What is HOH vs deaf?

TexansFan

TexansFan

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OK, I am sure this is a dumb question and maybe not eve really relevant to most. I am new here, but have read many posts on this forum for several months. I lost my hearing due to Meneiere's about a year ago. I wear bilateral BTE hearing aids.

If I take them out, I can only hear sounds above 70-100 dB. I can understand people who face me when they talk, and I can use a telephone if it is HA enabled.

So is this considered HOH or deaf? Does it matter? Please excuse my ignorance. I am still in denial about this hearing loss.
 
Depends on how you identify yourself. I'm HOH and can't hear very well without my hearing aids and I have a phone that has a volume on it and I crank it up so I can hear on it...... and my husband too he can stand across the room and hear everything that the other person is saying on it, LOL. So I consider myself deaf. I sign in ASL or PSE to my deaf friends. Some people consider me deaf some people consider me as HOH. By considering myself being deaf gives me a sense of who I am.

I hope everything works out for you and hopefully you can go to the Deaf Service center in you area they can help you and lead you to the right direction. and they will be able to help you get a phone for the HOH with volume control so you can be able to hear on it.

Anyways Welcome to AD. :welcome:
 
From a pathological view, you are HOH but from a cultural view, you choose to use whatever identity you want. It is your right. :)
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum, TexasFan. Shel90 is correct. It is up to you whatever you want to call yourself hard of hearing or deaf. The way I read your thread explaining your hearing loss. You are consider to be hard of hearing because you can hear without hearing aid only close up front of you. With the phone, you only need to have a volume in the receiver so that you can hear better what the person is saying on the other line. I am Deaf which mean I don't understand what the person say in front of me very much as I do lipread but not perfectly clear. I can not use the phone, so I have to use the TDD to communicate with hearing people through the relay and type directly to deaf people who have TDD. Now I learn there is a videophone on the computer to communicate with the interpreters. I have not use it yet. Someday I will try this out and not have to use the TDD anymore. :dunno: You are welcome to talk with any of us here on our threads. Don't be shy and come have fun with us with many deaf topic or non deaf topic. :wave:
 
Bebonang said:
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum, TexasFan. Shel90 is correct. It is up to you whatever you want to call yourself hard of hearing or deaf. The way I read your thread explaining your hearing loss. You are consider to be hard of hearing because you can hear without hearing aid only close up front of you. With the phone, you only need to have a volume in the receiver so that you can hear better what the person is saying on the other line. I am Deaf which mean I don't understand what the person say in front of me very much as I do lipread but not perfectly clear. I can not use the phone, so I have to use the TDD to communicate with hearing people through the relay and type directly to deaf people who have TDD. Now I learn there is a videophone on the computer to communicate with the interpreters. I have not use it yet. Someday I will try this out and not have to use the TDD anymore. :dunno: You are welcome to talk with any of us here on our threads. Don't be shy and come have fun with us with many deaf topic or non deaf topic. :wave:
Click to expand...


U HAVE to get a VP!!! I love it!!!! At first, I didnt use it much but now I cant live without it. LOL!

Yeppers, from a pathological perspective, I am deaf but I didnt grow up culturally Deaf so HOH people who grew up in the Deaf community are more Deaf than me. :giggle: Confusing, heh?
 
I really believe this is a matter of how the

individual feels. In reality, if one can not hear w/ out asssistance of an aide- I would consider them deaf. However, those that can hear something /understand w/ volume adjustments and hearing aide would be more on the HOH scale.

However, I consider myself deaf in one ear. Even with an aide, I can not understand a thing. My other ear is HOH and needs assistance.

So I quess I a Hard of hearing, deaf girl:giggle:
 
According to my audiogram, I'm hard of hearing but I call myself 'Deaf' because I grew up in residential school, am culturally Deaf. My mother is Deaf, also so therefore ASL is my 1st language.. I was once called as "hearie" ('hearing' on forehead) because I asked for a 'diet coke' by speaking instead of writing down on a piece of paper! Boy, was I :pissed:?!? Anyway, later this person who called me as 'hearie' aplogized to me once she found out who I am. FYI: being hard of hearing IS my handicap! I prefer to be totally Deaf - not hear a thing!
 
Welcome to AD.com

I am profoundly deaf in one ear (HAs in that ear do not help) and I am HOH in the other ear and can only hear sounds above a certain level. Used to wear a HA but it made me have severe headaches and dizziness so I stopped wearing it against my parents wishes. I was mainstreamed my entire life and like Shel how I learned is beyond me, lol.

I rely very heavily on speech reading (aka lip reading) to communicate, and I am in the learning process of ASL.

I used to identify myself as hard of hearing because I was raised thinking that calling myself deaf would only hold me back. Now I call myself deaf, and its opened doors for me. My parents arent happy about and think I am sentencing myself to a life of little money and what not. If so its not my fault that I was born deaf, its not my fault that everyone else has such a negative opinion of being deaf or what the deaf are capable of.

Ive now learned that being deaf isnt everything I am, but its a part of who I am as a whole person, if a person likes me, then they have to also like my deafness, there is no exclusion.
 
