Unfortunately, even today in 2022, hearing loss is still something which many people either dont realise what it is, or how it affects people who suffer from it in their daily life.
You may have heard about my own personal story growing up where an individual didn’t realise how much hearing loss affected me, or wasn’t sensitive enough to understand what having a hearing loss meant.
In the 9th grade (or year 9 as we say in the UK), in High School, I had a teacher tell me to remove my hearing aids as they were distracting other students. The only reason I can think of is that I had to change the batteries one time in that class, which caused a few students to turn around and look at me as I done it.
At that age I wasn’t confident enough to tell the teacher why I needed hearing aids, or why I was doing what I was. I wasn’t the best communicator. But, the teacher, in my opinion, should have asked questions about what they were and why I needed them, instead of telling me to remove them completely.
For the rest of that class, I struggled. I was sat at the back. I missed information, and I fell behind. This event dampened my confidence so much, that it was actually the reason I stopped wearing hearing all together, until the age of 21, when I had enough confidence to want to start wearing them again.
Im not mad at the teacher. Im mad that there isn’t enough education in our world today about something which effects 1 in 5 people, globally. It isn’t talked about enough. I often have people question my hearing aids. I personally try not to make my hearing loss a big deal. It isn’t something I start my conversations off with, telling people I have a hearing loss, so they should speak a certain way to me.
What I’m trying to say is, at every opportunity you can, spread the message about hearing loss and hearing aids, and what it means to have a hearing loss. We need more information and knowledge out their in today’s society. For something that effects so many of us around the world, it’s tough to work out why it isn’t as much of a publicly known condition as some other things. Educate at every moment you can, and spread the message in every way possible. Let’s help our community become known, so that hearing loss doesn’t have to be something that’s overlooked, or something that people are afraid to even tell others that they have.
Hearing loss is a part of you. It’s part of who you are. It’s how God created you. You are who you are supposed to be, so embrace it, and find joy in educating others. It will make the world a better place.
You may have heard about my own personal story growing up where an individual didn’t realise how much hearing loss affected me, or wasn’t sensitive enough to understand what having a hearing loss meant.
In the 9th grade (or year 9 as we say in the UK), in High School, I had a teacher tell me to remove my hearing aids as they were distracting other students. The only reason I can think of is that I had to change the batteries one time in that class, which caused a few students to turn around and look at me as I done it.
At that age I wasn’t confident enough to tell the teacher why I needed hearing aids, or why I was doing what I was. I wasn’t the best communicator. But, the teacher, in my opinion, should have asked questions about what they were and why I needed them, instead of telling me to remove them completely.
For the rest of that class, I struggled. I was sat at the back. I missed information, and I fell behind. This event dampened my confidence so much, that it was actually the reason I stopped wearing hearing all together, until the age of 21, when I had enough confidence to want to start wearing them again.
Im not mad at the teacher. Im mad that there isn’t enough education in our world today about something which effects 1 in 5 people, globally. It isn’t talked about enough. I often have people question my hearing aids. I personally try not to make my hearing loss a big deal. It isn’t something I start my conversations off with, telling people I have a hearing loss, so they should speak a certain way to me.
What I’m trying to say is, at every opportunity you can, spread the message about hearing loss and hearing aids, and what it means to have a hearing loss. We need more information and knowledge out their in today’s society. For something that effects so many of us around the world, it’s tough to work out why it isn’t as much of a publicly known condition as some other things. Educate at every moment you can, and spread the message in every way possible. Let’s help our community become known, so that hearing loss doesn’t have to be something that’s overlooked, or something that people are afraid to even tell others that they have.
Hearing loss is a part of you. It’s part of who you are. It’s how God created you. You are who you are supposed to be, so embrace it, and find joy in educating others. It will make the world a better place.