THREE YEARS BIG

It's so amazing to see how resilient young children can be especially if they are born with a hearing problem. I met the most delightful young lady today who is a 3 year bundle of energy. She had soft blond hair and was the most feminine little lady you can imagine. What I didn't recognize for quite some time was that she was wearing hearing aids in both of her ears. She has no stigma about her hearing and what others think. For her, it is a way to understand others and it will be a way of life for her. She does have to pay a little extra attention when you are talking mainly so she can distinguish certain letters and get her pronunciation right. Other than that you would never realize that she had any handicap. Why can't we be more like children??

PASSING THE BLAME ONTO OTHERS

Admitting that you have a problem is the first step of finding a solution. But even at times we try to handle things in a way that we unconsciously transfer the problem to others. It may sound a little strange but here’s what I mean. The rationalization went like this: Well, if you don’t think what you said was important enough for you to speak up clearly then I can’t be blamed for that. I had this attitude and it was easy to dump my inability to hear unto other people.

Many people simply do not understand the struggles we have with hearing loss. Even after all the years (I have worn a hearing aid for 25 years) I am human. When time after time people talk in their regular voice and I can’t understand I get frustrated and pass the blame along.

One time my grandmother was visiting a patient in the hospital and she was either tired or didn’t hear what the patient said. Deciding to agree with what the person said, she nodded her head in agreement. The patient got a confused look on her face and it was only then that my grandmother realized she had missed something. The patient had said “I guess I would be better off dead.” Grandma’s nod of approval wasn’t appreciated. Big oops!!!

CONFIDENCE

You are a special person! Think about that again. You are special. There is no reason to downgrade yourself if you have a hearing problem. When you put yourself in last place, your self-esteem declines and you start to feel like you are not important at all. There are others who care about you and want to spend time with you. Rather than struggle and try so hard to listen to someone else (sometimes so hard that you almost get a headache), realize how you hearing loss is affecting you personally. Seek help. You will feel better and others will enjoy being around you.

SIGNS YOU NEED HELP

1. Unable to clearly understand what others are saying.
2. Trouble hearing in groups where more than one person is talking
3. Blaming others for not speaking clearly
4. A sense of feeling alone and maybe even wanting to stay home where you are in your
comfort zone. Keeping at home means keeping those feelings inside.
5. Increasing the volume on the TV or radio
6. Feeling that you can’t concentrate 100% on lectures, sermons, business meetings or
committee meetings

***There are other things that can happen but for me it was a combination of all of the above.