getting hearing aids for the first time.

Hi Shy Girl (et alia)

I see you've posted in a number of places the same thing so I'll just link to my comment in an other thread.

http://www.alldeaf.com/hearing-aids-cochlear-implants/55005-how-many-hours-day-do-u-wear-ur-hearing-aids.html#post1046076

Please read it - I hope it will help ! Also feel free to PM me here - or IM me, I'd love to chat with you and hopefully help you work through some of the nervousness and answer some of the questions you might have.
 
I added you on aim...i guess ur not on much tho cuz i have yet to see u online..hmm i dunno..But getting my ha was one of the best decisions i have made. Esp in regards to school and overall everyday environments..it can be stressful to not hear so after u get ur ha's im telling you it will be a weight off ur shoulders..i also did NOT like wearing my hair up for awhile after i got mine..but then i was like who cares wat ppl think..and now i wear it up if i want to i dont care wat ppl think esp if they know i am hoh rite away they can help me out by annunciatig and speaking clearly
 
Bebonang said:
I understand your fears of wearing a hearing aid or hearing aids. Yes, you have to let the audiologist know and will give you a hearing test to find out what is your hearing loss (hearing graph that will show how much hearing loss you have lost so far). There is nothing to be scare of now that you are late deafen at seventeen years old or was it little bit earlier when you lose your hearing. You will just have to adjust to your hard of hearing or deaf and move on. We will help you if you keep on posting us for any questions or information that we can help you with. Just take one day at a time and you will be fine. Just take a deep breathe and relax. Be proud of who you are as a person and learn to live with your hearing loss. Don't be afraid, okay? :cool:
Click to expand...

i lost it at 15 and a half, but have put off, getting hearing aids off until now. even tho i can keep putting them off.
im more afraid of gettin them then ever. as a day nears me gettin my hearing aids i get more scared, and nervous.
 
I did that. my hearing aid and mold is pink. I love pink.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jillio said:
all33stars said:
I also was thinking about putting it off...until I spoke with my Deaf ed advisor. He helped me realize everything that I've been missing hearing for over 4 years...which I just never realized that I wasn't hearing (like paper crumpling, birds singing, people walking, etc.). He told me flat out that the world is going to seem very "loud" when I first get hearing aids...not because the volume it too loud, but because I'll be hearing things that I just haven't heard in such a long time! He said that the longer I wait, the more accustomed I'll be to living in such a quiet world...and it'll be harder and harder to adjust to actually hearing what's around me again...
That's only one of the reasons I'm so insistent on getting these aids now (there's a ton of other reasons)...but I didn't realize what all I was missing until now...
I guess I'm willing to deal with the self-conciousness, self-esteem issues now...because I also know they're not going to disappear either if I wait.[/QUOTE]

How very true. You have 2 choices...you can either be afraid and nervous without the aids, or you can be afraid and nervous with the aids. Getting rid of the fear and self conscoiusness means you have to address it and get on the other side of it. In the meantime, you will be better able to hear with the hearing aids.
Click to expand...


which choice is better?
i know and i will be grateful
Click to expand...
 
well - if you're concerned about losing your friends... consider this situation -

since you're getting HA (hearing aids), it means you're having difficulty hearing people talking to you. If that's the case, then you will be having trouble communicating with your friends and then they'll soon realize that you're deaf. or you can wear your HA with your hair covering it... nobody's going to notice. so it's a win-win situation.

And you're only 17 years old... you're off to college soon! they're usually very open-minded about everything because they are disabled in some ways as well - learning disability, dyslexic, wheelchair, etc. etc. Don't be afraid because HA experience is exactly like getting your glasses. You have to take eye exams... "better or worse?"... finding right frame... finding right lens... and then that's it.

same for getting HA - to find right system for you... to program it based on your hearing loss... and getting ear mold to fit your ears... and that's it! all to better life!
 
