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Tips for Speaking with Someone with Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss | Last Active: Nov 23, 2021 | Replies (26)Comment receiving replies
Julie, thank you so much for taking the time to supply me with all that helpful information. You are a true servant and I appreciate everything. You asked if I discovered The Hearing Loss Assn. of America in my research and the answer is yes. While they appear to be a valuable source of support and information, my current schedule and location in North Texas would not allow me to attend any meetings. I wish that could be different because even in this forum I have come across so many individuals with whom I can relate. That common bond, as small as it may seem right now, is a source of strength for me and I would love to have more of that! It is true that my audiologist did not give me any information about HLAA and I think that would have been a nice touch. After all, if we're going to get more people to understand what we go through, we need a strong foundation like HLAA to help educate the general public. We all know that knowledge is power!
On a positive note, my wife and daughter extended me an olive branch of sorts by suggesting that when we watch Netflix programs, they will now select the closed captioning option. It's not a solution, but even a little understanding can go a long way. And since I know I will likely "forget myself" vocally when I take phone calls, I will make a habit of leaving the room when answering the phone. I think a lot of friction can be avoided when we try meeting others halfway!
Finally, thank you for sharing your story of what things were like back in the 60's compared to today. I know we've come a long way and I am thankful for the progress of technology I'm experiencing first-hand while wearing hearing aids.
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Hi again Larry! The only reason HLAA chapters exist is because people like you (and me) started them in their home regions. I came out of my 'hard of hearing closet' when I was in my late 30s. I had a friend who was a reporter for local news. She wrote an article about hearing loss and mentioned a 'meeting' that would take place at the local library. I called that meeting and was the person they came to hear without having a clue what it would be about other than hearing loss.
I was shocked when 50+ people of all ages showed up. It was the first time most of them had ever talked about their hearing loss. A group of 11 from that group decided to get together to see if we might be able to start a support group. The hearing aid providers in the area thought we were nuts because they knew how much people hid hearing loss. That group of 11 met many times over the next several months. Much of the talk at those gatherings was about our frustrations and experiences with friends, family and jobs. It helped so much to realize we were all having similar experiences. Learning we were not alone was huge. Our ages ran from 18 - 80. Just sitting around the table was therapeutic. Only one person talked at a time. We turned off all the background noise, etc. That is how HLAA Fox Valley Chapter started, and has been going ever since.
Traveling alone was not on my personal agenda then, and I was scared stiff to travel to the first national convention alone. I did though, and found it was the absolute best opportunity for me to experience something positive about hearing loss. It motivated me to get more involved and I ended up on the organization's national board of trustees. Again, people of many ages and from very different walks of life. I was lucky my spouse and daughter supported me even though they were a bit concerned about me traveling alone.
Only mentioning this because I encourage you to consider traveling to that national convention if you possibly can. You will not be disappointed. You will be motivated. It's worth saving for. My spouse and daughter eventually attended a few of those annual conventions. The funniest thing was that they were the ones who felt a bit left out in the crowd.
One other thing; learning to modulate your voice takes practice. Work on it. You don't have to shout to hear yourself. It becomes a habit. Many hard of hearing people speak too softly. Again, it's something that takes a bit of practice.
Last, but not least is learning about assistive tech that goes beyond hearing aids. Having a telecoil in a hearing aid is like having a gold mine at your disposal. It allows the use of hand held microphones, and other technology installed in meeting spaces. It can be connected to the TV at home, or installed around a room. It requires learning how to use. A simple $50 neckloop, used with telecoil equipped hearing aids can connect you to audio devices like computers, radios, cell phones, etc. Yes, BlueTooth can also do some of that, but learning to use both telecoils and BT is most helpful.
Without SHHH/HLAA these technologies might not be available today. No, they didn't do the research, but they promoted the concept that people with hearing loss needed more, and wanted more. And more research into medicine and technology was vital to improve things. This has been challenging because a very active culturally Deaf population has been extremely loud about NOT wanting to be 'fixed'. The public hears that and always tended to lump us all together even though the data shows that only 2 million Deaf people feel that way, while most of the 46 million other people with hearing spend their energy trying to hide they have it.
Sorry, on my bandwagon here, but if we who have hearing loss don't get more involved in effecting change related to curing and remedying it, little attention is given to a problem experienced by nearly 18% of the population. And, we know that many from the rest of the population are affected by hearing loss because they are close to us.