Taking Charge of The Hearing Loss Journey (con’t)

A mother of four sat down with me and showed me how to keep my baby safe and a path forward from good parent-child to good communication.

But most importantly, over three short days, I was on fire to take charge of my new journey. I knew what I needed and how to ask for it. It was imperative to ask for access for me and other people with theexactneeds.

It was a very loud AHA moment that kicked off a new life as a hearing health advocate. Looking back, I couldn’t have picked a better time to have a baby because, in 1995, hearing technology was starting to boom. The digital age of modern tech was creating unheard-of accessibility for people with disabilities, especially those who needed support to understand audible messages. At the same time, new concepts in hearing healthcare delivery were emerging, and prevention of noiseinducedhearinglosswasbecomingabiggertopic.

MyfirstAHAmomentwasquicklyfollowedbyanother.

Enlightenment, as a person with hearing loss, gave me a toolbox bursting with attitudinal, technical, and behavioural communication strategies. Yet only the technical amplification strategies increased my physiological ability to hear better; the combination of the three enabled me to communicate better. Hearing is just one aspect of successful communication between two (or more) people. We use context, common language, visual input, personal interaction skills, and theabilitytoarticulateourneedsandhavethemmet.

Mygoalhadtochange.

I realized that I needed to communicate better instead of wanting to hear better. Communication is a bedrock of our society, the glue that connects people and the world around them. And this gluecanbeseverelyimpactedbyhearingloss.

To stop feeling victimized by my hearing loss or blaming others for poor communication, I took control of my journey. My self-identity improved, and I became honest about my hearing loss, boththefactofitandwhatIneedinindividuallisteningsituations.

Modern technology has made life easier but is less successful at handling our insecurities and emotions. That’s our job — along with asking and accepting help from others. Learning to work through the shame that I hadn’t realized I carried, to accept diversity and disability as part of life, and to commit to the best possible communication has been the greatest gift of having hearing loss.