1. < Hearing Loss

How does hearing loss change you?

Posted by joangela @joangela, May 11, 2019

For me, hearing loss has always been a part of my life. Those darn hearing tests in elementary school always put me in the category of hearing loss. Now, that I am much older, in my late 50s my hearing loss is profound. It is so bad, even my hearing family, has a real hard time adjusting to it.
How it has really changed me?
I was a small business owner, and a top notch sales person. I was a huge people person and an excellent communicator. It’s all gone.
A major change in my life.
How about you?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

lynnehenry21 | @lynnehenry21 | Jan 23 9:10pm
In reply to @fluoride "So others have mentioned, you should definitely try InnoCaption. It’s a free service paid for by..." + (show)
@fluoride

So others have mentioned, you should definitely try InnoCaption. It’s a free service paid for by the federal government if you have hearing loss. It makes a huge difference in your ability to use a phone. You don’t need to get a new number because you can set it to forward your incoming calls to your InnoCaption line. And it shows captions almost instantly as well as providing audio church can be speaker amplified or via hearing aid Bluetooth if you have that capability. The other thing you can do is download transcribe to your phone and hold it or place on a table near you. It offers speech to text translation and I find it incredibly helpful. No , it’s not the same as being able to hear but these 2 apps can definitely lower the stress and energy drain caused by hearing loss

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No one can understand severe hearing loss until they experience it. An example people ask if i will learn sign language. I don't know any deaf people!

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Jan 24 9:22am
In reply to @arieswoman "I had InnoCaption but found out that in the apartment I live in I couldn't use..." + (show)
@arieswoman

I had InnoCaption but found out that in the apartment I live in I couldn't use it. We have a call box to enter the property and the buildings. It would not work with the call forwarding. So I had to get rid of it.

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Go to Google and ask: What is InnoCaption? Some helpful information will come up.

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1 reply
Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Jan 24 9:40am
In reply to @lynnehenry21 "No one can understand severe hearing loss until they experience it. An example people ask if..." + (show)
@lynnehenry21

No one can understand severe hearing loss until they experience it. An example people ask if i will learn sign language. I don't know any deaf people!

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Suggesting we learn ASL (American Sign Language) is a statement often made by people. They think it's a cool solution. ASL is a wonderful tool for people who are culturally Deaf. For the large majority of people who have varying degrees of hearing loss it is not a solution. ASL is a language just like other language. In order to use or benefit from it, you have to associate with others who use it. That just isn't a reality for the 40+ million Americans who lose hearing after they acquire language. Who would we communicate with?

Most people with acquired hearing loss, regardless of the severity, want to remain in the hearing mainstream. That is why advancements in hearing technology are so important. That is also why people with hearing loss need to open their minds to learning all they can about how that technology works and how it might help them. We have a responsibility to advocate for better technology, the availability of that technology, and acceptance of the usage of it.

Unfortunately, age old stigmas about hearing loss often prevent people from getting and using the help that is available. Some of this wonderful technology shows. Some of it we have to expose our unique need by asking for it.

Don't hide your hearing loss. Learn about it. Talk about it. Get involved in advocacy and take every opportunity you have to educate other people about how to help you participate in life.

Do you know that 'communication access' is defined and mandated by the American's with Disabilities Act? Do you know that it does not have to be provided if people don't request it? It is not automatic like curb cuts. And, even when requested, venues often don't have it available. We who need this kind of access have to be the educators and advocates. Are you willing to do that?

REPLY
1 reply
lynnehenry21 | @lynnehenry21 | Jan 24 10:00pm
In reply to @julieo4 "Suggesting we learn ASL (American Sign Language) is a statement often made by people. They think..." + (show)
@julieo4

Suggesting we learn ASL (American Sign Language) is a statement often made by people. They think it's a cool solution. ASL is a wonderful tool for people who are culturally Deaf. For the large majority of people who have varying degrees of hearing loss it is not a solution. ASL is a language just like other language. In order to use or benefit from it, you have to associate with others who use it. That just isn't a reality for the 40+ million Americans who lose hearing after they acquire language. Who would we communicate with?

