We Are Not Alone
Tips and ideas from others living with hearing loss
After six months of meaning to upgrade my mobile phone I finally called Vodafone yesterday, and I’m glad I did, not just because I’m getting the mobile I want but because I had a long chat about deaf issues with the advisor – great chap.
I’m surprised at how many strangers I come into contact with who have deaf(end) family members and friends, in a way we tend to regard deafness as a very personal experience and something which others ignore. Not so.
I’ve had to call the AA twice for help over the past three years and both mechanics were ‘well up’ on hearing problems. The first knew all about Meniere’s as his father suffered badly with the disease. The second had learned finger spelling and was trying to learn BSL because he’d attended deaf folk with car problems.
Whilst they sorted out my car (problems I couldn’t solve because I didn’t have the necessary tools with me) we had informative and interesting chats.
The extremely helpful advisor in Vodafone’s Northern Ireland centre asked if there were any other mobiles in the household, yes, I replied (thinking I might be about to get an up sell) but it’s my wife’s and she’s deaf so only uses text – but, I added, texting has opened up her life.
My new friend then told me about his pal who’s been deaf from birth, how he’s been teaching BSL for many years as a volunteer and how they all go down the pub with their non-hearing mate and make sure he’s included in everything they do.
Like most lip readers I’ve met, their friend is nosy and picks up on conversations around them and they exchange the juicy bits he picks up via text. I also heard how the deaf mate’s family have adapted communication methods, one of which was letting him know when food was ready by tapping on the hardwood flooring which the friend picked up around the house.
That may seem uncaring, but Sue and I use similar methods because that way she is included rather than being treated as a ‘special case’.
In my view, the most destructive aspects of hearing loss are exclusion and isolation and Hearing Link works hard to help hearing impaired folk get out of those negative ruts. I realise how difficult it is, almost impossible, for some people to get out and meet people when they’re struggling with hearing loss but the internet is a great tool for getting out of oneself without crossing the front door.
Please don’t keep yourself to yourself – for a start take a look at Hearing Link’s FB page and get involved or look around the web for forums or groups with interests or hobbies you share. Making contact will help, I know that from living with Sue when she could hear and now that she can’t. Same goes for hearing partners, don’t lock yourselves away.