HOH story

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90sWizKid

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So I'm HOH and wear hearing aids most of the time (except when I'm sleeping or home alone)

So I went tailgating with a bunch of my friends last weekend and we all eventually separated and had our own adventures the rest of the night...around 430-500am, I finally get home and crash...I wake up to my mom bursting through my door of my apartment screaming my name. Apparently, while I was sleeping, she called me because she and my father were bringing a couch to my place for me...when I didn't answer, she panicked and called my sister, who called my friend, who in turn, called other people asking them if I was with them. I looked at my phone and had 24 missed calls and messages from everyone...

I told my mom that I don't sleep in my hearing aids so of course I didn't hear her when she called. It kinda sucks being HOH, my family and friends forget that I can't hear sometimes because I wear my hearing aids all of the time...and then there are those moments when I don't, and it's always an issue
 
I know how that feels.
I have the same issues.
You're not alone my friend we're all here for you.

Even a phone on full volume/vibrating doesn't work for me, or when someone yells at me to get my attention...
 
I am HOH as well and can relate. With having Meniere's I have "noise" 24/7, Evan when I take hearing aids out. But can't hear pho e ring, someone knocking on door. with my h/a acting up, been thinking of just taking it out for a day to not have everything amplified.
 
Don't feel too bad, I was born deaf ( My mother and father are not ) and they STILL try to talk to me when I'm turned around, and try to call me. *smh* So yeah, I'm 26 and get this, don't feel too bad. :roll: They've had 26 years to adapt, and still not working for them.... :laugh2: Suppose it's like when the power gets cut and you still try to flip on the lights.... it never quite settles in. Suppose since my siblings are hearing that makes it more difficult.
 
I'm at the beginning of my hoh adventure. I still have to remind MYSELF sometimes! hahaha I get what you're saying though. Everyone around me during the day is Hearing and don't have to think about this kind of thing all the time. I forget that sometimes...*I* am the exception. It's daily life for me but I'm the exception to others' rules for communication.....not that it doesn't drive me up a wall but yeah...
 
Mewtilation said:
Don't feel too bad, I was born deaf ( My mother and father are not ) and they STILL try to talk to me when I'm turned around, and try to call me. *smh* So yeah, I'm 26 and get this, don't feel too bad. :roll: They've had 26 years to adapt, and still not working for them.... :laugh2: Suppose it's like when the power gets cut and you still try to flip on the lights.... it never quite settles in. Suppose since my siblings are hearing that makes it more difficult.
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My parents are the same. I keep my nook with me at all times as it has IP-relay and that is my official number to be reached at, but when I'm at work, he calls there on the phone and he knows I can't hear anything on that, but he calls anyway.

needsleep said:
I'm at the beginning of my hoh adventure. I still have to remind MYSELF sometimes! hahaha I get what you're saying though. Everyone around me during the day is Hearing and don't have to think about this kind of thing all the time. I forget that sometimes...*I* am the exception. It's daily life for me but I'm the exception to others' rules for communication.....not that it doesn't drive me up a wall but yeah...
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I deal with being the exception all the time and yes, it is extremely irritating. I'm still considering just signing that I'm deaf, so people will leave me alone, that has to be a lot less irritating to deal with. Like on Saturday, I was at work and a lady came in and started talking and I couldn't hear a single sound she made, so I just told her right out that I couldn't hear anything she had said and politely asked her to speak up and she just kept talking too low for me to hear, so I had to get a coworker to deal with her.

Once I get my hearing aids soon, I'm wondering if people see it, will the get the hint or will human stupidity continue to ensue?

The main thing I hope for is being able to hear without the mic/ ear buds thing, so many times I wanted to leave at the end of or during class and was unable because I needed the microphone part back from the professor. I feel chained by that, and in the classroom I fear group activities because I only have one mic and the professor uses that, so I either miss what he/she says or miss everything the group says.
 
At my job, no one seems to understand that while I can hear the intercom announcements, I can't always understand what's said. I can't hear people while their back is to me, and I can't hear people at meetings, especially if no one is going to use the microphone...and my boss keeps forgetting that I can't hear on the phone....this isn't the most complicated of disabilities, you'd think they'd get the hang of it after a while....

Laura
 
Lau2046 said:
At my job, no one seems to understand that while I can hear the intercom announcements, I can't always understand what's said. I can't hear people while their back is to me, and I can't hear people at meetings, especially if no one is going to use the microphone...and my boss keeps forgetting that I can't hear on the phone....this isn't the most complicated of disabilities, you'd think they'd get the hang of it after a while....

Laura
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I have one professor that always forgets to turn the mic on, so once I determine class has started and he isn't just talking to random students in the class, I make a gesture pointing to my ear and shake my head.

What is it with people and coming up from behind? No matter how many times this happens, I still get startled when I turn around and they are right there. This happens all the time at work, especially when a patron is on the public computer and they try to get my attention when my back is to them, depending on the air conditioner or heating system and other noise factors, I sometimes hear them, most of the time I don't.

While it isn't the most complicated, it's easy for them to ignore, I mean, why should they care, the problem isn't them, it's us. I wonder if normal hearing people think deaf people are a-holes when they don't reply to them when they aren't in visual range of them? I can sometimes hear someone that I don't see, but not understand them, so that's my alert, but if I couldn't hear at all, and someone spoke to me and I didn't see them, I'm sure many people would assume I was an a-hole rather than make any other logical connection.
 
