MENIERE'S DISEASE

Remember when you heard someone claim to be dizzy or having an attack of vertigo? The medical word for that is Meniere’s disease. Believe me, I have had a couple of episodes and it is not pretty. It usually begins with a ringing in the ears followed by nausea. Then my world starts spinning out of control.

There is no way to get your balance and all perspective of where you are has disappeared. All you want to do is to get the spinning to stop. On one occasion when my husband was out of town I got dizzy in the bathroom. I fell down and sat there for one hour before I could get the room to stop spinning. Slowly I got back up and carefully headed back to bed.

As soon as you can find a place to lie down, take a break and rest, propping your head up on an extra pillow to help gain some balance. I keep some Dramamine around the house just for times when I feel an episode coming on. You can also purchase Meclizine as an OTC. It is a little bit more expensive than Dramamine but the active ingredients in both are the same. Losing your balance and all sense of direction is something that I hope many people do not have to experience.

CHILDREN

When working with small children realize that what they say if very precious and if you miss what they say the first time they may not want to repeat it. With small children get down on their level and try to talk one on one. Even if you missed what they said the first time, taking the time to get down on their level makes you seem less intimidating.

You need to let them know that what they said was important and that you want to understand them.

SMALL GROUPS AND SEMINARS

This is another area where trying to hear may be difficult. Work to find a seat close to the front if you are in a meeting or seminar. That way the speaker’s voice can be heard and you will not miss any important facts. Also, if there is a question and answer session, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification on something that was confusing.

In small groups I try to sit near the leader or teacher. I attend Sunday school class and I always sit as close to the teacher as possible. It makes the class so much more interesting. Remember though that although everyone may know you have a hearing problem there may be an occasional person who ignores your handicap. I have a lady in my class who begins talking whenever she feels like it and continues to talk after the lesson begins again. It is frustrating and way too challenging to hear the teacher. Other members have also noted the same problem and they are not hearing impaired so some people will just ignore you and you will have to make the best of the situation.

TEST TAKING

In places where testing for the ACT, SAT, Teacher Certification, and Grad school entrance tests there may be a part where you are tested on your ability to hear a recording or follow directions according to oral instructions. I had this happen once and I requested front row seating. I was frustrated because I was ignored (maybe due to the long line of students that were being ushered into the classroom) and had to sit near the back row. It’s another example of where people don’t see hearing impairment as a handicap. If it isn’t visible, then the problem doesn’t exist. It is a faulty conclusion and if given the same circumstances today I would push harder for front row seating. Be affirmative but not obnoxious.

CHURCH ACOUSTICS

In another area where hearing may be a challenge isa church setting. This is usually more noticeable to me that in a restaurant because the problem with hearing is more noticeable, at least to me. The piano and organ are usually in harmony and balanced. The speaker or person at the front of the church usually has a microphone and if they speak clearly, it is easy to hear them. Some pastors have a soft voice and if they don’t project their voice then I miss out on a major part of the sermon. The time of prayer is usually spoken in a much softer voice and for me that is the most difficult part. Unless someone speaks clearly, I usually don’t hear anything said during this time.

Fellowship times or times when business is being handled is another time that I miss things, especially if the business is handled without the use of a microphone. Very young children who want to share something special can be hard to hear and many times they are so timid that they don’t want to repeat what they said. This is especially true if a child is enthusiastic and tells you something and then is disappointed when you miss out on what is said the first time.

NOISE IN RESTAURANTS

Understand and accept that in restaurants that the noise level varies and that hearing clearly may be a problem. For me, I hear the loudest sound and any softer sounds are in the background. That means if the person I am talking to has a soft voice it is usually harder to hear him. In a restaurant there may be the conflicting sounds of a football game playing in the bar area. The noise from the kitchen (if you sit anywhere near this area) can be somewhat distracting. Any table where a large group of people are celebrating a birthday or just having a good time together can also make it hard to hear.

LEARN TO LIP READ

As someone who has grown up being able to hear and to maintain conversations, I have elected to not attempt to learn sign language. I did glance at a book once and have sat in services where there was someone doing sign language but the phrasing and overall sentence structure seemed strange.

If you have experienced a gradual loss of hearing only during the past few years, consider using lip reading to enhance your listening skills. It isn’t as hard as it sounds. Focus on the person who is talking and watch the variation in the lips as words are formed. This only works really well on a one-to-one basis or maybe in small groups of no more than three. The idea is to listen to what is being said and to use the lip shapes and clues to fill in any sections which you may have missed.

I actually didn’t notice that I was doing this until someone pointed it out. It had become second hand nature to me so that I did it without thinking. What the person noticed was that I would use the lips to help discern between “lamb”, “land”, and” lamp”. Since everyone doesn’t pronounce words clearly with special emphasis on the ending sound, it worked. It was not an issue with people who spoke clearly.