Chie Seoung

Jervis, I am sorry to hear about your situation and I hope that you can find/get the support you need so much. I might suggest you check and see what resources might be available through your community. I know many have sliding scale fees, if needed. My neighbor had taken me down to the local town hall and to various government buildings in person to help me get started. You'd be surprised how much information they can provide, especially if you go in person.

Love,

Chie

Deafness

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pghlg

hey there, I'm 24 and hoh, I got my first first hearing aids when I was 23. My adjustment has been pretty positive so far. Apparently I've been hoh for a long time and never knew/was diagnosed. I know when I was really young I got ear and sinus infections all the time and I didn't start talking until I was like 2 1/2. Even then, I remember not talking "right" until probably 2nd or 3rd grade. I love my ha's- wish I'd gotten them years ago.
A few days after i got them it was raining pretty hard and I thought it was the coolest sound in the world!
I guess my only "complaint" if you will is that I feel like I can't really fit in with the hearing world or the Deaf world. We'll see!

dogmom

again, pghlg -

I welcomed you from intro -

deafannieboo

Ok, so I was born hearing and raised hearing. I went threw school hearing and began working at a cardiac hospital. Now in grade school my hearing was tested and I never could pass the audiograms given at school. It wasnt until my job at the hospital that I realized I was losing my hearing and fast! My employer, the Cardiologist, had gotten mad and put his fist to the desk after repeated attempts to get my attention. He appoligized and told me to take the following day off and get my hearing checked. I was mortified! At the age of 20 at the time, I was in denial and embarrised not willing to admitt there was anything wrong. After the audiogram I was shocked to find that I had mild to severe loss. In time I had several more tests and my hearing went from mild/severe loss to profoudly deaf in matter of bout a year. This last year I found out that Lyme Disease was the culprit but the damage had been done.
I have in the process taught myself how to lip read and sign. The morning I woke up completely deaf was terrifying!! I was banging pots and knocking on walls. I cryed. I had to even go to work like that! Thankfully my dad worked at the same place so I told him take me to the specialist now! That was the first day of my new life!
Now I am accustomed to my deafness. I have come to feel that if given the opertunity to have my hearing back I would probably refuse. At the same time, being a Violinist, I would love to hear myself play again. I'ts my passion! I have learned to view the world differently and not take as much for granted. I understand that deaf born individuals don't understand why people who are late-deafend complain or freak out about being deaf. But I say to them, imagine losing ur vision all of a sudden or being able to hear after a life time of deafness! We've been thrown into another world out of the blue( so to speak)! Somedays it is hard for me to get out of bed and face the world. Sometimes I feel like if I have to lip read one more person I'm gonna flip! It's sooo exaughsting(spelling). There is no Deaf Community where I live that I have found. I live in a little small minded border town that has little to no knowlege of deaf/hoh. I've become myown advocate! But with all the aggrivations and heartbreak I have to say, I sleep GREAT! Haha, no sounds to wake me from my slumber or crying kids in church or the movies. I have a greater appriciation for life and others. And best of all I've gained a stronger determination for deaf rights! God Bless A.D.A. : )
Sorry this is so long I guess I got on a roll! Being late-deafend is like being caught in a tug of war between what we once knew and what we know now to be or lives. I've come to terms with it for the most part and am in the end greatful for the change due to it opening my eyes to another world and new oppertunities. I wish all good luck in thier journey!

jillio

Welcome, annieboo...and all the newest posters! I'm certain that you will find many others here who can relate to your experiences. Knowing someone else understands is the greatest comfort of all.

deafannieboo

Thank You Jillio!

Babyblue

We do have another RN on this site.

Hopefully he can come to join this thread and talk to you. So you guys can share your experiences.


I will PM him and let him know about you.

jillio

Thank you, Babyblue. I'm sure Doug could offer much encouragement.

Babyblue

I have PMed him.. Should get a response in a day or so.

hohDougRN

Welcome again annieboo. Yeah Im late deafened too. I deal with those communication barriers at times as well. Just as you miss being able to have an appreciable value of the violin now- I miss singing quite a lot. But like you, I have just found and learned new things to appreciate and those things are not thought about anymore as often. You can ask me any question or make comment any time and I'd be pleased to respond or visit.