:gpost: I agree with you! I hope Shy Girl will understand.

jiro123 said:
well - if you're concerned about losing your friends... consider this situation -

since you're getting HA (hearing aids), it means you're having difficulty hearing people talking to you. If that's the case, then you will be having trouble communicating with your friends and then they'll soon realize that you're deaf. or you can wear your HA with your hair covering it... nobody's going to notice. so it's a win-win situation.

And you're only 17 years old... you're off to college soon! they're usually very open-minded about everything because they are disabled in some ways as well - learning disability, dyslexic, wheelchair, etc. etc. Don't be afraid because HA experience is exactly like getting your glasses. You have to take eye exams... "better or worse?"... finding right frame... finding right lens... and then that's it.

same for getting HA - to find right system for you... to program it based on your hearing loss... and getting ear mold to fit your ears... and that's it! all to better life!
Click to expand...
 
shy girl said:
o, ok.
wot if im never happy wearing them? and wot if they will always feel weird?

no, i havent.
hmm. im scared of losing my friends. do i have to tell them?

i have lost half of my hearing in one ear and 3/4 in the other ear.
(Severe Hearing Loss.)


my mum wants me to get behind the ear hearing aids.
Click to expand...

Your mum wants bte for you ? I also posted in your other thread where you said your parents don't know about the hearing aids.

Which is it? Are you real?
 
What about meeting other deaf or hoh people? Maybe by meeting others like you will help ease your nervousness about hearing HAs?
 
jiro123 said:
well - if you're concerned about losing your friends... consider this situation -

since you're getting HA (hearing aids), it means you're having difficulty hearing people talking to you. If that's the case, then you will be having trouble communicating with your friends and then they'll soon realize that you're deaf. or you can wear your HA with your hair covering it... nobody's going to notice. so it's a win-win situation.

And you're only 17 years old... you're off to college soon! they're usually very open-minded about everything because they are disabled in some ways as well - learning disability, dyslexic, wheelchair, etc. etc. Don't be afraid because HA experience is exactly like getting your glasses. You have to take eye exams... "better or worse?"... finding right frame... finding right lens... and then that's it.

same for getting HA - to find right system for you... to program it based on your hearing loss... and getting ear mold to fit your ears... and that's it! all to better life!
Click to expand...

Thats excatly right, Jiro!
 
I agree with Shel! Hey Shy Girl. You're not only one hoh in UK. Many deaf and hoh live in UK. You will meet them and learn from them. If you like to learn sign languages. It's not a shame to learn. Sign languages is cool! You don't have to be shy being hoh with HA. Just keep in post for next 3 weeks when you get first HA. Can you update and post a thread about your first HA for experience? Don't be scare. You will be fine. Trust at us!

shel90 said:
What about meeting other deaf or hoh people? Maybe by meeting others like you will help ease your nervousness about hearing HAs?
Click to expand...
 
~♥~Pinky~♥~ said:
I agree with Shel! Hey Shy Girl. You're not only one hoh in UK. Many deaf and hoh live in UK. You will meet them and learn from them. If you like to learn sign languages. It's not a shame to learn. Sign languages is cool! You don't have to be shy being hoh with HA. Just keep in post for next 3 weeks when you get first HA. Can you update and post a thread about your first HA for experience? Don't be scare. You will be fine. Trust at us!
Click to expand...

I agreee with u but I remember when I was 15 years old...I was ASHAMED of having Hearing Aids and being Deaf cuz I was around only hearing people. I was encoraged to meet others like me but at 15, I refused cuz I thought I was "better" than them. Stupid me...pls pls shygirl...DO NOT make the same stupid mistakes I did..pls embrace those who are like u and try to learn sign language. That was my biggest regret...not willing to learn ASL when I had the opportunity to do due to my shame of being deaf.
 
i think she meant thats wat her mom wants but she doesnt know that she is going thru the process of actually getting ha's.
 
shel90 said:
I agreee with u but I remember when I was 15 years old...I was ASHAMED of having Hearing Aids and being Deaf cuz I was around only hearing people. I was encoraged to meet others like me but at 15, I refused cuz I thought I was "better" than them. Stupid me...pls pls shygirl...DO NOT make the same stupid mistakes I did..pls embrace those who are like u and try to learn sign language. That was my biggest regret...not willing to learn ASL when I had the opportunity to do due to my shame of being deaf.
Click to expand...