Saavik said:
Once I get my hearing aids soon, I'm wondering if people see it, will the get the hint or will human stupidity continue to ensue?
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From my experience, almost always the latter. In fact, when I went out to eat the other night and the waitress looked at me and spoke clearly I noticed it. When she came back and got my attention before speaking again, I almost did a dance. That may have been about the 4th time............ ever :)
 
Lau2046 said:
At my job, no one seems to understand that while I can hear the intercom announcements, I can't always understand what's said. I can't hear people while their back is to me, and I can't hear people at meetings, especially if no one is going to use the microphone...and my boss keeps forgetting that I can't hear on the phone....this isn't the most complicated of disabilities, you'd think they'd get the hang of it after a while....

Laura
Click to expand...

I have that happen to all the time when I have to made a phone call to a business. I will tell the person I can hear them fine but I can't understand them. The person does not get it and I really think most hearing people do not get .
 
My family have had 26 years to get used to me being profoundly deaf, but they still talk to me with my back turned or shout me from upstairs etc when I'm round their house.

Work, I just hate! 99% of the time as my job involves water, I don't have my hearing aids in but again,they shout at me to get my attention which just does not work. 13 years on, since I first started at the job, and they still don't get it so don't ever think they will :(
 
NaidaUP said:
My family have had 26 years to get used to me being profoundly deaf, but they still talk to me with my back turned or shout me from upstairs etc when I'm round their house.

Work, I just hate! 99% of the time as my job involves water, I don't have my hearing aids in but again,they shout at me to get my attention which just does not work. 13 years on, since I first started at the job, and they still don't get it so don't ever think they will :(
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My co workers just throw pennies or change at me. I get to keep it, so it's okay. :P
 
NaidaUP said:
If only mine did! My boss likes to chuck sticks at me which hurt! :(
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If they hit me hard with a coin and it stings, they know I'm going to throw it times 10 fold back at them, usually hitting them in the head or face region.... so they've learned to be gentle with them. I have to work with my C.I. which works amazingly and all, but I don't wear it on breaks or anything like that.... that's when the coins come into play. :doh:
 
NaidaUP said:
My family have had 26 years to get used to me being profoundly deaf, but they still talk to me with my back turned or shout me from upstairs etc when I'm round their house.

Work, I just hate! 99% of the time as my job involves water, I don't have my hearing aids in but again,they shout at me to get my attention which just does not work. 13 years on, since I first started at the job, and they still don't get it so don't ever think they will :(
Click to expand...

people in my family still do not get it that I can't hear some sounds . I was in my daughter's car and when we got onto my street which is a dead end street I took off my seat belt and my daughter said to put it back on as the sound is making is awful. I am like what sound ?? It was a high frequency sound and I told my daughter a number of times I can't hear this sound. My mother did the same thing she would talk to behind my back . I hate to say this but you better get use to this , people do forget even people in your family and you'll have to keep reminding them to stop calling you when are upstairs . My family did that too , they call for me when I was upstairs with my bedroom's door closes to say they're going to out to dinner.
Of course I never hear them and when I finally go downstairs no one is home and they'll come back in hour and said they when out to eat but I did not want to go!! WTF!
 
One time recently I was in a store asking if they had a certain item. The <hearing>clerk did not understand me. I tried three times and finally just quit...it wasn't anything dog-related<grin> or I would have persisted. I didn't think to have any paper with me to write on.

whatdidyousay, I often hear that someone has said something but -especially in noise or on the phone of course - I don't know what it was. Or I got "cat" out of sentence.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
people in my family still do not get it that I can't hear some sounds . I was in my daughter's car and when we got onto my street which is a dead end street I took off my seat belt and my daughter said to put it back on as the sound is making is awful. I am like what sound ?? It was a high frequency sound and I told my daughter a number of times I can't hear this sound. My mother did the same thing she would talk to behind my back . I hate to say this but you better get use to this , people do forget even people in your family and you'll have to keep reminding them to stop calling you when are upstairs . My family did that too , they call for me when I was upstairs with my bedroom's door closes to say they're going to out to dinner.
Of course I never hear them and when I finally go downstairs no one is home and they'll come back in hour and said they when out to eat but I did not want to go!! WTF!
Click to expand...

This seems to happen a lot to the late deafened more than the ones that were born deaf. When born deaf, they family is used to the person not hearing and have accustomed to it. The ones however who became deaf later has harder time with the families because the families were used to the person hearing before and when it changes, it becomes hard to change their habits.
 
Thats a good point, I think.

My family had my husband as "prior experience" as he is oral deaf/hoh. He was adopted and raised as mainstream soliaire....born to 15-yr. old who had Rubella.
 
MangaReader said:
This seems to happen a lot to the late deafened more than the ones that were born deaf. When born deaf, they family is used to the person not hearing and have accustomed to it. The ones however who became deaf later has harder time with the families because the families were used to the person hearing before and when it changes, it becomes hard to change their habits.
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But I was born HOH , I did not become HOH as I got older. My family knew I was HOH when I was around 8 yo and they knew this when I was teenager too. They never got it that I have a severe hearing lost.
 
MangaReader said:
This seems to happen a lot to the late deafened more than the ones that were born deaf. When born deaf, they family is used to the person not hearing and have accustomed to it. The ones however who became deaf later has harder time with the families because the families were used to the person hearing before and when it changes, it becomes hard to change their habits.
Click to expand...

I grew up with exceptional hearing up until last year. I'm definitely finding this to be true in my case. Friends and family have to un-learn and re-learn how to get my attention, not to talk to my back, to turn the radio down first, etc, etc... Oddly enough, it's the friends that have gone away to school or are back in my hometown that adjust easier. They don't have to transition slowly and learn every little thing as they come up. It's just *BOOM* one giant thing that is different and, I think, easier to remember. I guess it's like seeing children only once in a while vs every day. If you see them every day, you don't notice them growing as much as the great-aunt that sees them and screams, "Oh my GAWD! Look at how much you've GROWN!"

Ok, kinda long, winding explanation of what I mean...but you know what I'm trying to say? (I hope? haha)
 
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