Why I Think Losing Hearing later in life is the worst

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C-NICE

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Just ranting a little here. I have been giving this some thought of late and have come to the conclusion that being born deaf is not the cruelest thing nature can do to you. It is losing your hearing later in life. When you are born hearing and that becomes you world(That which you are used to) and then slowly or quickly have that taken away that is worst than being born deaf or hearing and have that be your life for the rest of your life. Perhaps that is why some of us late deafened people do not get the deaf community's concerns about CI's. They have spent their whole life deaf and are happy and comfortable in their lives(So they don't consider deafness the loss we do because it isn't for them). Just some thought running through my may head, nothing that serious.
 
Does the philosophical "observation" many things "happen in our lives" unwanted-one hopes- but in the end-what does one do -now- about the "circumstance"?

Taken from Cdn Hearing Society/Toronto classes: dealing/coping with your hearing loss.

Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07
 
That's why there is a sticky thread for those who are late deafened. I am sure it has helped many.
 
C-NICE said:
Just ranting a little here. I have been giving this some thought of late and have come to the conclusion that being born deaf is not the cruelest thing nature can do to you. It is losing your hearing later in life. When you are born hearing and that becomes you world(That which you are used to) and then slowly or quickly have that taken away that is worst than being born deaf or hearing and have that be your life for the rest of your life. Perhaps that is why some of us late deafened people do not get the deaf community's concerns about CI's. They have spent their whole life deaf and are happy and comfortable in their lives(So they don't consider deafness the loss we do because it isn't for them). Just some thought running through my may head, nothing that serious.
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I agree with you. The problem is that the parents want CI for their deaf babies. I wish parents would realized this and not opted for CI for their babies. That is why I am for the person choosing CI for himself/herself not the parents. We, who were born deaf, don't know what we are missing, therefore we are comfortable being Deaf.
 
I agree. Music and song writing were my life before becoming deaf....In a lot of ways, I'm glad it happened when I was a pre-teen and not later in life when I was an adult.....I've met many adults and older people that became deaf or hard of hearing and cannot accept it, won't learn sign language and are in complete denial of their deafness/hearing loss...

I met this man a few days ago, with 75% hearing loss in one ear, profound in the other, he was in his early 50's.....when I asked if he knew ASL or was thinking of learning it...he became "embarrassed" and said No!....Even two of my neighbors are hard of hearing, and refuse to wear an HA....

After all my years of being deaf, I haven't seen much change in a lot of people's views (hearing people) regarding deafness or hearing loss......a lot of people assume it's for "old people" (becoming hard of hearing).....and if a child is deaf, then they think it's a "tragedy".....
 
Buffalo said:
I agree with you. The problem is that the parents want CI for their deaf babies. I wish parents would realized this and not opted for CI for their babies. That is why I am for the person choosing CI for himself/herself not the parents. We, who were born deaf, don't know what we are missing, therefore we are comfortable being Deaf.
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Of course we know what we're missing, we see it on a daily basis. I am not 100% comfortable being deaf but there's nothing you can do, plus a CI is not a cure so life as a deaf person is not all perfect
 
Banjo said:
What are you referring to?
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I'm referring to "They have spent their whole life deaf and are happy and comfortable in their lives(So they don't consider deafness the loss we do because it isn't for them). "

I may have lost my hearing as a newborn but I don't think being late deafened tops being deaf from a early age, I can understand where LD's are coming from but at least they've had normal hearing
 
C-NICE said:
Just ranting a little here. I have been giving this some thought of late and have come to the conclusion that being born deaf is not the cruelest thing nature can do to you. It is losing your hearing later in life. When you are born hearing and that becomes you world(That which you are used to) and then slowly or quickly have that taken away that is worst than being born deaf or hearing and have that be your life for the rest of your life. Perhaps that is why some of us late deafened people do not get the deaf community's concerns about CI's. They have spent their whole life deaf and are happy and comfortable in their lives(So they don't consider deafness the loss we do because it isn't for them). Just some thought running through my may head, nothing that serious.
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I would tend to agree with this. I also have a unique perspective, in that, I've already have a deficit to start with. Being born paralyzed, I've never known what it's like to walk, so if I lost my hearing, I'm not sure I'd react. I'd adjust, but still think I'd miss what I didn't have.

