Adjustment to late onset deafness

meant kindly- I think a great role model or counselor for someone who is late-deafened...is someone else who is also late-deaf.
and/or someone who is Deaf!

kjohns92, you can major in it and try to understand it all you want...but it's not the same as BEING -
 
Great Idea

kjohns92 said:
Lately, I've been thinking about how hard the transition is, to go from hearing to deaf later in life. No one really hears about it, or at least no one I know of. I'm fully hearing, with one hoh friend, so I can't imagine what it would be like going through that specific change, but as I go through school ('terp training), the more I realize how few people there are to help guide the ones having the late transition from hearing to deaf. I wonder whether or not they have transitions counselors that specialize in helping ones go through the changes of hearing loss, or even late transitions from deaf to hearing(for those who make the decision to get cochlear implants). I'm thinking about possibly double-majoring, because of this. :hmm: What do y'all think?
Click to expand...

I think it is a great idea. I lost all of my hearing overnight. No problems with hearing before that time. So I was thrown into a world of the unknown. I couldn't communicate with anyone, pen and paper were my only option.. Unfortunately 8 months later this is still my main source of communication. I am learning ASL but it is difficult to grasp it when you have been hearing your whole life. Tutors are very hard to find. So any work you can do for thr deaf would be a great option for you. Good Luck!!!!
 
dogmom said:
meant kindly- I think a great role model or counselor for someone who is late-deafened...is someone else who is also late-deaf.
and/or someone who is Deaf!

kjohns92, you can major in it and try to understand it all you want...but it's not the same as BEING -
Click to expand...

I agree, and unless I went deaf myself that would be hard to effectively do. I look at it, though, from the perspective that the transition from hearing to deaf is a life transition, a big one. We go through a lot of transitions. Some from rich to broke, some dirt poor to doin alright, some moving from one state to another, or a city dominated by a specific culture to another city dominated by a new culture they know nothing about, in Michael Jackson's case: his transition from black man to white woman (only teasing! i promise). With as many transitions life's taken me through just in the past 2 years, for a while I just felt helpless and lost. Literally wasted myself away. For someone to lose hearing, I can imagine that it changes so many different aspects of the life they were used to that they feel the same way. That's why I'd like to learn how to help with the transitioning stages, because to find yourself in a place that dangerously low due to a hard time adapting, is a very scary thing, and I haven't seen very many late-deafened/Deaf in that field.. although I wish there were more.

(Side note: My thought was more the idea of counseling from an emotional aspect, rather than physical, though seeing from your point, I can see how being counseled by someone who hasn't been through your situation would add to the frustration of it, rather than help you deal with it.)
 
Angle1989 said:
I think it is a great idea. I lost all of my hearing overnight. No problems with hearing before that time. So I was thrown into a world of the unknown. I couldn't communicate with anyone, pen and paper were my only option.. Unfortunately 8 months later this is still my main source of communication. I am learning ASL but it is difficult to grasp it when you have been hearing your whole life. Tutors are very hard to find. So any work you can do for thr deaf would be a great option for you. Good Luck!!!!
Click to expand...

As much as I'd like to, I think the Deaf should be the ones to teach their language. I have Deaf professors in my training course/degree course/whatever you wanna call it, and I honestly don't think I could learn ASL better from anyone hearing. And I'd feel the same way about any other language. You can't learn authentic English from a person whose first native language is Amharic or Vietnamese. Just like I wouldn't want anyone whose first language is English trying to teach those languages to me. I just feel like to get a better grasp on the language and its depth, it should be taught by people originally using it
 
kjohns92 said:
Lately, I've been thinking about how hard the transition is, to go from hearing to deaf later in life. No one really hears about it, or at least no one I know of. I'm fully hearing, with one hoh friend, so I can't imagine what it would be like going through that specific change, but as I go through school ('terp training), the more I realize how few people there are to help guide the ones having the late transition from hearing to deaf. I wonder whether or not they have transitions counselors that specialize in helping ones go through the changes of hearing loss, or even late transitions from deaf to hearing(for those who make the decision to get cochlear implants). I'm thinking about possibly double-majoring, because of this. :hmm: What do y'all think?
Click to expand...

