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| My current hearing aid |
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| The titanium attachment point for my hearing aid |
I still remember, at the age of four, fighting with my parents because I didn't want to take my hearing aid out at bedtime.
I didn't want to miss anything while I was sleeping.
This encounter sets the tone for my lifelong relationship with medical intervention - I love anything that allows me to interact more fully with the world around me.
Yes, it can be hard to be different, especially as a teenager/young adult, but I was so grateful for the hearing aid (now converted to a bone-anchored device fixed into the side of my skull) that allowed me to follow conversations, even in groups. So grateful for the wheelchair that allowed me to get out of the house and go on the holiday where I met my husband. So grateful for the breathing treatments and steroids that keep me out of hospital (most of the time), and for the painkillers that take the edge off the pain enough that I can smile and mean it.
Of course, it would be easier if I could function normally without all the medications and medical aids, but given that isn't really an option, I'll continue to be grateful for the things that allow me to participate in the life that I love so much.
This post was written as part of NHBPM - 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J
Oooh, you have a BAHA. Does that mean that your loss is primarily conductive? I have a primarily conductive loss in my left ear (and now my right ear is going too) so, things like cochlear implants aren't even an option for me as my hearing continues to keep going. I definitely hear you on the part where it can be hard to be the different one (having multiple disabilities myself) but that some of the tech can be such a gateway to things that would otherwise be so inaccessible to us. Or just make things so much easier (Like using an FM system instead of interpreters for a meeting or being able to go out to a restaurant with friends).
ReplyDeleteHello Shosh15!
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you know about he BAHA - I've never come across anyone before who knows about them. Sorry to hear about your own hearing loss and other disabilities, but I'm glad to 'meet' you and look forward to getting to know you better.
You asked if my hearing loss is primarily conductive, and the answer to that is sort-of! I have total sensorineural hearing loss in my left ear, but only mild-moderate mixed conductive and sensorineural loss in my right. The aim of the BAHA for me is to give a boost to my overall hearing and to give awareness of the sounds from my deaf side. I love it!
Jo
Hey Jo!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you too!
I do know about BAHA's :-D I used to go to school to be a sign language interpreter here before my hearing loss got to the point that I needed surgery and a hearing aid. So, I know lots of things about hearing loss that lots of people don't. Like how to read an audiogram. That is exciting :-D I like having my hearing too, but am I the only one who finds that after a whole day of listening I am more than ready to take it off and be in a quiet world again?
Btw if you want to check out my blogging, it's at www.shamelessmag.com (I blog there as Shoshana :-) )
Talk to you soon!
Shosh
Hi Shosh!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your blog. I'll definitely check it out. As a fellow Raveler, I hope there will be lots of yarn-related goodness!
That is so cool that you're a sigh language interpreter. I sign (British Sign Language only) and used to volunteer in schools for children with hearing difficulties, and then later in a school for children with mixed disabilities, where I helped in a class of children who were both deaf and blind (and totally adorable)! Sadly, I can't sign for long anymore, and sometimes not at all because of my joints.
I think that now I do agree with you that it's a relief to be able to blur the noise of the world after a long day,and there are days when the BAHA doesn't get worn at all (today will be one of those days), but generally I'm thrilled with it.
Thanks again for your comment. I'll see you over at your blog and on Ravelry.com later!
Jo
Sadly on Shameless there is no yarn-y goodness, but I'm more than happy to share the yarn through email if you want to chat that way (recognizing that with fatigue etc. it can be sporadic on both ends) my email is the name I use here @gmail.com if you want to chat :-)
ReplyDeleteI am sad to report that I am not actually a sign language interpreter. I never finished the program and while I moonlighted for an interpreter at placement a couple of weeks ago I will never be paid for doing so. Now I'm in school to become a Child and Youth Care worker. I'm not sure if they are known as the same thing on your side of the pond. It's kind of like a social worker who specializes in working with children, youth and their families. So, right now I'm doing my placement at a school for the Deaf here, actually with the mental health agency that is on the school's campus. So, I get to work in sign and with the Deaf community all the time, and be in an environment where I am the same as people and don't have to worry about arranging for accommodations (For the hearing loss anyway). It is such an awesome thing!