Swimming help

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Fintan

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Hello all,

This is my first post, I am completely deaf in one ear since birth and have hearing loss in my other since 1990. I wear one HA. I live and work in a completly hearing world and I actually dont know one single other deaf or HI person. Speech is a real problem for me.

Like most people I can get a bit cheesed off about things from time to time. When my daughter was born I knew there would be days ahead that would cause problems, hearing the first words and stuff like that.

She is nearly 3 years old now and learning to swim. I have never been able to swim myself and am quite afraid of it. I really do now want to put my fears aside and take classes. However I'm too deaf to follow an instructor without my HA.

I really need to find something that will allow me use my aid in the water. Can anyone help me?

Fintan
 
I am afraid that I will be unable to help with your swimming becaise I am in the UK, but dont give up because that is what hearing people want you to do ( give up ) one day after practice and determination, you will be able to swim as good as anyone.


Keep swimming


supersonic
 
Hi Fintan,
Actually, I'm sorry to inform you that there's no such devices that'll help you hear in water, unfortunately.

You can still take swim classes, though. Just ask your instructor to use some visual cues . Besides, she'll show you and others how to swim correctly and whatnot because everybody, in that class, will have ears that are waterlogged anyway.

I'm profoundly deaf and has been in swim classes since I was a toddler, and I have learned how to swim without needing to hear the instructor.

Best of luck on learning how to swim. Just be quietly confident in asking the teacher to accommodate you by using gestures, if you're okay with that.
 
Thanks for the replies...

I wish I learned as a toddler, you've no fear at that age. I cant sign or lipread and depend on the aid too much. I'm very uncomforatable without it.

I would be too nervous to try to learn without it.
 
u can always take a semi private lesson with ur daughter to learn! i know some hoh/deaf ppl who have done that!
 
I went to a public swimming pool each Friday when I was in a summer school deaf class. I also had some practice when going out to a lake with my parents and in my grandma's swimming pool. I also had a gym class in high school where I practiced swimming at the school district's indoors pool during the winter. The coach was hearing and sometimes was in the pool himself to do demonstrations.
 
I used to join Swimming team at my school. I don't need to wear a device in pool. Just use your eyes to contact to your coach and referee.

I remember 1 deaf man from South Africa. He was first time at hearing Olympic at Sydney 2000. He got silver medal. It's special the light to alert him for start jump into water. He didn't need the device to hear.
 
Sorry... there is no hearing aid that will work in the water.

You should talk with your instructor to work out something else.
 
Why don't you try having your wife (if she knows sign language) and interprete for you or an interpreter? When i was having my swimming lessons, i was fine. I was deaf but i didn't have my HA on. ( i didn't have a CI by the time) But I did fine.
 
Oh i would just copy what the instructor was doing, and paying attention and reading her lips. if you can't understand her have her writer on a piece of paper.
 
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