I always hate it when I have to go somewhere noisy because I know I’m not going to be hearing the people I’m going there with. I always like to go to a nice quiet café or if there’s an upstairs to a building, I will go upstairs away from the noisy conversation and music blaring. I always take a friend to a quiet place if it’s up me or I’m going to have a good chat with them. My main friends always seem to pick noisy restaurants or we get placed on a table next to a kitchen with a lot of noisy clattering going on. I just find myself going quiet most of the night because I can’t hear a thing that’s going on which is a shame because when my friends all get together and we talk about what we have been getting up to & I always want to know what’s going on with them but I can’t hear a word they are saying because of background noise or they are all talking all at once so I can’t lip-read everyone. I can get the gist of what they are talking about if we were somewhere quiet and put my opinion in, but if we were in a noisy background place. I can’t even do that no matter how hard I try to focus on doing it!
If I can’t hear what a friend says or if they are at the far end of the table and I can’t hear what they are shouting, I sometimes give them my mobile and tell them to write it in text , then give it back to me so I know what they said or something they wanted to say. If the noisy places keep getting picked, I might have to start bringing a notepad with me so they can write stuff down!!! So that’s one my bad points of being deaf/having a cochlear implant which can be a shame because I don’t get to show off my personality and seem shy and quiet which I’m not on a one to one basis! I do let people know my concerns but it always seems to happen and it slips their mind while everything is going on or they think I am ok with listening with my cochlear implant
Cochlear implants can make you hear and give you the confidence to listen & use your speech but not the social interaction with people or group situations. I always tell a new person I’m deaf if I’m in a noisy place because the first place they go for is my ear to talk in to it and I need to see their face so I can lip-read. If it’s a quiet place with not much noise and a one to one basis or two people, I can be more confident and not have to tell them that I am deaf because I can hear them and know what they are talking about. I know some people can be surprised when I tell them in person that I’m deaf as they think my speech and hearing is good which is always a good side to a cochlear implant but it takes a good few years to get to that point but it’s all worth it!
If I can’t hear what a friend says or if they are at the far end of the table and I can’t hear what they are shouting, I sometimes give them my mobile and tell them to write it in text , then give it back to me so I know what they said or something they wanted to say. If the noisy places keep getting picked, I might have to start bringing a notepad with me so they can write stuff down!!! So that’s one my bad points of being deaf/having a cochlear implant which can be a shame because I don’t get to show off my personality and seem shy and quiet which I’m not on a one to one basis! I do let people know my concerns but it always seems to happen and it slips their mind while everything is going on or they think I am ok with listening with my cochlear implant
Cochlear implants can make you hear and give you the confidence to listen & use your speech but not the social interaction with people or group situations. I always tell a new person I’m deaf if I’m in a noisy place because the first place they go for is my ear to talk in to it and I need to see their face so I can lip-read. If it’s a quiet place with not much noise and a one to one basis or two people, I can be more confident and not have to tell them that I am deaf because I can hear them and know what they are talking about. I know some people can be surprised when I tell them in person that I’m deaf as they think my speech and hearing is good which is always a good side to a cochlear implant but it takes a good few years to get to that point but it’s all worth it!
3 comments:
I have found that "I need to see you to understand you" works well for me. It gives people the information they need clearly and quickly. If they want to chat, we can go on from there.
David
Laura --
It is not the cochlear implant that makes you social adept or inept. It is your approach to how you perceive the world around you.
It is okay to take charge. It is okay to ask people to write things down when you do not understand.
Most people have their own worries, concerns and issues rolling inside their brains, and perhaps it is easy for many people to lose sight of your being deaf - even if they know you well.
I admire you. You are, indeed, a survivor. Be well and keep your chin up. -- Dr. Killjoy
"Most people have their own worries, concerns and issues rolling inside their brains, and perhaps it is easy for many people to lose sight of your being deaf - even if they know you well.
That is too true. When I lost my hearing completely, people went through a very tough time getting used to being in my direct line of sight. It was as much of a change for the people around me as it was for me.
Humans are creatures of habit and it takes a while.
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