There are a lot of people right here that are very supportive of adults going through a sudden deafness. I bolded the parts of your post that has me concerned. Ask yourself why you are considering this. If, your answer is either:
* because deaf people are cool
* I want to help deaf people

Then you probably need to get more involved with the deaf folks in your area because these are not good enough reasons.

Yes, we need more interpreters, counselors, and therapists. but we also need more waiters, taxi drivers, bankers, teachers, doctors that know deaf culture and ASL.

By this I mean to say, find where your heart really wants to go and take your ASL and knowledge of deaf culture with you. Don't feel like your options are limited. But if you really want to work with the deaf... You first need to see how the deaf can do anything (yes anything) except hear.
 
Cheetah said:
There are a lot of people right here that are very supportive of adults going through a sudden deafness. I bolded the parts of your post that has me concerned. Ask yourself why you are considering this. If, your answer is either:
* because deaf people are cool
* I want to help deaf people

Then you probably need to get more involved with the deaf folks in your area because these are not good enough reasons.

Yes, we need more interpreters, counselors, and therapists. but we also need more waiters, taxi drivers, bankers, teachers, doctors that know deaf culture and ASL.

By this I mean to say, find where your heart really wants to go and take your ASL and knowledge of deaf culture with you. Don't feel like your options are limited. But if you really want to work with the deaf... You first need to see how the deaf can do anything (yes anything) except hear.
Click to expand...

Not saying at all that the Deaf are at a disadvantage, and my answer to your question would be neither of the ones you posted. In the last few years I've been through a lot of transitions, dealt with huge changes: from engaged to single, from having a little sister to having a little sister who's a mother, from having a father to not having a father, from not living in the same place for more than 2 years at a time to getting used to having what most people call a "home" and having to move all over again, from not having made a clear decision on what to do with my life in high school to guessing and going to college> to unemployed> to dropping out> to regaining employment and going back to college for what I've wanted to do since I was 7. And that's less than half of them.

I decided to take interpreter classes, not because I thought the Deaf community needed help from hearing, I know Deaf people are completely capable, if not more-so in some aspects than hearing people. I decided to learn ASL bc of my respect for Deaf culture and the community. I've had a draw to it ever since I was young, so finally getting a chance to have a formal learning situation instead of having to go through inaccurate website to inaccurate dictionary back to inaccurate website, I've read through a lot of reactions to the news "you/your child is deaf". A lot of the time all people get is a pamphlet or some other impersonal form of consolation, a few websites, and then after that: decision time. And most "professionals" want to "fix" people. They don't give any real information on the Deaf community. They don't give any information on what Deaf culture really is. And so a person's first natural reaction, based on this lack of information, is to freak out hardcore. So, in a way, you could say my motivation isn't to help the Deaf (in the sense of the idea that the Deaf need "help" or "fixing" from a hearing person), but to help the hearing understand that going deaf is a change, but it doesn't mean it's a bad one.
 
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kjohns92 said:
Not saying at all that the Deaf are at a disadvantage, and my answer to your question would be neither of the ones you posted. In the last few years I've been through a lot of transitions, dealt with huge changes: from engaged to single, from having a little sister to having a little sister who's a mother, from having a father to not having a father, from not living in the same place for more than 2 years at a time to getting used to having what most people call a "home" and having to move all over again, from not having made a clear decision on what to do with my life in high school to guessing and going to college> to unemployed> to dropping out> to regaining employment and going back to college for what I've wanted to do since I was 7. And that's less than half of them.

