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Interesting story from a signing deaf of Deaf child whose family opposed CIs, yet who chose to get one as teenager.
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Katherine’s Story, March 31st, 2012
I was born hearing, in a Deaf family, where I grew up with deaf culture, community and sign-language. Our world, especially mine, changed, when we found out I was deaf after I started school. I was then fitted with two (awesome and see-through yellow) hearing aids, and was provided support and an ITOD (itinerant teacher of the deaf) straight away in mainstream school. The doctor said that because I had progressive hearing loss, I would lose my hearing gradually as I grew up, and would be severe-profoundly deaf in my teens. He was right. I went from having a mild hearing loss to severe in ten years. I did fine with hearing aids, but because my hearing was going slowly, I would hear good one day then suddenly I struggle to hear things I would usually hear before. That was incredibly hard, especially when starting intermediate (middle) school and then high school, but I had a signed support, so I didn’t have to struggle so hard. It still had an impact, though, and I was still not accepting being deaf. Long story short, hearing aids did not do enough for me in the end. I was enjoying music less and less, and avoiding hearing people because I was afraid of misunderstanding them or they might not understand me. I also found that picking up different sounds was hard. I missed hearing little things, like the birds, noises from the kitchen etc. I started thinking about having the cochlear implant, after observing how well it worked for others. Of course, I kept my mouth shut. I was being fed with lies and misconceptions about cochlear implants while growing up. I was against it, and knew very well what the reactions would be like if I told anyone, especially my mother. After I decided to get a CI, it took longer than necessary to have one, with my mother being stubborn. She ripped up papers, and hid the consent form in the cupboard. However, she relaxed more and more after various appointments, as the experts explained the facts, what the CI does and how the surgery works. She finally accepted that it was my decision in the end, and she knew I was not fully a Deaf person, and that I missed hearing “normally”. It has been almost four months since I got switched-on, and I’m so happy! I can understand speech way much better, can pick up the little sounds and could finally enjoy music again. I’m not fully satisfied yet, but I know I still got a long way to go, after being deaf for over ten years, and that things will improve over time. I just gotta have patience, and practice, practice, practice!
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