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Doug

Babyblue

Thanks for stopping by!

deafannieboo

well that would be great. i actually started out as a certified nurse aide then got on job training in Cath Lab. so i could do everything but i.v. and meds.

deafannieboo

Thanks doug! Yeah well i still sing but i feel sorry for the poor soul who has to listen to me do so! haha. lord only knows how it must sound. I lost my hearing due to Lyme disease. I am still amazed at how very few people are aware of the illness and what can happen as a result of it. I have learned and still am learning to adapt and suceede(spelling) now that I am deaf. but i tell ya, its def opened my eyes to a world that I use to know little about. I have to say that it has made me a much stronger person and I am much more willing to stand up for myself and my rights now! Being a writer I am thinking about writing a book on my journey from hearing to deaf.

sallylou

Hi, everyone! I've been gone a while because my computer crashed and it took about a week to revive it. Glad to be back!

Welcome to everyone who is new!

deafannieboo, how is your health now? How is your heart? Your joints? Has antibiotic treatment been successful? Lyme disease sucks. I try to protect myself and my family, but you never know when or how you can get bitten by a tick. Nasty little virulent critters!

It's ironic but losing my hearing has made me more confident. I've been able to accept myself more. I can allow myself to be human and imperfect. Perhaps it's related to age. Maybe my hearing loss occurred at a time when I become more mature and grew emotionally. In any case, it's a good feeling!

dogmom

deafannieboo, I would like to read your book someday!

all!

deafannieboo

hi sallylou! well i just posted a thread today id like everyone to read bout my crazy trip to E.R. this morning!!! itll send most deaf and hoh to limit!

my joints are def affected. mostly popping and aching. i have numb places on my neck by spine. my vision seems to be deterierating (spelling). i seem to have forgot where i left my memory!!!! horrible fatigue and of course deafness. you know it is believed that i acquired Lyme through a misquito. Lyme is not only Vector born illness either. cows and people spread it thru breast milk as well. Lyme is found in every single state in the usa.


i agree with you that going deaf has increased confidence! AMEN and well said! As hard as it is for some people to think like it, deafness has been somewhat of a blessing to me!

deafannieboo

hi dogmom!
well one day ull be able to say heyyyy i know that lady!!!! ill be writing my own column and writing for national geographic magazine!!! which is actually what im working towards! haha
i would be honored if u would read one of my books one day! grin.
im actually working on a book of childrens poetry and a book on poverty in third world countries. that last one i been workin on since high school. i keep rewriting the damb thing! one day ill be happy with it and publish it. so far ive been published ummmm 10 times or more i think. not books but articles and poetry and a short story and won few awards. not to shabby for a 26 yr old college student hu? lol

dogmom

oh, deafannie, wow - where can I find your stuff? ,in addition to the NG mag?
that's great

column what?

<cool>

sallylou

I had no idea that you can get Lyme's disease from a mosquito! It makes sense because they mosquitoes can carry viruses, too. I live in swamp land and the mosquitoes are out of hand here!

deafannieboo

well im not working for nat geo yet but i hope to one day. i have a couple things on helium.com under joanne teagarden. and other places. on that site just look for author JoAnne Teagarden in the search this site box. i put the stuff i want online on that site. right now im working on a couple books im trying to write.

dogmom

to annie
for info!

deafannieboo

no prob.

jwwstpete

I will say Hi by my prior post..

Hello All:

I have to admit I feel some trepidation posting here, since I am new and just registered; not to mention that I have had very limited exposure to the deaf community and not all of it has been positive.

A little background about myself..

I am a 32 year-old, married, late deafened adult with serious HoH in the left ear and profound HoH in the right. I was raised orally, but my best friend in college (over 10 years ago) was a manually raised profound left/right. My exposure to the Deaf community comes through him and his memory.

I am still new to the d/Deaf community, including the HoH community, since I was raised and have lived in the Hearies world for so often until just recently when I got my diagnosis of serious/profound. I get my HAs on the 14th of this month and a little anxious.

I am looking for a place (either at the Community College level or otherwise) for some ASL teaching, since all of my professionals seem to think that my hearing will deteriorate to the point sometime in the near future that it will be nessisary.

Anyhow.. that's a bit about me.. any more questions (or if I flubbed up terminology or whatever), please correct me.

--= jwwstpete

dogmom

jwwstpete!

sallylou

Hi jwwstpete! I'm a newbie, too. I'm still learning just like you.

My hearing loss is hereditary, and I've had my HA for about 2 1/2 years. The HAs are helpful in certain situations, but I was disappointed about how HAs were not a "cure all." I had unrealistic expectations and a lot of denial. A couple of years down the road, I've adjusted and I feel more comfortable with my reality.

