel bad because for most of my life, I didn't even know that there was a Deaf Culture. I was told and believed that my one ear disqualified me from learning ASL and identifying as deaf. "You are not deaf, you have one ear." I was shocked to learn that there were Deaf identified people with hearing aids and some degree of hearing from both ears.

We used to have a couple of posters with unilateral loss who were very into being Deaf. As a matter of fact there are hearing normal IQ people who use ASL as a first language,(rather then in an Augmentive and Alterntaive Communication, where they just have a handful of Signs way) due to things like apraxia or tracheosomties and are pretty much "almost Deaf"
Being hoh does not "disqualify" you from being Deaf at ALL. That is one of the biggest myths pushed by hearing people. I do think that there are a lot of hoh as kids people who are basicly "almost Deaf" (may not be fluent in ASL, but identify strongly with all other aspects of Deaf culture) I think you should definitly stick around here. HLAA tends to be really more about the Hearing Health viewpoint, as well as FILLED with old and late deafened people, with a handful of dhh as kids. It can be a good organization for those with unilateral or postlingal as kids losses. But I really do think it depends on the person.

 

[shel90]

Recently, I purchased a book and am practicing and learning ASL. I feel bad because for most of my life, I didn't even know that there was a Deaf Culture. I was told and believed that my one ear disqualified me from learning ASL and identifying as deaf. "You are not deaf, you have one ear." I was shocked to learn that there were Deaf identified people with hearing aids and some degree of hearing from both ears.

I am not surprised that it would be something that a majority of hearing people would believe in. Very ignorant of them.