New member, (somewhat) recently deafened...

A

adamledlow

New Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hi all,

My audiologist recommended this site to me to maybe try and get some answers or at least find some other people like myself. So here's the story...

I was born hearing and lived a hearing life until age 19. In March Break of that year, my Mom complained that I never seem to listen. I told her I couldn't really hear her, so we went to get my hearing tested. Turned out I had severe hearing loss and had been getting by (subconsciously) by lip-reading. I got my first pair of hearing aids a couple of months later.

At the time, I played in a (loud) band and so I attributed the hearing loss to playing in and attending concerts (and one plane ride a few years earlier when I had a bad head cold). A bit scared by the hearing loss, I tried to get my act together: quit the band, attended far fewer concerts, and for the ones I did attend, I would wear ear plugs. That seemed to do the trick until about six months to a year later, when the hearing aids didn't seem to be doing their job anymore. So I got newer, more powerful aids. A year or so later, same thing. My hearing continued to deteriorate, until my loss (ski slope loss for anyone who knows what I mean) had trickled down into the "profound" category, where it remains (fingers crossed) today.

Audiologists who had been happy with the "played his music too loud" theory before, were now chalking it up to the loss being hereditary, despite no one in my family past or present ever having worn hearing aids. They said I've probably been losing my hearing for my whole life and just never really noticed. And on top of that, they said I should assume I'm just going to eventually lose it all some day.

I'm 27 years old and I feel kind of stuck between the hearing and deaf communities. Does anyone have a similar situation or know anyone on this site who has? I've got a number of issues I eventually want to talk about (and I'm sure I'll find answers for somewhere on this site), but for now I would just love to find someone else out there in a similar situation at a similar age...

Thanks,
Adam
 
Welcome, Adam. Trust me, you are not alone. I'm also late-deafened, and happy to share experiences.
 
Hey welcome here Adam.

You feel stuck between both worlds? Welcome to my little corner ;). I am in your age group.
First though, take your time to get to know this forum and browse around. There's various topics around that cover your questions and perhaps answers await in them.

Curious, who's the audiologist who recommended you to come here? Does he/she frequent this site? I'm interested in who it was that recommended you to alldeaf! If privacy is an issue, I'll respect that. Is he/she here on alldeaf as well?
 
adam- While I'm not late-deafened (been severe - profound hoh since I was 4 years old with no change - I'm 29 now), I know the feeling of being stuck between being deaf and hearing all too well.

Welcome! :wave:
 
Thanks botti:)

Hey Adam! I'm late deafened as well with a hereditary loss. We don't seem to have anyone in my family who is or was deaf either. Not sure if all your relatives speak english but mine don't and a lot of the time when they immigrate or even at a younger age they ignore the hearing loss and don't pay attention to it. My family is italian and jamaican so both are very loud usually to begin with. Do you have msn? If you want my e-mail i don't mind posting it here... O and I'm from ottawa :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the welcomes! And thanks especially to Bottesini for pointing me towards the late-deafened forum. In all honesty, I didn't even know the term "late-deafened" existed, let alone that there was an association for such people. Since signing up yesterday and actually reading through a lot of those testimonials, I've got to admit, I got a little emotional. Assuming that there was no one else out there like me was a little naive to be sure, but hearing people relate the same situations that I deal with every day was enough to turn on the waterworks. And admittedly, that was the first time I've really shed a tear in relation to my hearing loss. At least it was a happy one.

And in relation to a couple questions...

Naisho: I don't think it's a privacy issue since I'm the patient :) My audiologist's name is Jill Black and she's based in the same city I am. I'm not sure if she frequents the site, but she passed on the URL after I asked for some deaf/deafened social networking-type sites. She actually interviewed me for her thesis on the social/psychological ramifications of losing one's hearing and one of the questions asked if I was involved in the deaf community. Once she found out I had no connection, she suggested getting involved. So here I am!

AliciaM: I do have MSN and would be happy to chat. To be honest, your situation sounded almost identical to mine (when I read it on the other forum) and the fact that you live in Canada too just happens to be a bonus! Fire away with your e-mail address when you get a chance :)
 
Sounds great, looks like you've been taking a few steps past that grand entrance door already. I think I can see the potential within you. ;)

Thanks for the heads up on your audiologist. It's actually quite interesting to me that Dr. Black would refer this site for you, not just because she did, but the fact that she chose this over the other ones. Makes me think that there's some word spreading out there within the hearing-assistance offices somehow. I think that's pretty neat.

To pass you your "introductory bag of free stuff", if you've ever used a vbulletin based forum before, here are some simple limits and random whatnots if you have prior experience (which I'm assuming you do.)

  • The PM feature opens once you hit 50 posts.
  • Some people might bite in the political sections if you're not too prepared to defend your ideologies. *1st CPL Naisho speaking past gunfire:* It's a battle out there, soldier! (kidding)
  • You have a picture album tailored for whatever you feel like posting, and you can hotlink to those in posts/blogs and the whatnot.
  • Visitor profile messages are unlimited.
  • You have 24 hours to edit or re-edit a post before it becomes etched into data.
  • If you want to remove posts or lock your own topics, moderators entertain requests. The administrator takes username changes within reasonable requests. (You can find those guys right here.)
That's pretty much it that I can think of that answers any forumer's questions jumping in here the first time.

Feel free to hit me up anytime.

Peace out, for the time being.
 
Haha...nice Naisho. Thanks for the "grab bag" - I'm sure it'll come in handy - and I appreciate you making yourself available if I need help!

Time for this guy to hit the sack!

Ciao for now,
Adam
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. I hope you have fun reading and posting all the threads here. See you around. :wave:
 
:wave:Welcome to AD and enjoy your time here, I think I have been on everyday since I registered, just like to see what everyone talking about. Stop by anytime....later.:cool2:
 
I too am a "late-deafened" adult. Was hearing until 7, had the first hearing aid from 7-10 (3 of them), then went without (due to finances) until I was in my 30's. By then, my hearing loss was in both ears and much worse. At 43 I lost all of the hearing and have been straddling the fence between hearing and deaf circles all along. Some areas of the U.S. do not have anything to help, where as other areas do. I will be blessed in late July to be moving to an area where I will finally get more help than where I am now.

This group here also has been a great help. I have been gone for a while, but I check in when I can (no more internet connection at home until I move).

KristinaB
 
Back
Top