My Experience of Deafness

Imagine living in a world of silence… you can see the mouths move… the cars go by… the cats fighting but the sounds that go with it all elude you. You go to the cinema and again you see the action but how do you follow the plot without being able to hear the words? Even in your own home, you see the expressions on faces but do they really tell you the whole story? Can you tell when someone is sad or is their face just relaxed? Are they really angry or are they simply rushed? You see people laughing but do you assume it is at you because you can’t hear the joke? My experience of deafness began a few years ago when we were asked to care for ...

Yes, thats right, you did read it correctly! I hope,with this Op, to help those of you with good hearing to understand a bit about what its like to live with less than perfect hearing and how you can help us. I have been partially deaf for most of my life and my hearing has gradually deteriorated. No need for me to go into the medical stuff, but hearing loss does involve so much more than just "not hearing" for many of us. First I will tell you about some of the hidden problems that we suffer that you may not be aware of. 1) Tinnitus - not always bells ringing in the ears, but often scrunching noises, or sounds ...

Eight years ago, whilst 5 months pregnant with our second child, I noticed I couldn't hear as good as usual. I thought I probably needed my ears syringing or I had an infection. No such luck for me, I was sent for lots of hearing tests and was then told that I had lost half of my hearing. What do you do when you are told something like that, well, I spent around a couple of weeks feeling so sorry for myself, wallowing in self pity. Then it hit me harder, I sank into a depression seeing no way for me to communicate, I shut myself away, thinking that there would be no point seeing anyone if I could not understand them, the truth was, I was scared stiff, I ...