I decided to take interpreter classes, not because I thought the Deaf community needed help from hearing, I know Deaf people are completely capable, if not more-so in some aspects than hearing people. I decided to learn ASL bc of my respect for Deaf culture and the community. I've had a draw to it ever since I was young, so finally getting a chance to have a formal learning situation instead of having to go through inaccurate website to inaccurate dictionary back to inaccurate website, I've read through a lot of reactions to the news "you/your child is deaf". A lot of the time all people get is a pamphlet or some other impersonal form of consolation, a few websites, and then after that: decision time. And most "professionals" want to "fix" people. They don't give any real information on the Deaf community. They don't give any information on what Deaf culture really is. And so a person's first natural reaction, based on this lack of information, is to freak out hardcore. So, in a way, you could say my motivation isn't to help the Deaf (in the sense of the idea that the Deaf need "help" or "fixing" from a hearing person), but to help the hearing understand that going deaf is a change, but it doesn't mean it's a bad one.
Click to expand...

:D I'm speechless! (in a good way! LOL!) :ty:
 
I'm brand new here and may make a complete fool of myself (I'm rather good at that) ((and really mad at this new keyboard which has a different 'touch' from my last one, so I make a lot of typos that spell check doesn't always catch))

I was not a bad kid, didn't crank up the volume on the 'stereo' back in the 60's, so hearing loss is not due to environmental exposure. When in loud places, I used earplugs or earmuffs.

I started going downhill hearingwise after back surgery 28 years ago, neuro something or other, but still functional. A year ago, it got much worse. Been to a bunch of neurologists and will have more back surgery soon. But little prospect of hearing improvement. HA's don't really help. I can hear some sounds, but cannot make out words. Reading lips helps, although not useful for phone calls. Hearing threshold >100 db, both ears. Rather annoying, I can finally afford a good stereo, can no longer hear it. Pushing 60, and I fear the dog is too old to learn ASL. Worse, none of the folks I work(ed) with know ASL.

I had hoped to find an app for some smartphone that would convert speech to text on incoming calls, so I could read what the person at the other end said. Can convert on my end, for email and text messaging, which is not what I need. AT&T ignored me, Sprint got totally confused, Verizon said it would be a great thing, but they didn't know of such an app.

And, alas, most of the time when I ask folks to speak slowly, they speak faster.
 
AliciaM said:
I started to notice my tinnitus first, and then I noticed that I was losing my hearing. I was about 16 when that happened. I went to an ent/audi who told me to lay off the caffeine and such for the tinnitus and to deal with the hearing loss. I then went to CHEO and the audi told me as well almost the same thing and told me I didn't need hearing aids even though I was struggling a lot in school. I finally went to a diff place the summer I graduated from high school when I turned 18 and I got my first hearing aid for my right and then I just recently got a new set of hearing aids for both ears since I lost more hearing. My hearing loss is supposedly genetic and progressive and they don't know if it will get worse. I have been interested in ASL for a long time and am taking ASL 1 in the summer:)
Click to expand...

I have the same situation as you, almost exactly ! I'm fifteen and started noticing my hearing loss in november, but apparentally it's genetic. before then I had a lot of tinnitus (for as long as I can remember... ) but I'm Mormon and i don't drink caffeine, so my audiologist kind of had a situation on his hands. :3 I still haven't gotten my hearing aids. It's progressive for me too, and they're saying I'll be profoundly deaf by my senior year. I'll be sixteen on the 24th. :D
 
Old Grouch said:
I'm brand new here and may make a complete fool of myself (I'm rather good at that) ((and really mad at this new keyboard which has a different 'touch' from my last one, so I make a lot of typos that spell check doesn't always catch))

I was not a bad kid, didn't crank up the volume on the 'stereo' back in the 60's, so hearing loss is not due to environmental exposure. When in loud places, I used earplugs or earmuffs.

I started going downhill hearingwise after back surgery 28 years ago, neuro something or other, but still functional. A year ago, it got much worse. Been to a bunch of neurologists and will have more back surgery soon. But little prospect of hearing improvement. HA's don't really help. I can hear some sounds, but cannot make out words. Reading lips helps, although not useful for phone calls. Hearing threshold >100 db, both ears. Rather annoying, I can finally afford a good stereo, can no longer hear it. Pushing 60, and I fear the dog is too old to learn ASL. Worse, none of the folks I work(ed) with know ASL.

