Do you feel that HA or CI prevent you from getting jobs?

Breezy

Breezy

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I couldn't help but think of this as i read DefLord's post about having a job interview in his other thread about being bummed that his surgery got pushed back. This is a question i've wondered before and feel the need to post it.

Do you feel that having a hearing aid or choclear implant prevents you from getting decent jobs? I mean, firstly do you even tell your potential employer that you have a loss at all? Or do you just wait for the time to be right or for them to say something?

I remember i had a job interview and i mentioned that i wore hearing aids. I had to lie about my loss coz the interviewer wanted to know how bad it was. Big mistake: as soon as i mentioned that i wore aids she changed really quickly. She sent me to someone else who wanted to put me 'behind the counter' so i wouldn't be dealing with customers up front ( I had an interview as a cashier, this was like 2 years ago when i was 18) It was so upsetting and up until that point the interview was going really well and she liked me. And then i fucked it up.

So my question again is: do you feel that wearing hearing aids or CI prevents you from getting decent jobs??
 
Honestly - I have been very fortunate..

I have worked for Shell Oil Company, IBM Corporation, NASA, and now I work for a small hospital. And none of those really had detered me because of my hearing loss. IBM was the BEST company in regards to disability. But in general, the jobs I am after does require phone usage, and this is by choice that I am making. Not by because I was pushed aside. These are jobs that I want to do, but I know I need the technology to be able to function.
 
Meh. They should not reject you if you need a CI or HA to be able to hear well enough to do your job. Would they reject you if you had a broken leg and needed crutches to walk? Of course not. Woudl they reject you if you were nearsighted and needed to wear glasses/contacts? I certainly hope not.

A person who is hoh or deaf who wears a hearing aid or has a cochlear implant does so out of courtesy to hearing people. You don't 'need' it... But you have it anyway. If I were a prospective hearing employer, to me that says that you're a good person. Now, I'm not a prospective hearing employer, but that's how I think a hearing person someone sufficiently informed about hearing loss would react.
 
Teresh said:
A person who is hoh or deaf who wears a hearing aid or has a cochlear implant does so out of courtesy to hearing people. You don't 'need' it... But you have it anyway. If I were a prospective hearing employer, to me that says that you're a good person. Now, I'm not a prospective hearing employer, but that's how I think a hearing person someone sufficiently informed about hearing loss would react.
Click to expand...

If a person, who is deaf or hoh, does not have a hearing aid what does that say? Bad person?
 
Umm actually the problem that lies amongst most employers is the education - how to work with Deaf people. Most employers take the idea that deaf people are expensive and can't do this, can't do that and etc etc. But this is where we have to educate them on what we can and can't do.
 
I was lucky because I was hired by a company that didn't seem to be fazed by my deafness. I work for a big Health Insurance corporation and most of the job functions do involve telephone usage. During my interview 7 years ago, my hiring manager and I conducted the interview in a mixture of speech and writing (he wrote down the questions, I answered them in speech). I was upfront about my deafness and told him there is no way for me to use the phone but with the computer technology (internet) I told him I didn't see why there would be any reason why I would not be able to do the job. So I was hired- yay! Generally my company is very good about accomodating my needs-- they even purchased a TTY for me!

Three years ago when I got my CI my health insurance through my company paid for it in full. Now that I have the CI I find it has greatly improved my ability to communicate with my co-workers- they no longer have to write notes to me if they want to tell me something. I still use a sign language interpreter for big meetings but otherwise my CI is not even an issue in the slightest. I still cannot use the phone but it doesn't matter because my particular job function is completely computer/internet based.
 
I too have been very fortunate in the working world. Whether with my HA in the past or now a CI, I have been able mostly function like the regulars including the use of the phone. Of course my area of expertise is in computers which also helps alot too!

All of my employers have been pretty good and never really considered my deafness a problem for them. Put in another way, I have never been discriminated against nor passed over for promotions.
 
my deafness has never been a problem.

the only case that a problem arised was being a police officer or joining the marines. but thats expected anyway.

as for actual jobs, ive never been pushed back or passed over for promotions or anything.

i work at the home depot as an hardware associate (most important department in home depot). im customer service oriented and i have a CI and rely on it for hearing. I have very few problems and make more money than most associates in home depot.

i also have a second job building the police cars for LVMPD. no problem there either, communication is going fine and i expect to be hired full time by january because of my excellence performance.

obviously, my deafness has absolutely no toll on the outcome of any jobs.
 
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