Anyone Deaf or hearing impaired?

[AllisD]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone is deaf or heairng impaired and how you cope with being a mum?

Cheers

Allis

[AllisD]

Bump

[FabFiona]

I am hearing but my parents are both deaf and as such grew up in the Deaf community. A lot of my friends are deaf, but their parents were also deaf so I'm not sure if that makes it easier?

[Mother Goose]

I am hearing impaired. I have a 60% hearing loss to one ear after an accident as a child. I've been dealing with it since I was 6 so don't even notice it. I can lip read. And both XDH and my DD are VERY loud which makes it pretty easy for me to hear them I struggle when there is background noise, when I'm in the car I struggle to hear DD. But otherwise if I am struggling I just lip read.

[AllisD]

Thanks guys, due to a recently diagnosed medical condition, I am losing my hearing definately on one side and probably in both. I am pretty terrified by this. The hearing loss is irreversable and after a while a hearing aid will be useless also.

I already have difficulty with background noise and I get very embarrassed having to tell people that I simply cannot understand a single thing they are saying to me.

I also worry about silly things like not hearing smoke detectors, telephones, door bells - .

I know that I will have to learn to lip read and I am trying - hopefully the rate of loss will slow down and I will have time....

Thanks again

Allis

[{sarah}]

A friend of mine has both parents completely deaf & I also worked for a man who had 6 deaf children (who were all adults).

Their houses were just set up to deal with it. The phone had a flashing light & a computer attached so the talking was adjusted to words on a screen & they could type the answers. If you need to make a phone call (I received many when I worked for this family), the person on the other end would hear an automated voice saying "you have a phone call from xxx please speak slowly & clearly as your words are being translated for a hearing impaired person." It's a bit strange talking to a computer voice, but it works.

Door bells can be set up with lights attached so you see the light flashing instead of hearing the sound.

I'm not sure what happens with smoke detectors, maybe contact your local fire station & see if they have something that would work. I'm sure they wouldn't mind & would be happy to help someone that is trying to protect their house & family.

I can imagine it's very scary for you to lose your hearing, I hope it slows down for you.

[Mother Goose]

I'm sorry to hear about your condition.

contact the relevant hearing association in your State; you may qualify for financial assistance to help set up your home with the things Sarah mentioned. In addition, you may qualify for a hearing dog (or may be able to purchase one if you can afford it). These are similar to seeing eye dogs (Guide Dogs) except they do hearing related tasks for you. For example, if your smoke alarm went off, they may come and nudge you with their nose. If the doorbell rang, they might come and sit by your feet. If the phone rang, they might come nip your heels.

Re: lip reading. Don't hesitate to ask ppl to speak slowly and clearly so you can read their lips. And don't feel bad for telling ppl you can't understand what they're saying. Most ppl prefer that than you pretending you understand Try to get into the habit of lip reading for everyone NOW so you can practice whilst you still can hear. It can take a little while to master and some people are easier to read than others. It may also be beneficial to enrol in an Auslan (sign language) course so your whole family can learn to sign with time to spare.

[Moi]

I'm going deaf in one ear due to a condition and it is possible it may one day spread to the other ear. For now I am lucky that I can hear with my good ear. But I do struggle when their is a lot of background noise. I understand how you feel about not being able to hear things because when I sleep I prefer lying with my bad ear up because that's just what I'm used to and then I can't hear anything with my good ear blocked by the pillow. I was never able to hear my DD cry during the night and had to rely on my DH to wake me for feeds. I definitely understand the frustration of losing hearing but thankfully for now I can rely on my good ear.

I always thought I would learn AUSLAN if my hearing started to worsen on my good side too.

I hope you can find ways to deal with your hearing loss.