Greetings and Salutations

laurabeth

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Hi Everyone!

Well, according to what I'm reading, this is the place for introductions to the forums- so that's what I'm here to do :wave:

My name is Laura, and for the majority of my life, nothing was wrong with my hearing-and I lived quite contently within the hearing culture and world. So, I sincerely apologize if I get a term wrong or say something offensive- I'm still learning my way around my new world.

About eight years ago, I started to lose my hearing- at first I shrugged it off as no big deal. After all, I worked construction, so some minor hearing loss was to be expected, wasn't it? Then it started to get progressively worse- I began to learn how to read peoples lips-since their words became more and more distant and jumbled in my ears. Doorbells and knocks at the door became unnoticable to me, and people around me were constantly turning down the volume of the TV and radio. Telephone conversations quickly became exercises in immense concentration, and the feeling of frustration became quite intense. I found myself withdrawing from friends and family simply because I didn't know what was going on, or what to do about it.

So, over the past year, my hearing has gotten progressively worse- I can no longer hear the higher frequencies- and according to the last test I've got about 30% of normal hearing left in my right ear and my left ear is down to around 40%. So far, no doctor has been able to tell me what exactly is going on, and my lack of health insurance is making getting quality medical care quite an adventure.

So, I am in the process of learning ASL, honing my lip reading skill, and learning to accept the fact that I will always be at least hard of hearing, and perhaps completely deaf in the very near future. Surprisingly, I am fairly calm and accepting about the situation, and I am beginning to learn that the world doesn't end when your hearing does.

So hi everyone! Hope to talk to you soon!

LauraBeth
 
Welcome.

:D

I can see that your attitude is something so positive that you are okay. :)
 
Laura, how old are you? o, I
am in the process of learning ASL
Just wondering, as
I have noticed some late deafened young adults (mid 30's and younger)being really interested in learning ASL.....
 
:welcome: to AD and love your attitude! Very positive! However, if u have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask us. :)
 
:wave: LauraBeth,
I am in my 30's and started losing my hearing couple years ago. I find that's a new opportunity and was very happy to come across AD. :) Had been exposed to Deaf culture and learned some basic ASL some years prior working with d/Deaf kids and staff in a recreational program in college and then lost touch...returned after a while due to having Deaf friends and am slowly learning ASL. I have always enjoyed languages and understand things much better from a visual/kinesthetic mode-have learning disability.
 
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and quick response! :lol:

Frisky- thank you, but trust me—I’m not always so positive, lol.

Phillips- love your signature box – the man with the cursor is fantastic!

Bottesini- that’s an Alien icon in your signature, right? If so, we should get along just fine….

DeafDyke- Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that didn’t I? I’m 35. I figure if I learn ASL it will give me another way to communicate if/when I completely lose my hearing.

Shel90- thanks for the welcome—and trust me I have lots of questions – I just figured I’d take a look at the previous postings first. I hate making people rehash old news :P

Dogmom—Hi – Thanks for the insight and warm welcome. It’s good to hear about others coping with a similar situation.
 
LOl of course we all are so human being when we are not so positive sometimes. right? ;)

I know life is not that simple. =)
 
Sorry about your hearing loss. It is difficult and frustrating for you and those around you..I have always had no hearing in one ear and recently due to reaccuring cholesteatomas...well i am severely hard of hearing/or deaf...which ever you prefer..I can hear my dogs bark...and if you feel like screaming at me ...:P
i have always been able to read lips since i used that as back up in the hearing world through out my life...
if you are frustrated LET IT OUT...We all get that way...and it usually hits you in stressful situations...
i still find my self saying to someone when we are sitting out side on the porch.."Its a nice quiet neighbor hood isnt it?" and i usually realize emediately following and say well ...to me...ahahahha...:)
I get frustrated at least once a day...but you learn to deal with it...sloooooooooowly..lol
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. One thing I am wondering is if you are working in construction, then you might have use the ear muffs that look like ear phone to silence the loud noises so that you won't lose your hearing. My husband, who is hearing, has a hard hat with the ear muffs so that he won't lose his hearing while he was using the chain saw to cut the logs or firewoods out in the bush. If he don't wear the hard hat, then there is a chance that he will start to lose his hearing.

Anyway, have fun browsing by reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here. :wave:
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. One thing I am wondering is if you are working in construction, then you might have use the ear muffs that look like ear phone to silence the loud noises so that you won't lose your hearing. My husband, who is hearing, has a hard hat with the ear muffs so that he won't lose his hearing while he was using the chain saw to cut the logs or firewoods out in the bush. If he don't wear the hard hat, then there is a chance that he will start to lose his hearing.

Anyway, have fun browsing by reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here. :wave:

Hi Bebonang,

Well, right now I'm no longer working construction, and during the time, my exposure to loud noises was somewhat limited - I worked as a geologist, so basically I ran around to different job sites and made sure the earth they were building on was solid, not prone to flooding, etc. When I was on site however, I did wear the ear muffs that your husband wears -- and they probably helped quite a bit.

However, in my case (and this is why I don't think my hearing loss is entirely environmentally based) my lose of hearing proceeded regardless of whether or not hearing protection was worn. Each year I had to get a hearing test, and each time it got progressively worse, despite all changes we made in the environment - moved to an office setting, increased hearing protection, etc. It got to the point where I am officially "retired" from construction. Now I work as a writer/ghostwriter and a "consulting geologist".

I have to admit, it's a bit of a change - but I'm trying to adjust for the best of my ability.

Hope all is well with you!

:wave:

Laura
 
Thank you for responding to my question. I understand where you are coming from. That is good that you got your hearing test every year to see if you still have normal hearing or not. Very interesting that you lost your hearing this way after a considerable time. Yes, it will take time to adapt and be able to adjust after you have lost your hearing. I do hope that the hearing aidswill help you be able to hear sounds like environment sounds or maybe you can understand what people say if you are use to listening to the words without lipreading.

Yes, my husband and I are well, thank you. Here is hoping that you and your family are well, too. :wave:
 
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