Ultimately, though, being deaf is NOT the worst thing that can happen to someone; even late deafness. It's all about perspective, I think. Each person WILL have a grieving process and a sense of "What the heck do I do NOW?" But, if that person was ME, I'd figure out what I needed to do and I'd do it.

You can look at a situation either being half empty or half full.
 
Lissa said:
I'm referring to "They have spent their whole life deaf and are happy and comfortable in their lives(So they don't consider deafness the loss we do because it isn't for them). "

I may have lost my hearing as a newborn but I don't think being late deafened tops being deaf from a early age, I can understand where LD's are coming from but at least they've had normal hearing
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Late deafness is different from being born deaf. People who became deaf later in life, they lost something valuable to themselves. So yes, I can understand that it's not the same. They are two completely different experiences.

I don't value hearing as much as they do because I never had it to start with. You obviously value it more than I do, but like I have said in the past, it's a different experience for everyone.
 
:wave: OceanBreeze I like what you wrote about perspective.

<for any newbies reading> I was born with a learning disability <LD>which went un-diagnosed for a long time; also have gotten conflicting histories on any hearing issues I may or may not have had.
So in regards to LD, I already have "had something" and learned to compensate without realizing it for many many years, and do things the way I do. For a while I thought most people also did things that way and then learned this was not the case.

for me, losing my hearing has led me to meet wonderful new people and see things in another way, and learn more things. I also take more advantage of my innate visual processing strength.
 
I don't think the sorrow is greater or smaller.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
I would tend to agree with this. I also have a unique perspective, in that, I've already have a deficit to start with. Being born paralyzed, I've never known what it's like to walk, so if I lost my hearing, I'm not sure I'd react. I'd adjust, but still think I'd miss what I didn't have.

Ultimately, though, being deaf is NOT the worst thing that can happen to someone; even late deafness. It's all about perspective, I think. Each person WILL have a grieving process and a sense of "What the heck do I do NOW?" But, if that person was ME, I'd figure out what I needed to do and I'd do it. You can look at a situation either being half empty or half full.
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I agree with this. Even with being late-deafened, some of us (including myself) have had a slow, steady hearing loss, some suddenly woke up deaf, some suffered traumatic injuries or illness that caused sudden deafness.

I would guess that those of us in the "slow, steady loss" category have probably had it easiest, in the sense that maybe we started out with hearing aids, maybe got stronger aids later, maybe figured out various other assistive devices, like shaking alarm clocks and so on. That sort of loss is not the sudden, traumatic, life-changing event that sudden loss is. We had time to adapt. So it's easier to figure out "what I needed to do and do it." More of a step-by-step process in that sense.
 
Beach Girl :giggle:

Beo, I tend to agree with you as I think it could really vary for people.
 
BG, I see what you're saying about the "slow, steady" vs. acute/trauma... that is a significant difference-
 
I totally disagree with this. You have no idea what anyone when through being born deaf or HOH. I was born HOH and when I got older I was very aware that I was missing out on a lot. I had posted that when I was teenager my family call me from downstairs while I was upstairs in my bedroom with my solid wooden door close. They yelling they're going out for dinner ! When I went down no was home and my family came back 2 hours later joking and laughing and had 3 courses meal! This happen to more than once. I left like an outsider
growing up.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I totally disagree with this. You have no idea what anyone when through being born deaf or HOH. I was born HOH and when I got older I was very aware that I was missing out on a lot. I had posted that when I was teenager my family call me from downstairs while I was upstairs in my bedroom with my solid wooden door close. They yelling they're going out for dinner ! When I went down no was home and my family came back 2 hours later joking and laughing and had 3 courses meal! This happen to more than once. I left like an outsider
growing up.
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I have the same views :)
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I totally disagree with this. You have no idea what anyone when through being born deaf or HOH. I was born HOH and when I got older I was very aware that I was missing out on a lot. I had posted that when I was teenager my family call me from downstairs while I was upstairs in my bedroom with my solid wooden door close. They yelling they're going out for dinner ! When I went down no was home and my family came back 2 hours later joking and laughing and had 3 courses meal! This happen to more than once. I left like an outsider
growing up.
Click to expand...

Lissa said:
I have the same views :)
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Me also.
 
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