I don't know how quickly my hearing will deteriorate or how much hearing I will have in the future. For this reason, and because I want to communicate with others, I'm going to learn ASL.

You would think that I would know more about the deaf community because I was reared in a family with deafness but that's not the case. My family was not very competent or educated, and they didn't deal well with these issues. The deaf family members just became increasingly isolated. I'm glad that I have the internet and other resources to learn the ropes!

Welcome! I look forward to sharing ideas and experience with you.

danman09

I'm a DAV and in my late 50's. I have the resources, but the challenges of the public are overwhelming. Having to deal with the loss of ones hearing is devestating depending on your way of life, and the emotional attachment you have to it. I was terminated from my job, for reasons as general as " he didn't do the work as we wanted it done". They have kept my hearing aides, out of malice or at the least with disregard to me at all. Without these prosthesis, I cannot function in society as well without, as I can with them, interviews, the public, even watch the television for the news......I filed a complaint with EEOC, and here I am a year and a half later, and still, I am nowhere.... The public should consider that we don't need but, a fare shake at trying to do for ourselves.

danman09

Hello, I am Dan and a DAV. I lost my hearing in 1970, during some operations overseas. I am not totally deaf, but I must see the sound to actually understand what it is I barely do hear. I have tinnitus and some other physicals, but none as isolating as this one. I sometimes miss conversation, or being a part of everything, but it seems the best for all these ways. having to apologize all the time is the most disturbing though. Do you know what I mean?

KristinaB

I was born with a calcium deposit on my right eardrum. I got my first hearing aid at 7. At 10, I gave myself nerve damage in the left ear using the old stereo headphones without the hearing aid, and turned up the sound to hear in tha bad ear and blew out the good ear. Over time, I slowly lost more and more of the hearing in both ears. At 40 I got new all in the ear aids for both ears. At that point, I had an approximate loss in each ear of 60-80%. At 44, I was listening to some music while working on the computer and it was like a light switch turned off. I couldn't hear a thing. Subsequent testing and all showed that the calcium deposit in my right ear had totally "deformed" my eardrum and it no longer functions, and the left ear had also developed a clacium deposit that "deformed" the eardrum. I am totally deaf in both ears. I was fortunate in the fact that I am able to draw upon memory for sounds of musical instruments and music. That doesn't help with new stuff. I totally miss music, the sound of my hubby and my children. (at least I don't hear the teen arguments and such) I will be 46 this month, and I feel that I am adapting well. At least my speech is normal and clear. I find that I am forgetting how some words are pronounced and get frustrated at time during a conversation. Since I knew from a young age that I was losing my hearing, I paid attention and learned to read lips (very basically). It's not easy. The schools where I grew up did not have any services for a hearing impaired child. There were no services offered. My parents drove 4 hours just to get me a hearing test. (it was always great to miss school for that) I know my hearing aid when I was 10 was thrown out with the trash by the janitor. (I had removed it for PE as I was told to by the school administrators due to perspiration) The janitor thought it was parts to an old transistor radio and threw it away. That was the last hearing aid until I was 40.

One of my biggest problems is that my family still tries to talk to me without getting my attention and tries to get me to take a phone call. (We just moved to Florida and I don't have my CapTel phone yet) Chruch is also very hard, but luckily, the Pastor is working with me, and the church put up a screen with power point and a projector and I get the words to all of the songs. For the music, if it's something I don't know, they give me a copy of that as well. It helps that this was the church I went to before I moved to Missouri. Hubby and I were married there in 1993.

Well, I've rambled on and probably gave too much info, but at least you know my story.

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Taking life one day at a time.

Bottesini

KristinaB, what you have is called tympanosclerosis and is correctable by tympanoplasty and removing the calcium deposits.

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KristinaB

I had 3 different doctors from St. Louis University, Dept of Otolaryngology and the University of Missouri Hospital & Clinics in Columbia, MO, say that there was nothing to be done as the damage was too far gone. Vocational Rehab sent me to get it checked out and that was the diagnosis, so nothing was done. Originally, when my parents checked into it, the odds of surgery being able to help were not in my favor. But, then again, that was back in the 1970's.

Now, I have no insurance and wouldn't even be able to contimplate it. I am no longer working and am in the process of trying to apply for Medicaid. I am my mother-in-law's driver and I home school my 2 teens.

Tympanosclerosis is something I had never heard of. I will check into it some more. Thanks for the info.

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Taking life one day at a time.