Welcome to the forum. Deafness is a lot different than living as a hearing person who is hard of hearing. It isn't an easy transition.

What state do you live in. Most states have an office called Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. I have found that the Minnesota office is better staffed and more helpful than the Wisconsin office. Local public health agencies are not prepared to deal with deafness in my limited experience. I've found the most helpful people are deaf.

I am hearing, but with a profound hearing loss and I decided to learn ASL (American Sign Language) for 2 reasons. First to improve my ability to communicate. Second to challenge my 77-year old brain into activity. I was somewhat successful on both objectives. ASL classes gave me the opportunity to interact with deaf people and I learned a lot from them. They are the most helpful.

Hearing people always seem to assume that others people (even deaf people) can hear. They sometimes talk louder even if it doesn't help. They don't realize that we are reading lips and their exaggerations aren't helpful. I have found that if I want a hearing person to communicate via a speech to text app or Sorenson Buzz Cards or ASL then I'm better off if I don't speak either. The minute I speak they assume they can answer me and expect me to understand.

I'm interest in how you do. Keep up your posts here.

Jim

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