Are you shy to wear a HA/CI or don't care?

I am more self concious about wearing glasses than I am about wearing my hearing aids. Not really self concious, I just think I look better without glasses.

As far as ha's go, I dont think there is any shame or something that needs to be hidden.
 
deafdyke said:
That's why I wear my purple aid. It draws attention to the fact that I'm hoh and not retarded. You have NO IDEA how many times people have thought I'm retarded just b/c of the quality of my speech!
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I hate how hearing people interpet the deaf accent as being retarded.
 
cdmeggers said:
doesn't bother me. I don't care if people see my hearing aid. I'm the one wearing colored earmolds and putting stickers onto the hearing aid so it stands out!
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I would love to start doing that to my hearing aide but havent really took action! LOL!

I am not shy about wearing my hearing aid. I forget that it is there sometimes. LOL!
 
I'm not shy at all about my CIs. In fact, both of my processors and coils are decorated with rhinestones and other sticky adhesive decorations. While I don't go out of my way to show off my CIs, I don't hide them either. It just depends on my mood and how I choose to wear my hair on a given day. Right now both of my processors have clear yellow adhesive designs on them while my coils have clear pink stars. My CI audi even commented on the designs (because she could see them sparkle) telling me how she wished more of her clients (and people who wear HAs) wouldn't be embarrassed to have their CI (or HAs) seen by others.
 
The only time that I've cared about being seen wearing HAs or CIs was in middle school when I had to wear the Phonic Ear; other deaf either had a loss too mild or too profound for the Phonic Ear and it made me stand out.

I have mostly gray hair and my CI has a red coil cover so that makes it stand out. No one has commented on the CI and I think the coil is prolly hidden by my curls; when my hair grows long, it gets curly.
 
deafdyke said:
That's why I wear my purple aid. It draws attention to the fact that I'm hoh and not retarded. You have NO IDEA how many times people have thought I'm retarded just b/c of the quality of my speech!
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LoL! You're so funny! You're right!
 
LoL! That's so funny! I like your T-Shirt with quote. That's why I put my signature of my tee shirt's quote. It's my favorite one. People are laugh and think it's funny of my shirt while I am wear HA. They said it's cool!


firemidget007 said:
I don't really care about wearing my HA in public places, I'm so used to it by now that I don't even notice if people stare at me. I have a T-Shirt that I love to wear because it says "Keep talking, I like watching your lips move!" People laugh at it and I just say It's true! what really drives me crazy is when someone is talking to you but not looking at you! It is really hard for me to know what they're saying! I need to see lips!!! haha but not really embarassed to wear my HA, I guess you could say I'm Proud!
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Yeah, my husband have his own BTE bluetooth for his cellphone. He don't care about people look at his BTE bluebooth. He isn't show off. He want to look for comfortable to wear a bluebooth. He want to be same as mine. :P lol

SCBassist said:
I did to begin with, I mean it wasn't really comfortable using an HA in highschool, especially considering the mindset of the 80's. On top of that, it was an ear canal type of aid. How they noticed it is still beyond me! LOL Today, I use a CI, although its HUGE compared to the HA I wore, I don't give any thought as to how I am perceived with it. It is true, now it's more how you carry yourself than what is attached to your ear(s), sometimes I have a little fun with those who have no idea - "Oh yeah, it's the latest mobile/bluetooth device you can attach to your head!" :D
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Bottesini said:
My father always said to wear a hearing aid alerts people before they talk to me I am deaf. It just now occured to me he was worried they would think I am retarded. He is dead so I can't ask if that is what he meant.
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LoL! That's true! That's why I am wear HA to make people's attention who I am. If I don't wear them. They would think I am retard! I don't like it! My stupid old ophthalmologist think I was retard because I don't wear HA.
 
I never really think otherwise now, its like putting contacts in morning to see, something like that. I have translucent clear HA's as we know and I've never got a rude comment, just some once in a while people say- hey those r nifty HA's or other peeps who wear HA see them and like them.........At very first though when I lost my hearing, I wouldn't even get them or consider it and stubborn, now I laugh at the immature stubborness I had.
 
I hate how hearing people interpet the deaf accent as being retarded.
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Ever notice that most people who think we're MR, are almost borderline MR themselves? Still, it does seem like that includes a LARGE part of America. Gotta say...most Americans can be dumbasses.
 
Oh, and for the lurking parents...............the fact that MANY kids still have deaf accents is a HUGE downside........unfortunatly most Americans don't really have all that much common sense when it comes to disabilites.....like those people who think that blind people use ASL or that Deaf people use Braille or those special menus. Yes, there are some people who are common sense when it comes to dealing with disabilites, but overall most people aren't very smart when it comes to dealing with disabilites.
 
deafdyke said:
Ever notice that most people who think we're MR, are almost borderline MR themselves? Still, it does seem like that includes a LARGE part of America. Gotta say...most Americans can be dumbasses.
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Agree :roll: --> I feel somethings that aren't in majority in physical assistance IE: HA's, Cane if blind, WC, and so on, bring out the shallow point of view in a lot of people. I can usually tell in daily interaction when people without an egocentric personality and show tolerance in love for others even if a little "different" or not like themselves. The others almost seem immediately uncomfortable either out of ignorance, poor judgement, egocentrism, or even some sort of learned bias.
 
deafdyke said:
Ever notice that most people who think we're MR, are almost borderline MR themselves? Still, it does seem like that includes a LARGE part of America. Gotta say...most Americans can be dumbasses.
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:applause:
 
I have worn hearing aids since I was five. I don't have a deaf accent but when I was little I was always wanting to hide them because I got teased by kids and sometimes adults look at me weird. Over time I started to ignore the stares and eventually kids stopped teasing me. Most of the time my hair covers them but usually during the day I will sometimes put my hair behind my ears and they are visible to others I do catch people staring sometimes.
 
deafdyke said:
Oh, and for the lurking parents...............the fact that MANY kids still have deaf accents is a HUGE downside........unfortunatly most Americans don't really have all that much common sense when it comes to disabilites.....like those people who think that blind people use ASL or that Deaf people use Braille or those special menus. Yes, there are some people who are common sense when it comes to dealing with disabilites, but overall most people aren't very smart when it comes to dealing with disabilites.
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No matter how often that comment or question comes up, I still get amazed by the stupidity of some people.
 
That's true. I don't like how stupid people treat deaf a retard.
 
deafdyke said:
oh, And For The Lurking Parents...............the Fact That Many Kids Still Have Deaf Accents Is A Huge Downside........unfortunatly Most Americans Don't Really Have All That Much Common Sense When It Comes To Disabilites.....like Those People Who Think That Blind People Use Asl Or That Deaf People Use Braille Or Those Special Menus. Yes, There Are Some People Who Are Common Sense When It Comes To Dealing With Disabilites, But Overall Most People Aren't Very Smart When It Comes To Dealing With Disabilites.
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Lol! Qft!
 
I was first fit with HAs at the age of two, but I was never shy about wearing them until late junior high and high school. That's when I became very self conscious as many teenagers do. It wasn't until after I married my husband that I stopped worrying what other people may think of my HAs. Such a shame too, I missed out on so much because I was too embarrassed to wear my hearing aids.

Even though I was just implanted with the Envoy Esteem, cosmetics was not one of the reasons why I was interested in going this way.
 
Nope, I've been wearing hearing aids since I was a baby, and haven't ever been shy about it. It actually makes more sense when people see 'em knowing that my Deafness is why I don't always pronouce the hard-to-say words correctly. :)
 
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