Most people with acquired hearing loss, regardless of the severity, want to remain in the hearing mainstream. That is why advancements in hearing technology are so important. That is also why people with hearing loss need to open their minds to learning all they can about how that technology works and how it might help them. We have a responsibility to advocate for better technology, the availability of that technology, and acceptance of the usage of it.

Unfortunately, age old stigmas about hearing loss often prevent people from getting and using the help that is available. Some of this wonderful technology shows. Some of it we have to expose our unique need by asking for it.

Don't hide your hearing loss. Learn about it. Talk about it. Get involved in advocacy and take every opportunity you have to educate other people about how to help you participate in life.

Do you know that 'communication access' is defined and mandated by the American's with Disabilities Act? Do you know that it does not have to be provided if people don't request it? It is not automatic like curb cuts. And, even when requested, venues often don't have it available. We who need this kind of access have to be the educators and advocates. Are you willing to do that?

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I agree! Also the cost of hearing and needs to come down. Many people cannot afford them.
Lynne

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nellie1125 | @nellie1125 | Jan 25 12:57pm
In reply to @julieo4 "Go to Google and ask: What is InnoCaption? Some helpful information will come up." + (show)
@julieo4

Go to Google and ask: What is InnoCaption? Some helpful information will come up.

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I use InnoCaption on my iPhone. It allows me to read
speech to text on my iPhone. It’s a free service that has changed my ability to communicate on a phone call.
Before I got InnoCaption, I was unable to understand anything on a phone call. I highly recommend it.

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1 reply
lynnehenry21 | @lynnehenry21 | Jan 25 6:13pm
In reply to @nellie1125 "I use InnoCaption on my iPhone. It allows me to read speech to text on my..." + (show)
@nellie1125

I use InnoCaption on my iPhone. It allows me to read
speech to text on my iPhone. It’s a free service that has changed my ability to communicate on a phone call.
Before I got InnoCaption, I was unable to understand anything on a phone call. I highly recommend it.

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Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I will look into it and share with my friend who is also struggling with talking on her iPhone.
Best wishes
Lynne

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1 reply
jcdf | @jcdf | Jan 26 8:41am
In reply to @lynnehenry21 "Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I will look into it and share with my..." + (show)
@lynnehenry21

Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I will look into it and share with my friend who is also struggling with talking on her iPhone.
Best wishes
Lynne

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I use CaptionCall, previously known as Olelo, another free text to speech app for the phone which uses AI and has been life changing for me. At the Dr I use the Otto app for speech to text communication and it saves the conversation for a period of time. Also very helpful.

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2 replies
jcdf | @jcdf | Jan 26 8:41am
In reply to @jcdf "I use CaptionCall, previously known as Olelo, another free text to speech app for the phone..." + (show)
@jcdf

I use CaptionCall, previously known as Olelo, another free text to speech app for the phone which uses AI and has been life changing for me. At the Dr I use the Otto app for speech to text communication and it saves the conversation for a period of time. Also very helpful.

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Sorry, typo, Otter.

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fluoride | @fluoride | Jan 27 8:44am
In reply to @jcdf "I use CaptionCall, previously known as Olelo, another free text to speech app for the phone..." + (show)
@jcdf

I use CaptionCall, previously known as Olelo, another free text to speech app for the phone which uses AI and has been life changing for me. At the Dr I use the Otto app for speech to text communication and it saves the conversation for a period of time. Also very helpful.

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Did you ever use Live Transcribe? I’m wondering how it compares to Otto

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jcdf | @jcdf | Jan 27 11:22am

Similar, however Otter records the conversation for a period of time so you can look at what was discussed vs there’s no recording with Live Transcribe.

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