I had hoped to find an app for some smartphone that would convert speech to text on incoming calls, so I could read what the person at the other end said. Can convert on my end, for email and text messaging, which is not what I need. AT&T ignored me, Sprint got totally confused, Verizon said it would be a great thing, but they didn't know of such an app.

And, alas, most of the time when I ask folks to speak slowly, they speak faster.
Click to expand...

In the technology section of this website, there are a few threads on smartphone apps and voice-to-text technology. As far as I know, there isn't anything that does what you want. The nearest I know of is an app that can be used in face-to-face conversations - but it only works for short phrases. As far as I know, the best solution is still to use a relay service.
 
kjohns92 said:
Not saying at all that the Deaf are at a disadvantage, and my answer to your question would be neither of the ones you posted. In the last few years I've been through a lot of transitions, dealt with huge changes: from engaged to single, from having a little sister to having a little sister who's a mother, from having a father to not having a father, from not living in the same place for more than 2 years at a time to getting used to having what most people call a "home" and having to move all over again, from not having made a clear decision on what to do with my life in high school to guessing and going to college> to unemployed> to dropping out> to regaining employment and going back to college for what I've wanted to do since I was 7. And that's less than half of them.

I decided to take interpreter classes, not because I thought the Deaf community needed help from hearing, I know Deaf people are completely capable, if not more-so in some aspects than hearing people. I decided to learn ASL bc of my respect for Deaf culture and the community. I've had a draw to it ever since I was young, so finally getting a chance to have a formal learning situation instead of having to go through inaccurate website to inaccurate dictionary back to inaccurate website, I've read through a lot of reactions to the news "you/your child is deaf". A lot of the time all people get is a pamphlet or some other impersonal form of consolation, a few websites, and then after that: decision time. And most "professionals" want to "fix" people. They don't give any real information on the Deaf community. They don't give any information on what Deaf culture really is. And so a person's first natural reaction, based on this lack of information, is to freak out hardcore. So, in a way, you could say my motivation isn't to help the Deaf (in the sense of the idea that the Deaf need "help" or "fixing" from a hearing person), but to help the hearing understand that going deaf is a change, but it doesn't mean it's a bad one.
Click to expand...

As someone who is currently experiencing the distressing sense of isolation as my increasing hearing loss takes me out of the hearing world, I can say that I would have appreciated being able to talk to a counsellor to help me cope with the transition. As it happened, I discovered this forum and it is through the material I've read here on AD that I discovered that becoming d/Deaf can be a positive change. Interestingly, I now need to find a new career and one option I'm considering is about becoming a counsellor specifically focusing on helping hearing people cope with profound hearing loss.
 
Old Grouch said:
I'm brand new here and may make a complete fool of myself (I'm rather good at that) ((and really mad at this new keyboard which has a different 'touch' from my last one, so I make a lot of typos that spell check doesn't always catch))

I was not a bad kid, didn't crank up the volume on the 'stereo' back in the 60's, so hearing loss is not due to environmental exposure. When in loud places, I used earplugs or earmuffs.

I started going downhill hearingwise after back surgery 28 years ago, neuro something or other, but still functional. A year ago, it got much worse. Been to a bunch of neurologists and will have more back surgery soon. But little prospect of hearing improvement. HA's don't really help. I can hear some sounds, but cannot make out words. Reading lips helps, although not useful for phone calls. Hearing threshold >100 db, both ears. Rather annoying, I can finally afford a good stereo, can no longer hear it. Pushing 60, and I fear the dog is too old to learn ASL. Worse, none of the folks I work(ed) with know ASL.

I had hoped to find an app for some smartphone that would convert speech to text on incoming calls, so I could read what the person at the other end said. Can convert on my end, for email and text messaging, which is not what I need. AT&T ignored me, Sprint got totally confused, Verizon said it would be a great thing, but they didn't know of such an app.

