Stressing Big Time!

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What?

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Hi All,

This is my first post to AllDeaf. I'm 31 years old and have been dealing with Meniere's disease since I was 16. I only had it in one ear until two years ago when the other ear started up. I'm now experiencing days where I can barely hear others in meeting and definitely not in loud places like restaurants. I've got all of the good stuff. I have a BAHA implant, a personall FM device with two microphones, and a Savia Art hearing aid. Some days these devices help out and other days, I might as well just sell them on Ebay?:)

Basically I'm freaking out. I'm completely deaf in my right ear and leaning toward moderate in my left. The weird thing with the disease is I can hear people talking in my left, but often times the speach sounds so muffled that I cannot make out what someone is saying.

I used to be a teacher, but I was promoted the the District Technology Coordinator. I just facilitated a meeting today, and had the minor problem of not being able to understand what the group members were saying.

WHAT THE HECK DO I DO? I hope nobody takes offense to this, but sometimes I wish I could just say I'm deaf and not hard of hearing. People get used to me being able to hear on my good days, but fail to realize I have more bad days. It's the fluctuating that drives me nuts. Not to mention the ringing.
 
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Why can't you just say you have Meniere's and that you can't hear at all on bad days?

Welcome to AD.:D
 
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Thanks for summarizing for me. One note though: the bad days are becoming the norm.
 
What? said:
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Thanks for summarizing for me. One note though: the bad days are becoming the norm.
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:giggle: Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. I was not telling you how to post.

I meant in your job, you could give the explanation.
 
Welcome to AD! :)

How about learning ASL? After I lost my hearing, I learned PSE (Pidgin Signed English), SEE (Signed Exact English) and ASL. I began using (tactile) interpreters which made communication *so* much easier.
 
I'm sure it's great to learn any ASL, but the problem is everyone around me would also need to do the same. I can speak perfectly since I've had good hearing for most of my life. My doc talks about how sooner than later the CI will help me communicate and do my job. At this point I'm freaking out that my job performance is going down. I've told almost everyone that I have a hard time hearing. My employer (Public School) purchased my FM for me and everything. On many days even this system is giving me trouble.
 
How about you just sell your ears on ebay? :lol:

J/K

Welcome to AD.
 
Hi there...I am profoundly deaf and been that way since birth and also, I am a teacher. Whenever I have meetings, I use an ASL terp..works great! Maybe that's what HearAgain is suggesting?
 
shel90 said:
Hi there...I am profoundly deaf and been that way since birth and also, I am a teacher. Whenever I have meetings, I use an ASL terp..works great! Maybe that's what HearAgain is suggesting?
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Yes, Shel. That's exactly what I'm suggesting. :)
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. You have become late deafen and not use to being without hearing the sounds which you have use to being a hearing person. Just gotta get use to the silent world and hearing aids help but maybe you can have CI if you prefer to hear again. Us, Deafies are pretty much reject the idea of CI in the back of our brain. :ugh: ASL helps us understand what people are saying even if you are in the meeting. If you don't want to learn ASL and not have ASL interpreter, then you can try notetaking from someone who will write what other people say in the meeting. Good luck. I hope you enjoy reading and posting all the threads here. Have fun with us. See you around. :wave: :thumb:
 
If you can't learn ASL in time, I think you can get a CART interpreter under the ADA.
 
Hi:

I am forty and noticed my hearing loss for the first time around the time that I was 32. It's congenital hearing loss (my mother suffered the same condition and was close to fully deaf by the time she died at age 63).

I am a lawyer and my progressive loss is starting to effect my work and my relationships and my view of myself pretty intensely. I feel your pain. It's difficult for the person born deaf to understand the plight of the late-deafened or for the hearing to understand our situation because they simply have not been here before. We're stuck in the middle, between worlds, and it is a difficult place because we never learned the coping skills or language of deaf people and can't operate in our old hearing world fully anymore.

I wish you the best. Know that there are thousands and thousands like you all over the U.S. and the world and almost all find their way and a way to cope. I am trying to do that myself. Successfully some days and with a little (lot of) difficulty other days. Good luck. Hang in there.
 
piglet221 said:
Hi:

I am forty and noticed my hearing loss for the first time around the time that I was 32. It's congenital hearing loss (my mother suffered the same condition and was close to fully deaf by the time she died at age 63).

I am a lawyer and my progressive loss is starting to effect my work and my relationships and my view of myself pretty intensely. I feel your pain. It's difficult for the person born deaf to understand the plight of the late-deafened or for the hearing to understand our situation because they simply have not been here before. We're stuck in the middle, between worlds, and it is a difficult place because we never learned the coping skills or language of deaf people and can't operate in our old hearing world fully anymore.

I wish you the best. Know that there are thousands and thousands like you all over the U.S. and the world and almost all find their way and a way to cope. I am trying to do that myself. Successfully some days and with a little (lot of) difficulty other days. Good luck. Hang in there.
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Looks like we share the same struggle. Losing my hearing at my age literally freaks me out! In a way you don't feel accepted by the hearing or the Deaf. I like how you put that we are "stuck in the middle." As I just started to seak advice on this site, I noticed some of the suggestions sound so easy if you grew up signing. I guess this is why if it gets any worse for me I would not hesitate for a second to give a CI a chance. I still have a lot of studying to do and a little more hearing to loose :( but I can't see not giving it a shot. If you don't mind I would like to start another tread title "Stuck in the Middle."
 
Try and explain what concerns you need met or to be aware of, and what modified method of communication you want to use before the meeting? Looking dazed and confused during the meeting only makes you look more careless.
 
What? said:
Looks like we share the same struggle. Losing my hearing at my age literally freaks me out! In a way you don't feel accepted by the hearing or the Deaf. I like how you put that we are "stuck in the middle." As I just started to seak advice on this site, I noticed some of the suggestions sound so easy if you grew up signing. I guess this is why if it gets any worse for me I would not hesitate for a second to give a CI a chance. I still have a lot of studying to do and a little more hearing to loose :( but I can't see not giving it a shot. If you don't mind I would like to start another tread title "Stuck in the Middle."
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I'm late-deafened and didn't start to learn sign until I was 24. I started with PSE (and used that as my primary means of communication), then moved on to SEE and ASL. Ten years after being diagnosed with severe-profound hearing loss, I chose to receive CIs for my own personal safety and the fact that some of the alternative communication techniques for the deafblind were extremely slow.

I know exactly how you feel about being in the middle. Back in 2001, my hearing took a sharp decline and my ENT referred me to an MEI (middle ear implant) specialist. During my appointment I was told that I did not have enough hearing to qualify. When I asked him about CIs, I was told I had "a little too much hearing" to be a candidate even though my speech discrimination score with hearing aids was 30% and my loss in both ears started at 90-95 dB with no measureable hearing with or without hearing aids at 1000 Hz and above. In the words of the MEI specialist, I was in "no man's land." I couldn't have thought of a better description. Since I had no other options, I continued with my signing and it wasn't long before I realized how much easier it made communication.

I'm glad to see that you aren't rushing into the decision to receive a CI. The best thing you can do is research, research and more research.

Anyways, just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone. :)
 
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