Good post spongebob! This is a bit off topic but me being into DJ'ing, I've actually heard (no pun intended) of this deaf DJ named Robbie Wilde. The guy is pretty awesome and is a pro despite his deafness! The video below is his story so I think it be cool to check out :tup:
spongebob..it never surprises me how people succeed and do amazing stuff despite conditions that affect them.
DJ...you are pretty damn amazing too...you DJ despite your limited hand function..not only do you DJ but you are sh*t hot at it, your mixes are hard to beat by any standard.
cannonfodder....sorry i may be having a slow day but im confused a little...is it the hearing loss that you are asking about or the video? I know spongebob personally and he, im sure will be happy to talk about how his hearing loss affects him.....
If you dont mind me asking do you have someone close to you with hearing difficulties?
The title "hearing loss" grabbed my attention. I see that this Thread has been quiet for over three years, and I really don't know if I should add to it or should start another Thread on the subject of "hearing loss". Anyway...
After I finally got home to my house from the nursing home, I went through a time where my ears were stopped up with fluid. Sometimes my left ear would be stopped up, and sometimes my right ear would stop up. But there were a few days when BOTH ears were stopped up...and that was very scarey, especially because I'm paraplegic. I don't have the TTY device, which allows people to type messages over the phone. So my sudden loss (or diminishment) of hearing threatened my independent living.
With time, money, and help, I could have gotten the equipment that I needed in order to manage my life despite a hearing loss, but it takes time to get the right equupment, set it up, and learn to use it. Also, I would have needed to install a "light" to alert me of the doorbell ringing. I focused on eating blueberries and 'all things anti-oxidant', plus taking any other natural anti-bacterial that I could think of. Then one ear"s hearing opened up again, and eventually the other ear opened up, too. So, I averted disaster. But I had days where I was on the verge of ordering the specialized equipment that deaf people need. I have very good hearing again, now that the fluid is gone. But a person with paralyses AND a hearing problem is surely in more of a predicament than a person who only has one or the other disability.
I am a qualified teacher of the deaf, while I have mainly worked with children I have extensive knowledge and experience with adaptive technology, also hearing aids and cochlear implants. I am very familiar with the deaf community and issues surrounding hearing loss, if I can ever be of use or answer questions please fire away!
I am a qualified teacher of the deaf, while I have mainly worked with children I have extensive knowledge and experience with adaptive technology, also hearing aids and cochlear implants. I am very familiar with the deaf community and issues surrounding hearing loss, if I can ever be of use or answer questions please fire away!
I don't know if you can advise someone like me Nathan. I have a profound and progressive hearing loss and have worn devices now for 26 years. The latest set are the last stop- anything more powerful will also damage my ears. I find it very difficult to work out the meaning of people's words even when I hear the sounds. My brain does not decode it. I do ok if people speak slowly and carefully, which most people CANNOT do.
I've abandoned many friendships with those who cannot speak carefully. One of my closest friends drifted away because she feels abandoned when anyone does not understand her. All God's children got "stuff". I find it impossible to make new friends, as all social situations require functioning in groups with background noise. Conversation is key to adult interaction, so I spend time online. I am unable to use sign language due to limited hand function, but honestly my learning ability is also limited. I used to be very good with languages but...
I have not found any solutions, but my life has gotten quite small and my personality is changed from 10 years ago, of course being in a wheelchair is part of that but doesn't really restrict me socially.
I step in the water, but the water has moved on...
Well if your hearing loss is profound, you have no hearing up to 91db, seriously Tetra, you should be looking into Cochlear implants as they are about the only solution at this level of hearing loss and the fact you are functioning without them is astonishing. Getting Cochlear implants is a bit of a process, then your brain adjusting to them can take some time but you will see good results within 3-6 months of getting an implant some people choose to get two implants (bilateral) but that will only be done after it's shown you can benefit from the first implant. After you have been qualified as a candidate for an implant you will be sent to an ENT to perform the surgery, it is usually day surgery you go in around 7am and get released roughly 6pm if all goes well, very few people get infections or other side effects for this type of surgery, pain levels are usually very mild though you will have a sore head for a few days.
Since you are post lingually deaf you should have no problem becoming a qualified candidate, ask your doctor for a referral to an audiologist and get the ball rolling on it, once approved my advice to you is just do it you won't regret it in the long run, an implant will improve your life out of sight once you have it!
There is some rehab involved in learning to use the implants, and a number of visits to your audiologist to map it (tune it) to your exact needs.
Nathan- YOu are a dear to share this encouragement... but, 2 years ago I did investigate the implant. Incidentally, an audiologist told me the same thing a few years ago- that he was astonished I function at all.
Back to the implants. I am 66, my health can be iffy, and the thought of 6 months of testing for the implants, combined with having to drive 2 hours to the test site, rolled into the challenge of learning to interpret the signals- all that left me feeling defeated rather than encouraged. Total cost in USD ran close to $50,000. Someone pays that and I am/was reluctant to spend both mine and public $ on a project from which I may only get a few years use.
Thinking about it makes me want to cry, instead of undertake the project.I'm not sure how to proceed, but I will take a few steps given what you say. I tried to send this as a PM but when in that mode my space bar does not register. Weird. So here is my very personal quandry hanging out in public.
I step in the water, but the water has moved on...
Thanks for letting it 'hang out there', tetra. I care, too, and I'm interested.
I interpreted for the deaf for about eight years in South America. After I returned to the USA, one job I had was interpreting for the deaf at a community college. During those years I became aware of the emotional elements that accompany cochlear implants. Do you have a TTY and other supportive devices?...not that they really solve the social void.
P.S. When I can't see my space bar, or anything else becomes 'wonky', I type my post over in my 'notes' area of my computer, then copy and paste it into the PM of whoever I'm writing. Once that is done, I can still go back into the message to edit it. That was on Apparelyzed, but I haven't had the visually "missing field" problem here yet.
Tetra, you can always learn ASL though that isn't much of an option, you also need to stop putting the public purse above your own health and well-being.
You don't need help to learn to use a cochlear implant, this is just a process of your brain getting used to the new stimuli, to help with that they have you do a number of sessions with an audi to speed that process up and re-map you as appropriate. Getting this done is NOT a hard process surgery day is a simple one and can actually be made a nice day without stress, I am not sure about there but here, most people that recieve implants are seniors some live for 2 years others another 25, you have ZERO way of knowing for sure how long you will be here for, what happens if you are with us for another 20 years? At least they can be 20 awesome years with good hearing! Seriously don't put this off go and do it Cochlear implants are so worthwhile for anyone of any age, this is not a matter of $$$ but a matter of your own happiness and well-being. Also who is to say you won't make some really awesome friends out of this process?