Every hoh is also deaf .. me included :)

In my opinion, hoh is a person who is deaf and can get benefit from devices such as hearing aids.



Dixie said:
...

if a person likes me, then they have to also like my deafness, there is no exclusion.
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well said :D
 
shel90 said:
U HAVE to get a VP!!! I love it!!!! At first, I didnt use it much but now I cant live without it. LOL!

Yeppers, from a pathological perspective, I am deaf but I didnt grow up culturally Deaf so HOH people who grew up in the Deaf community are more Deaf than me. :giggle: Confusing, heh?
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DITTO... I felt same way at first about VP.. now I love it...i can talk to my daughter through VP... no long distance calls... she lives in Tennessee and I live in Southern Calfornia...

She used to call and asked if i would accept her call.. I always said Yes.. I had to pay for it... Thats alright... now we can chat through VP every week...

In my opinion...HOH is under the DEAF CATEGORY....I was born HOH... I still consdier myself Deaf... My parents were deaf...
 
TexansFan said:
OK, I am sure this is a dumb question and maybe not eve really relevant to most. I am new here, but have read many posts on this forum for several months. I lost my hearing due to Meneiere's about a year ago. I wear bilateral BTE hearing aids.

If I take them out, I can only hear sounds above 70-100 dB. I can understand people who face me when they talk, and I can use a telephone if it is HA enabled.

So is this considered HOH or deaf? Does it matter? Please excuse my ignorance. I am still in denial about this hearing loss.
Click to expand...

I'm curious - what do you mean by "still in denial about this hearing loss?" Do you mean you're still in "shock" that this has happened to you? There's an organization you might want to look into (excuse my unsolicated advice - I can't help myself ...it's a "teacher thing") : Center for Hearing Loss Help which is run by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
Phone: 717-993-8555 and FAX: 717-993-6661; They have a website and some of the information pertains to your situation. I personally never had the experience of being hearing and then losing it...but I can imagine it can be difficult especially if it happened suddenly.
 
Dixie said:
I used to identify myself as hard of hearing because I was raised thinking that calling myself deaf would only hold me back. Now I call myself deaf, and its opened doors for me. My parents arent happy about and think I am sentencing myself to a life of little money and what not. If so its not my fault that I was born deaf, its not my fault that everyone else has such a negative opinion of being deaf or what the deaf are capable of. Ive now learned that being deaf isnt everything I am, but its a part of who I am as a whole person, if a person likes me, then they have to also like my deafness, there is no exclusion.
Click to expand...

Your parents are scared of the unknown. If they had met us and other successful & educated deafies then they'd be more accepting of the deaf identity for you.

Amen to the latter comment. :gpost:
 
lilraysofhope said:
individual feels. In reality, if one can not hear w/ out asssistance of an aide- I would consider them deaf. However, those that can hear something /understand w/ volume adjustments and hearing aide would be more on the HOH scale.

However, I consider myself deaf in one ear. Even with an aide, I can not understand a thing. My other ear is HOH and needs assistance.

So I quess I a Hard of hearing, deaf girl:giggle:
Click to expand...

No, you are not hard of hearing because you can not hear a thing even if you have a hearing aid. I don't know if the hearing aid need to be fix but you are truly deaf, not one or other just plain deaf is enough. You are just fine and be proud of being deaf. Am I making too much for you on that? :fingersx:
 
Well, sadly on the left side I am deaf

and on the right I am HOH. I can hear at about 60 db on the right. That is part of what makes it so hard. I am EXPECTED to hear KWIM?
 
i say i'm both. hoh with my cochlear on, deaf with it off. i was born deaf but i grew up orally, lipreading, and all that crap.

now i'm starting to identify myself as Deaf ... i still say i'm both because people argue with me about it. they say i'm hoh when really, i'm Deaf cuz i was born deaf and i was just helped with hearing aids, that died out. then i'm helped with cochlear implants. whatever.
 
Dixie said:
Welcome to AD.com

I am profoundly deaf in one ear (HAs in that ear do not help) and I am HOH in the other ear and can only hear sounds above a certain level. Used to wear a HA but it made me have severe headaches and dizziness so I stopped wearing it against my parents wishes. I was mainstreamed my entire life and like Shel how I learned is beyond me, lol.

I rely very heavily on speech reading (aka lip reading) to communicate, and I am in the learning process of ASL.

I used to identify myself as hard of hearing because I was raised thinking that calling myself deaf would only hold me back. Now I call myself deaf, and its opened doors for me. My parents arent happy about and think I am sentencing myself to a life of little money and what not. If so its not my fault that I was born deaf, its not my fault that everyone else has such a negative opinion of being deaf or what the deaf are capable of.

Ive now learned that being deaf isnt everything I am, but its a part of who I am as a whole person, if a person likes me, then they have to also like my deafness, there is no exclusion.
Click to expand...

Well said, Dixie! :gpost:
 
Not all hard of hearing are deaf. The person with verrrrry mild hearing loss from playing their ipod to loud is definitely not deaf.
 
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