And, alas, most of the time when I ask folks to speak slowly, they speak faster.
Click to expand...

Please check this http://www.alldeaf.com/deaf-products-technologies/98431-vco-cellphones.html thread.

Then also go to this site Wireless CapTel by Sprint | Sprint800 as there are other parts of their site you can click on from there about how to do incoming calls.
 
AJWSmith said:
As someone who is currently experiencing the distressing sense of isolation as my increasing hearing loss takes me out of the hearing world, I can say that I would have appreciated being able to talk to a counsellor to help me cope with the transition. As it happened, I discovered this forum and it is through the material I've read here on AD that I discovered that becoming d/Deaf can be a positive change. Interestingly, I now need to find a new career and one option I'm considering is about becoming a counsellor specifically focusing on helping hearing people cope with profound hearing loss.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your encouragement. My mom and I were talking the other day about my dad, about how he was near the end of his life. As it turns out, he was losing his hearing. He'd lost half-his sight in both eyes, and one of his strokes had started to affect his hearing. He went through a lot emotionally, went through and put himself through a lot of pain during those last few years, and it changed a lot about him. He didn't look for help, and instead decided to put on a brave face and swallow it.. so I guess my draw to this specific career choice makes perfect sense. I think that since you're experiencing this personally, that considering a career in counseling would be a great idea.
 
jaylizabethh said:
I have the same situation as you, almost exactly ! I'm fifteen and started noticing my hearing loss in november, but apparentally it's genetic. before then I had a lot of tinnitus (for as long as I can remember... ) but I'm Mormon and i don't drink caffeine, so my audiologist kind of had a situation on his hands. :3 I still haven't gotten my hearing aids. It's progressive for me too, and they're saying I'll be profoundly deaf by my senior year. I'll be sixteen on the 24th. :D
Click to expand...

I came in this thread not even knowing I'd been quoted lol I am now 22 (23 I'm April) and I am profound in my right and severe in my left. I am going for a CI eval in march:) I currently wear phonak naidas
 
Thank you all for being so giving. Im new..At 19 Tested in the airforce and was given notice of hearing loss. Today, Tinnitus 3 years now all suddenly its 4x louder. My balance is off but I didn't tell ENT that. She says its time for HA. I have a life long illness and sometimes it has me...Mental illness- Bi Polar2. Fibro is really mean. Makes me hurt and choke alot. and RA--I can tell the weather really well lol...Im hear to learn what I can. And who has the best insurance if you loose a HA.
 
Thank you so much for starting such a wonderful post! This is just what I was looking for.

I used to be able to hear a pin drop from across the room but after I was in a car accident I lost the majority of my hearing. I'm completely deaf in my right ear and I can only hear low mumbles and a "woosh" sound in my left. It's been getting worse by the day it seems. I feel isolated and I'm getting upset with all of my "friends" asking me to just text them while they're sitting right beside me because they don't think it's important for to learn ASL. I'm worried about living on my own, what if there's a fire? What if someone breaks in while I'm asleep? I'm also scared to speak because I don't want to end up screaming something that was only supposed to be whispered. I'm having a very hard time adjusting to this. I try to make jokes and laugh it off but this isn't easy for me at all. I miss hearing my boyfriends voice, I miss being able to have a "normal" conversation with people. I get angry when people speak to me because if they're not flailing their arms and screaming in my face they're talking too low and turning their head away from me. I can't read lips very well anyway so this simply doesn't work. I'm also very upset that everyone is expecting me to do all of the work. I'm the one that's having the hard time. Why should I have to be the one to go the extra mile to keep up? Another thing is the majority of people I know have been saying "Oh, just get hearing aids or cochlear implants, that will fix you" while both of those things may be very good ideas it makes me feel like they see me as damaged. Like I'm not worth the extra effort they'll have to put in to maintain our friendship.
 
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