Struggling to understand my deafness

toffeekukki

toffeekukki

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hey everyone i thought i would say hey and let everyone know I am here and able to chat and get to know people, my husband has encouraged me to start talking to other people with hearing problems.

I dont understand what to refer myself as.
i have deafness in both ears, To me it is mild hearing loss but i do have a loss of high tones in one ear and low tones in the other.
i do need hearing aids in both ears.

i have been trying to find a social deaf group for people of all ages in my local area but i found a local under 12's deaf footballers club or an over 60's deaf group. Unless i join Facebook but i dont think a social deaf group on Facebook is the same as meeting people in your local area.
I do Share a KIK account with my husband so i could use that at a pinch to talk with people.

apart from the audiologist whom i have already spoken to no one seems to find anyone where i can go to talk about my deafness

I have only been discovered as having hearing difficulties since august 2016 and i have put my issues with my ears to one side but last 4/6 weeks i have realised that i still can not seem to shift the feeling of shock that i had when i first got told i was deaf.

anybody got any suggestions on whom to turn to or able to help me understand why i feel so down and upset at the fact that i have no one to turn to.
my Husband is been really helpful by getting me to speak here and asking for help or advice and i would love t get to know other deaf people.

how do i refer to myself i can hear without my aids, i can hold a normal conversation but i often can say things wrong or miss words out and miss what others are saying to me (if i dont wear my aids) i have quite bad tinnitus as well as a clumsiness that comes with balance due to my ears.

THank you for reading this and Thank you in advance for any help or advice given or received
 
You could call yourself hard of hearing. That is more of what it sounds like to me. But if you need someone to turn to you can look into a therapist maybe? I hope this helps :D
 
You are almost describing me. I started wearing hearing aids last May. My audie said I have moderate to moderately severe loss. But there are many times when I seem to hear just fine even without my aids. Other times I have trouble with my aids on. If am having particular trouble hearing someone I tell them I'm hard of hearing. It's weird, I still think of myself as hearing even though I know I have hearing loss, probably because it's all still so new to me. I guess over time I'll be able to find my identity.
 
i describe myself as hard of hearing. I have a mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears, starting at around the 30 db mark in low frequencies that steadily worsens in the middle and high frequencies going down to around 55 to 60 db as the tones get higher. I've also got tinnitus but my hearing aids help with that during the day.

As for hearing with and without hearing aids. I'm getting now that I struggle to understand speech in quiet situations with more than one person if I don't wear my hearing aids and depending on the listening conditions, background noise for example, I can find it difficult in that situation to both hear and understand speech with my hearing aids on.

I'm not a natural lip-reader either, but like all of us who are deaf or hard of hearing it is easier when people recognise the fact that I don't hear well and have the decency to look at me when they speak.
 
You might want to see if there is a HLAA (Hearing Loss of America Association) chapter near you.
hearingloss.org
 
Thank you all for your support and suggestions and i have spoken to a few people now and i agree with the hard of hearing suggestion. I also find it hard to follow conversation. Now it has been a few months since my last post I'm also noticing that i would struggle more if i was alone as i realised my partner does actually repeat what others say.
My speech is also a lot more muffled or unclear or i speak to fast if i don't have my aids in.
To hear other people with similar struggles is good and i am slowly feeling more comfortable telling people about my hearing problems.
In public places i can turn down background noise on my aids and focus on the voice in front of me but in fact i don't always find that helpful.
I'm moving to a new location and the local area has more deaf people around and basically I'm happy to say this is a big step for me to take. I never take risks but i think i can do this and benefit from the change.
You all are so helpful and i am glad that i have such nice people willing to try help others understand the world is not always easy to navigate when your hearing is not the greatest but with help and advice we can all get help from each other and Thank you.

I have found my feet are a bit more stable in the deaf community sometimes it feels like i don't fit in but then you guys show me that i do belong somewhere. Also help and advice is available
 
It is not surprising that you would go into a sort of shocked state after being diagnosed with hearing loss. HOH is the right way to describe it. Over time you will find some useful support on-line here. Local people- I hope you can turn some up!
 
I have still not found anyone local to me who is either Deaf/deaf or HOH but i can say that i am now learning BSL I'm going to go back to college and get my levels needed to become a interpreter. I am fed up of reading people can't get a interpreter when it is needed. I have already looked into what i need to do and how to register to become an interpreter.

So my journey is just beginning and i am now thank full to everyone and all whom i have spoken to and provide me with kind words and encouragement i need to do what i can to help other people whom have a harder time than my self in the hearing community.
 
:)toffeekukki, though I don't have tinnitus, much of what you describe is similar to me. I sign a very small amount and enjoy interacting in the Deaf community. I'm hoh
 
I have been away for a while. But I want to tell you I have been to get my ears done again. I am mod to serve deaf.
I also have had my problems a lot of years (no one never noticed)
I am currently waiting to get my new hearing aids.
This time I am getting ear moulds as my current BTE are not strong enough for me.
I also thought my aids were not working but because I have one ear quieter than the other. The reason for this is because my current aids are wrong.
I just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone and I am going to be posting more often.
I have made a newer post. So I hope you all give that a read.
 
I am still in denial it shows it ugly head all the time .
Ilooked for suport but I can’t find I am
looking for a place to hang with people in a social setting that there deaf
If any body know of 1 in vancover Canada let me know
 
I am quite lucky I moved from where I was in Leeds, and now I have a full deaf/blind social group on my doorstep. I met with 2 lovely older Deaf ladies and I was surprised to how well I did listening to the interpreter while try to work out a word here and there of the 2 ladies whom was using BSL.
Unfortunately I was ment to start going to meeting in summer last year but with me waiting for so long to get my ears done I had to miss many opportunities to join in. But I am back in touch with the group and I am hoping to start going regularly to meets and see how i feel about joining the deaf community.
Unfortunately I have had to step away from me wanting to go and learn BSL for now as I want to feel comfortable in myself again.
But I hope you find something near you soon.
And if you can't find a local group you know there are many kind and. Friendly people here to say hello and chat with
 
Timothy donaldson said:
I am still in denial it shows it ugly head all the time .
Ilooked for suport but I can’t find I am
looking for a place to hang with people in a social setting that there deaf
If any body know of 1 in vancover Canada let me know
Click to expand...
as in sign using? I know some young folks who get together in Vancouver
 
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