chaymes
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2004
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
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My name is Christina (prefer going by my nickname Britany) and I am 26
years old. I was diagnosed about 4-5 years back with a progressive hearing
loss in both ears. The first time I was tested even further back, I had a mild to
moderate hearing loss. The last time when I was diagnosed it had jumped to
moderate to severe. Today reluctantly I got my hearing tested again mainly
for curiosity to see if it had dropped any further (I felt it has but wasn't sure).
Sure enough, I "failed" the hearing test and am now in the severe to profound
range on the audiogram. Basically it went something like this:
Right
250 hertz - 70 db; 500 hertz - 60 db; 1000 hertz - 60 db;
2000 hertz - 70 db; 3000 hertz - 75 db; 4000 hertz - 75 db;
6000 hertz - 90 db; 8000 hertz - 95 db
Left
250 hertz - 65 db; 500 hertz - 60 db; 1000 hertz - 55 db;
2000 hertz - 70 db; 3000 hertz - 70 db; 4000 hertz - 75 db;
6000 hertz - 80 db; 8000 hertz - 85 db
So I wonder to myself ... what will it be in 10 years? In less than 10 years I
have already dropped from "mild-moderate" to "severe-profound". I am
pretty certain considering the drop in hearing that I will be deaf sooner than I
thought. I like to think of it though as approaching deafness instead of losing
hearing. I am struggling between feelings of contentment based on knowing
all along it would happen and having already accepted it and feelings of fear
and shame because it is getting increasingly difficult to appear "hearing". I am
not even sure I want to appear hearing... I have always longed to be a
member of the Deaf world and I think now I need to go through the process
of acceptance once again and start learning how to be who I am ... it is too
exhausting and frustrating to be anything different than that. I hope you will
accept me into your online Deaf community. I need so much to relate to
others and to fit in and not feel so alone and like an outcast as I do feel in the
hearing world. Thank you for reading this and sorry if I confused you with the
audiogram results I got today. I just figured some of you would understand
what those figures all mean. Now that I know it is indeed dropping at a
relatively quick rate I now need to focus on learning how to live as Deaf and
that is why I am here.
years old. I was diagnosed about 4-5 years back with a progressive hearing
loss in both ears. The first time I was tested even further back, I had a mild to
moderate hearing loss. The last time when I was diagnosed it had jumped to
moderate to severe. Today reluctantly I got my hearing tested again mainly
for curiosity to see if it had dropped any further (I felt it has but wasn't sure).
Sure enough, I "failed" the hearing test and am now in the severe to profound
range on the audiogram. Basically it went something like this:
Right
250 hertz - 70 db; 500 hertz - 60 db; 1000 hertz - 60 db;
2000 hertz - 70 db; 3000 hertz - 75 db; 4000 hertz - 75 db;
6000 hertz - 90 db; 8000 hertz - 95 db
Left
250 hertz - 65 db; 500 hertz - 60 db; 1000 hertz - 55 db;
2000 hertz - 70 db; 3000 hertz - 70 db; 4000 hertz - 75 db;
6000 hertz - 80 db; 8000 hertz - 85 db
So I wonder to myself ... what will it be in 10 years? In less than 10 years I
have already dropped from "mild-moderate" to "severe-profound". I am
pretty certain considering the drop in hearing that I will be deaf sooner than I
thought. I like to think of it though as approaching deafness instead of losing
hearing. I am struggling between feelings of contentment based on knowing
all along it would happen and having already accepted it and feelings of fear
and shame because it is getting increasingly difficult to appear "hearing". I am
not even sure I want to appear hearing... I have always longed to be a
member of the Deaf world and I think now I need to go through the process
of acceptance once again and start learning how to be who I am ... it is too
exhausting and frustrating to be anything different than that. I hope you will
accept me into your online Deaf community. I need so much to relate to
others and to fit in and not feel so alone and like an outcast as I do feel in the
hearing world. Thank you for reading this and sorry if I confused you with the
audiogram results I got today. I just figured some of you would understand
what those figures all mean. Now that I know it is indeed dropping at a
relatively quick rate I now need to focus on learning how to live as Deaf and
that is why I am here.
welcome to AD chaymes -- enjoy ur stay! 
We’re not too fussy. We’ve got all sorts here: deaf, Deaf, LDA’s, hearing people, deafblind—there’s even a chimpanzee with single-sided deafness (we’re still not sure how the hell he got in here). 
The aforementioned bbnt can hear a duck fart in a thunderstorm, and he’s always been held in high esteem as one of our most respected and distinguished members; a kindly and gentile father figure whom many of us have looked to for advice and sage words of guidance. There’s even been talk about making him the guest of honor at the first annual alldeaf luau and hoe-down. Once we knock him over the head with an empty beer bottle and get the apple in his mouth, we’re going to take turns slow roasting him over an open pit while we all get drunk and sing endless rounds of Kumbayah. 
Coping with such late deafness is hard, try being a teenager and doing it! 