Im deaf and proud
Being diagnosed as legally deaf as a child it impacted me in many ways. I was made fun of, laughed at, and even bullied because of it. But in the end I learned that it's what makes me myself, and that no one could change that. Sure sometimes I wish that I can hear normally like most people but then I'd feel out of it. In all, wearing hearing aids has helped me throughout my years into early adulthood. But sometimes I still wish that I can speak normally. Sometimes I speak too loud, and I can't even tell when my voice sounds normal. So basilers, would you like to share something that makes you proud of yourself?
August 25, 2014
11 Comments • Newest first
[quote=NoobCake]I have bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and blind enough to wear contacts (like -3.25). I was born hearing impaired and wasn't eligible for hearing aids until I was 13. When my hearing drastically dropped, I was devastated and felt depressed. I hated the hearing aids my parents dropped ~$5k on and refused to wear it. Because of my ignorance, my speech deteriorated to the point people would even point it out (I had a lisp, pronouncing my S's as 'sh' and my voice resonance, giving it an awkward sound when I talk). When I turned 18, I got new hearing aids, which are smaller, stronger, and have Bluetooth! I'm in love with them. I now get a bursary from my university ($2000/year) and I take speech therapy.
Although this permanent disability has been a burden, there truly are some benefits. I am given extra time during my exams (+50%), which my peers complain because they claim I don't have a "real problem" that requires me more time to write an exam. I agree but if I'm given that opportunity, why not abuse it? I'm also eligible for a note taker, which I don't use, and some other stuff.
Pretty much, life is good. My personality speaks for itself and people mature and don't care if you wear hearing aids anymore. Some might point it out, at that point you may play along with them or just cut them off.
Sorry for the wall of text, but this is from my experience. Feel free to PM me if you wanna discuss more, I'm open to this kind of stuff! [/quote]
I completely agree with you on this. I was not born hearing impaired, rather I gained it. After being diagnosed with malaria as a child from going on a vacation to my home country of the PH, I somehow contracted it. There, I was given antibiotics to the point that it was administered every hour. I recovered, but not without any repercussions. I had became hearing impaired. When I had come back to the United States, I was administered tests and they found out then it was already too late. I had already gained hearing loss and had severe cases of tinnitus. I was given and fitted with hearing aids, and was fine with them. However, I was made fun of and had them stolen at 1st grade. YES, someone had actually stolen my hearing aids at 1st grade thinking they were toys. The school would eventually be led to a chase, and people had seen my hearing aids, but it was no case. Eventually, I was issued another pair but it was the last time the gov't would pay for them. Going on, I chose not to wear my hearing aids until my freshman senior year of highschool for fear of being pointed out and being embarrassed. But somehow, I mean I met people who were like me, hearing impaired yet didn't care what people though. This changed my mind, and now I gladly wear my hearing aids. I do not care if they point or look, because at least I can hear better and shut them off if I don't want to hear people. Better yet, I can adjust their volumes to hear what people are whispering about.
TL;DR I'm proud of being hearing impaired. It's given me and showed me what I can experience and what others are going through as well. I may not be mute-deaf or totally deaf, but rather partially deaf. In all, it gives a general overview of what stigmatism is on these cases are. Sorry for the wall of text as well
i wish i had an excuse to be a failure.
I have bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and blind enough to wear contacts (like -3.25). I was born hearing impaired and wasn't eligible for hearing aids until I was 13. When my hearing drastically dropped, I was devastated and felt depressed. I hated the hearing aids my parents dropped ~$5k on and refused to wear it. Because of my ignorance, my speech deteriorated to the point people would even point it out (I had a lisp, pronouncing my S's as 'sh' and my voice resonance, giving it an awkward sound when I talk). When I turned 18, I got new hearing aids, which are smaller, stronger, and have Bluetooth! I'm in love with them. I now get a bursary from my university ($2000/year) and I take speech therapy.
Although this permanent disability has been a burden, there truly are some benefits. I am given extra time during my exams (+50%), which my peers complain because they claim I don't have a "real problem" that requires me more time to write an exam. I agree but if I'm given that opportunity, why not abuse it? I'm also eligible for a note taker, which I don't use, and some other stuff.
Pretty much, life is good. My personality speaks for itself and people mature and don't care if you wear hearing aids anymore. Some might point it out, at that point you may play along with them or just cut them off.
Sorry for the wall of text, but this is from my experience. Feel free to PM me if you wanna discuss more, I'm open to this kind of stuff!
My vision is like -4.00 which is pretty bad. I can only see like a metre away. It gets worse every year by -0.5.
I wouldn't say I'm proud of this but I ain't ashamed. I can accept it and hope it will stop or get better.
I'm 100% deaf and use cochlear implants on both sides. I love being deaf because I can block out annoying noise whenever I want.
[quote=tifa]oo, i got hearing aids too when i was 11, but never wore them .-. a decade later and they're still sitting here
guess i don't really know what it feels like to be that deaf but it's good you've accepted yourself
off the top of my head i can't think of anything that makes me feel proud of myself it's not something i think about often[/quote]
Well you don't have to really think about that makes you proud of yourself. Say you can even say to be proud of what who you are. And yeah it sucks being this deaf. Sometimes my friends get mad and think I'm ignoring them when in reality I can't even hear them.
My ear is blocked by ear wax.
Anyway, my vision in my right eye is bad, due to an incident that happened when I was young. Sometimes I think what it would be like to see with my right eye again, but then I'm like nah. My eye makes me who I am. Also, it's cool to have an irregular pupil imo. Plus, I can do cool tricks with my eyes now, like controlling them individually.
Do you ASL?
[quote=Cakezz]"I was made fun of ans laughed at"
How do you know that if you're deaf?[/quote]
I'm partially deaf. What most people hear is like whispering to me. I'm not mute deaf. I can speak, albeit being louder since I can't really hear my own voice. I also use hearing aids.
[quote=Cakezz]"I was made fun of ans laughed at"
How do you know that if you're deaf?[/quote]
Seriously...? It's not like she's blind too. And people could also tell her...?
i am asian and proud and dont care what the mayo people say about me.