why has your dog got foil on its feet? (My Experience of Deafness)

Member Name: ICECOLD

Product:	My Experience of Deafness
Date:	21/11/03 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: er - whats that you say!

Disadvantages: feeling stupid at times

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 similar to
rushing noises. Sufferers often get this at night
when the rest of the house is quiet as they are
more aware of it when there is no background noise
to distract them from "hearing" it. Whilst it is
not painful in the accepted way, once you are
aware of it, it is almost impossible to stop
being aware of the noise in your ears. It is
possible to buy a masker, which provides a
distraction technique, but I have found leaving
the clock radio on works just as well.

2) Balance problems. Often goes hand in hand with
hearing loss. Balance problems are different
from vertigo, where the room spins and you feel
nauseous. There is medication to help with
vertigo, but it causes chest problems if you have
Asthma. Balance problems can be made worse by
cold and/or windy weather. Vertigo means that the
person who faints or weaves about in front of you
is not necessarily drunk!! Contrary to popular
opinion a hat does not particular help, since the
link between the nerves of the eyes and the ears
means that balance is affected by looking at such
things as the sea moving or gusts of wind.
Balance problems mean I cannot reach to that top
shelf or stand on chairs, which creates more
hurdles on
a day-to-day basis.

3) Confusion: to explain the title of the op!
Generally speaking, when the nerves of the ear
get damaged it become difficult to distinguish
between the soft consonants, such as f, v, and s,
and the hard consonants, Bee Dee and Vee. hence
it is possible to hear soil as foil or boil!!
Whilst this can be very amusing at times, it does
lead to a lessening of confidence and the problem
becomes worse in a noisy environment where you
are struggling to hear anyway.

4) Hard of hearing folk tend to either speak too
loudly or too quietly. This is because we can not
work out how loudly we are speaking. It is very
helpful if you discreetly and politely find a way
to mention this. My best friends often act
as my "ears" in difficult situations.

5) Nerve damage sensitivity. This means that certain
pitches become literally painful for us. Deafness
does not mean you do not hear these pitches, but
that they trigger a form of "feedback" which can
be excrutiating at times.

6) Isolation. Deafness is, by its nature, an
isolating problem. There is not much
sympathy for the hearing impaired because of
its invisible nature. Pubs and clubs can prove
to be very frustrating places for us, because
the background noise makes it very difficult
for us to join in the conversation or to hear
what is being said.

7) An addition to the above, courtesy of another
Ciao member. Magnifying aids, be they hearing
aids, or infra-red devices to assist with hearing
televisions etc, only help if there is no other
noise in the room, otherwise they magnify every
thing else making a noise, even other people!
I had forgotten sitting on a bus, with my brand
new hearing aid, convinced there was a bomb
ticking away on the back seat - not realising it
was the engine noise!!


How yo
u can help.

1) Make it easier for us to hear you by keeping your
hands away from your face. People with face
furniture and beards are particularly hard
to lip read.

2) Position yourself where it is easy for us to
read you. If light is in the wrong place we
cannot see you properly and we learn to lip
read subconsciously. Keep your hands reasonably
still so that you do not distract from what is
being said.

3) Speak clearly, but not loudly or with undue
emphasis or particularly slowly. We are "deaf
not daft". Please don't say "Oh never mind"
because it is humiliating and makes us feel more
isolated. Precluding us from your conversation
is unkind, if understandable.

4) Most of all, be patient and understanding. We
know how frustrating it is for you, imagine how
much worse it is for us!

I hope that this has helped a bit. Thank you for taking the time to read.

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