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People with hearing loss who have been successful in their careers
Hearing Loss | Last Active: Mar 24, 2021 | Replies (60)Comment receiving replies
Thank you! Lately, I’ve been interested in learning out about assistive options that might be available to me now, and even that I might have had available in my work environment when I was younger and really struggling with this. Similar to how it is for your husband, people are aware of my hearing loss. However, in group social situations, just talking on my “good side” isn’t at all helpful for me in the grand scheme of things. Was having people talk on his right side sufficient for him to be successful and advance in his career? If not then did he make use of any other assistive options and did he find those to be helpful? I’m interested in learning about how people with hearing loss have managed to be successful in their careers, including in advancement. Not that I doubt that this can be the case for people with hearing loss; I’m more looking for these stories so that I can then use them as a source of hope for me as I move through the Vocational Rehabilitative Services process.
Replies to "Thank you! Lately, I’ve been interested in learning out about assistive options that might be available..."
@jaema It seems as if I wrote about my career (Marine Officer, Architect, University Professor) within the month. Can you look back for that so I don't have to retype.. I am retired now and am weathering the Pandemic as most have to .. but as I think about the key to do well in this isolation..(I live alone) is that in my career my individual capabilities were usually thought of as very good.. and I worked alone in the creative part of my work.. My sight, voice, and thinking was not impaired at all. So getting in a profession where your individual efforts are easily seen and recognized is helpful. When you have to interact with a lot of others, particularly strangers, that's where the problems arise... Ken
@jeama Learning about and using assistive devices can be the difference you need. Hearing loss is invisible and people, no matter how much they want to be helpful, forget what it is you need if it boils down to being on one side of you, etc. Assistive devices show. They remind people you need their help. Using a small hand held microphone that broadcasts to your hearing aids can be a huge help. Not just because it transmits sound to the place where you need to hear it, but because people see that you are using something that is working. Vocational Rehabilitative Services should be able to provide the information you need. Other options like speech to text captions can also help a lot. So much depends on when you need it, how you need it, etc. I've heard hard of hearing people who struggle say "I don't like gadgets", well, these are gadgets. Gadgets that require some learning and discipline to use properly. Hearing aid providers should also be well versed in this add on technology, but many are not. Maybe if we all started asking more questions of them, they might be. I hope you get the help you need. It's out there. HLAA has information about assistive technology on their website. HLAA has periodic Zoom meetings that feature technology. Most of those are available on YouTube. http://www.hearingloss.org Take time to explore the website. Some things are hard to find, but they are there.
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Don't make it harder work on enhancing whatever lip reading you might know the practical way. My work with two non-profits is resulting in a soon to be released Practical Lip Reading 101. Watch for it, it will be offered to help people.