:gpost: Right on, Shel. Shygirl, there is nothing to be afraid unless you can conquer your fears about getting your hearing aids. It sounds like as if you are afraid of going to the dentist to have your teeth check which is what you are thinking of worry about putting the hearing aids in your ears. You just going to have to face up to it if you want to hear sounds. Just like Shel said, don't make the mistake like Shel went through. Put your chin up, be proud of who you are and embrace your hearing loss whether you are hard of hearing or deaf. Just go to the audiologist and get that done and you will feel better. And take the advice from Pinky on the last sentence to keep us on update of your first hearing aids. Good luck. :cool:
 
shel90 said:
I agreee with u but I remember when I was 15 years old...I was ASHAMED of having Hearing Aids and being Deaf cuz I was around only hearing people. I was encoraged to meet others like me but at 15, I refused cuz I thought I was "better" than them. Stupid me...pls pls shygirl...DO NOT make the same stupid mistakes I did..pls embrace those who are like u and try to learn sign language. That was my biggest regret...not willing to learn ASL when I had the opportunity to do due to my shame of being deaf.
Click to expand...

That's true. When I was around with hearing people. I was shy to communicate with them through write on a note. But I am very brave to meet them if they know sign language with ABC. Then I wasn't shy. I was happy to teach them a sign language since they asked me to teach them.

Shygirl is from UK. She have to learn BSL or other sign language. I don't know about UK's deaf culture. :dunno: I did feel shame being deaf when I was 16 when I went to Peace House for teenager. The hearing people notice that I didn't speak at all. They tried to talk to me. I told them I can't hear. They said ohh and start to fingerspelling with sign. I was smile! They saw my hemp necklaces that I made. They wanted to buy it from me. They love my jewelry making. They know ABC and sign language a little bit. Is that cool?
 
new to the hearing aid?....no biggie

when I first got mine I was 6 years old I remember coming out of the building and just standing there, mom was with me It was in 1993, anyhoos I just stood there and I turned too mom and I said "I can hear" I hear birds, the wind going across my ear, people talking, it was the greatest experience I ever had, I cant really explain what the feeling was like but it was wonderful, but more than that, I was happy, my family was happy, it worked out. Youll do fine and im sure youll see its a great experience.
Your friend Babyface
 
Mod's Note:

Both threads has been merged and some double posts were removed.
 
~♥~Pinky~♥~ said:
I agree with Shel! Hey Shy Girl. You're not only one hoh in UK. Many deaf and hoh live in UK. You will meet them and learn from them. If you like to learn sign languages. It's not a shame to learn. Sign languages is cool! You don't have to be shy being hoh with HA. Just keep in post for next 3 weeks when you get first HA. Can you update and post a thread about your first HA for experience? Don't be scare. You will be fine. Trust at us!
Click to expand...

hopefully, yes.
ok, i will.
i cant help being scared.
idk about me being fine.
 
jiro123 said:
well - if you're concerned about losing your friends... consider this situation -

since you're getting HA (hearing aids), it means you're having difficulty hearing people talking to you. If that's the case, then you will be having trouble communicating with your friends and then they'll soon realize that you're deaf. or you can wear your HA with your hair covering it... nobody's going to notice. so it's a win-win situation.

And you're only 17 years old... you're off to college soon! they're usually very open-minded about everything because they are disabled in some ways as well - learning disability, dyslexic, wheelchair, etc. etc. Don't be afraid because HA experience is exactly like getting your glasses. You have to take eye exams... "better or worse?"... finding right frame... finding right lens... and then that's it.

same for getting HA - to find right system for you... to program it based on your hearing loss... and getting ear mold to fit your ears... and that's it! all to better life!
Click to expand...

yeah, that is the case. true, true. but what about for sports? i would need to tie my hair up.

yeah, but im scared the hearing aids are goin to bung up my ears and they are noticeable.
 
Back
Top