I strongly agree with the statement that hearing-impairment is an invisible disability. Most people can’t see that you have it at first glance and, in my experience, they grossly underestimate its impact on affected individuals. I should know… I live with a hearing disability.
Who are the hearing-impaired?
The picture that most people see when they hear the word “hearing-impaired” or “hearing disability” is probably a 65+ year old retired individual. But this disability is more than that. Anyone from a newborn to the oldest person alive can have it. People make the mistake of comparing it to blindness, but it is not so simple. People also need to understand that hearing impairment isn’t black and white. You can be anywhere from completely deaf to mildly impaired. Furthermore, different people cope with it in different ways. And, no, not all hearing-impaired people can speak sign language.
Hearing loss is not easily correctable and is currently irreversible.
Even though someone is not deaf, does not mean that it’s easily correctable. Someone with bad vision can easily correct it (with great success) with glasses, contacts, or laser surgery. There are no equivalents for hearing loss that are as successful. Hearing aids are NOT perfect and they don’t compare to glasses, except in the mildest cases of hearing loss. Furthermore, most health insurances don’t cover the cost of hearing aids, which are crazy expensive. Even though I am insured by a major insurance company, I still paid a little over $4,000 in cash (with family help) for my recent, mid-range set since my advanced hearing loss needs hearing aids with more power. My old hearing aids were over 10 years old and were obsolete.
Cochlear implants are WAY more expensive, but are covered by many insurances (ironically). Cochlear implants can help a person hear; however, they are a last resort option because they require invasive surgery and destroy auditory nerves.
Not all people fit into the stereotype of hearing-impaired.
Someone like me doesn’t neatly fit into the typical stereotype of deaf or hearing-impaired. I have moderate-profound hearing loss for over a decade, but I was not born like this. I don’t know sign language nor do I know any deaf persons; therefore I can’t connect to Deaf culture (which happens to be VERY close knit, from what I understand). On the flip side of the token, I often have a difficult time hearing even with the assistance of hearing aids and I am constantly misunderstood by my hearing peers. I have never used a TTY phone or any other assistance outside of hearing aids.
I am the only person in my family with a hearing disability and most of my friends have never met a hearing disabled person. Where do people like me fit in? How do we make it? I have made it this far just fine, but what about others like me who don’t have such a strong support network? What about people like me who are in denial, like I have been for so long? And trust me, a lot of them ARE in denial.
The internet is a major benefit for people with hearing loss.
I have to say that the internet has been a lifesaver for me. Because I cannot use my ears as well, I often compensate with sight. Now I can just search for what I need online. I can buy items, conduct most of my inquiries through e-mail, check my bank accounts, and the list goes on. All of these things are probably benefits for anyone, regardless of whether they can hear or not. But those benefits improve the quality of my life 100 times over. It’s something that I can’t (and won’t) take for granted.
There are some things that I am left out on. For instance, I am not able to communicate on the phone so well. Hearing aids aren’t great with phones. A lot of people and businesses still don’t use the internet as a primary source of communication. The increasing use of videos to substitute plain text online is also problematic for me. Computer speakers are often not clear enough and blasting them up high disturbs others around me. The list goes on. In the end I learn how to adjust most of the time, but sometimes I wonder how fast I can keep up.
Hearing loss is becoming increasingly prevalent in the U.S.
I would like to bring more awareness to the world about hearing loss. It is becoming a bigger issue in America. Not only do more older people have it, but younger people are increasingly losing their hearing as well. This is no surprise considering that more people are on their phones and MP3 players for longer periods of time. Noise exposure is at its greatest. There are so many issues that I would like to discuss, but I will focus on them one at a time.
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