Could I be called a 'Deaf wannabe'? I'm hard of hearing but my ears constantly hurt from various sounds which I can hear. It's something I've had to put up with since childhood: constant ear pain.
When I was younger I was sensitive to sounds because they would cause a lot of pain. Now I miss many sounds but there are certain ones which really hurt my ears and can continue hurting for a few hours afterwards - I've kind of got sick of the ear pain and people shouting into my bad ear, and people telling me,
"Well, you're not deaf, there's no such thing as hard of hearing, you're just ignoring everyone"
--- and being unable to get any help in my university, and still waiting for hearing aids off the NHS.
So, in a way, I wouldn't mind being Deaf because it would stop the shouting down in my ears.
I'm not stupid enough to
try and make myself deaf though, nor would I pretend. That's... weird. Bleugh. How the hell do you fake a hearing test?