Going Deaf

Going deaf is like hiding in plain sight.

 

exactly

 

Being deaf is being hidden in plain sight without your consent.

 

ouch!

 

being deaf and or going deaf is like being the last person picked for
the team, you know no one wants you cause you don't have the ability
to play the game :'(

 

Rae Nell, we are still players!!!! We just have to work harder.

I want you on MY TEAM!

 

I agree with Linda. Going deaf sucks big time.

 

Deafness and all "hidden" disabilities have a double whammy effect in that since they can't be "seen," they are VERY RARELY RECOGNIZED, thus very rarely receive validation, support and understanding.

Linda's statement, for some reason, reminds me of a quote from Rosalynd Russell:

"Acting is standing naked on a stage and turning around slowly."

Sometimes I feel as if I must turn myself inside out repeatedly before I can get through to even my closest people that SOMETIMES I NEED A LITTLE HELP!

Grrrr.

 

That's a very powerful group of words you chose there Linda!

I think this concept of being 'invisible' is largely why old age scares so many. We are somehow made to feel that as we age, we somehow diminish. Now how did we get it so wrong? It should be like a badge of honour ... with all that wisdom tucked up inside. And ironically, people who are forced to draw more within themselves - as can happen with increasing deafness - seem to have so much more to give. You see it on the pages of this forum.

Lee

 

Hi Lee - As always, thank you for your insight and comments!

 

They say silence is golden....How can they prove that to us???

 

even when I cannot hear well enough to yak with people, I can be effusive as I want to be on this forum. That is priceless.

 

Linda, You put it beautifully!!!!!!!! I'm actually getting tired of rude people I don't know, or slightly know, saying"what are you-deaf?" when I can't hear them. I usually pull my hearing aide off, show them and say "yup!"


Patti

 

I do that, too !

 

i felt this way friday nite before i got really sick, i was
doing some volunteer work at our football game and
i swear i had 5 people asking me questions at the
same time, some knew i couldn't hear them some
didn't, i felt so useless cause all i could do was
get upset. :'(

sometimes i wonder if i should wear a sign :'(

 

I have a hearing dog, Romy II, and her company, CCI, calendar sits in front of my computer.

September is Jack and Stella III. Jack lost his hearing due to the Korean war. "Before Stella, you could say I was invisible. Stella has made me a visible, interacting person in society," says Jack. Stella III provides a bridge for communication with others. "Now that I have Stella, people approach me more, take the time to communicate and have more patience with me." says Jack. "Every morning when the alarm goes off, I awake to Stella nudging my should and wagging her tail...so I can't help but start the day with a smile," beams Jack."

 

Thanks, Toni. Hearing dogs are an excellent idea for the hearing impaired.

 

Jack is deaf.

 

I understand that. I consider deafness classified as hearing impaired.

 

Linda, I beg to differ. A woman that went through the hearing dog program with me had sudden hearing loss. She didn't really notice because she signs and worked in a deaf school because she has a deaf grandson. She said there is a difference between the deaf culture vs. the hearing impaired culture. It was frustrating for her because we read lips and didn't sign. She would cry often....she was caught in between 2 worlds.