This week...
It was this week that I experienced someone being not deaf aware. To be honest it shouldn't have affected me as it would normally done, as I would have just shuck it off and carried on.
The person who did it too me was someone who I had known for years! I would have thought they had learnt by now but apparently not!
I just come back from my Easter break and was in class. I had explained to my teacher that my hearing had disappeared and that I needed them to be more aware of how they stand, talk etc. Any deaf person reading this would understand.
Their response to me was 'I will try...' my immediate thought was you will not try, you will do! I feel like giving them the death stare, or trying to hypnotise them. Impossible, but that's what I get for watching too much Sci-Fi films...
It didn't end there that lesson, it just got worse and split over a couple of days. Deaf awareness should have been a key thing as this person had known me for many years. I asked them to repeat what had just been said, as it wasn't just me who missed the whole conversation. My interpreter was the same, kind of my fault for asking my interpreter to sign the last sentence again as I got mixed up.
Me: Would you repeat that again, please!
Them: Nope, must carry on with the lesson.
Oooo, that made me mad!
In addition to this my coursework it suppose to be finished apparently. Although with all the hearing loss and many appointment to the hospital in various parts of the country, means I do miss school occasionally. The rest of my teachers have took it into consideration whereas this one doesn't fully understand!
Therefore I am playing catching up, with the glare that comes in my direction every now and then!
I think to solve this problem of people not being deaf aware, I might do a meeting to talk about what I am going through; whilst trying to get them to understand it hard being disadvantaged with a slight hearing loss, that being profoundly deaf is twice the difficultness!
AND breathe, rant over!
Sunday 28 April 2013
Sunday 21 April 2013
Hearing Vanishing Once Again
During Easter...
I broke up from school on the Thursday just before Easter still having some of my hearing. Unlucky for me my hearing went on the Easter Monday but it did it whilst I was at home thank god!
My mam arranged for me to have emergency testing at my audiology centre again. It was pretty much what I expected. My hearing had gone...
Back on the magic pill (steroids) I go!
It wasn't magic this time!
My audiologist by this point had already put a referral through to a Cochlear Implant centre in Nottingham. I was hoping that the appointment would come through quick!
After Easter...
Luckily for me that my referral came through quickly and that I just attended this week gone. I had pretty mixed feeling yet again, I was unsure how it was going to go. I attended 6th form in the morning explaining the situation to all my teachers, then I headed on the journey down to Nottingham.
Arriving at Nottingham Audiology centre was quite complex, so many roads that went in the different direction to the place I wanted to go. Luckily me and my mam had Sean with us, the Irish accent SAT NAV which she is nuts about. Sorry Mam, it had to be said!
Once I got inside the building it reminded me of a swimming pool, my mam said my voice was echoing and bouncing off the worlds from when I spoke. Therefore that point was proved. Ha-ha.
Once meeting the audiologist I began to felt more relaxed. Up until now, people who were in the medical profession didn't exactly know what to do with me. These guys were specialised! Another hearing test was conducted, it must have been my 8th one in the last two months. There was no surprise, my hearing had remained at the level it was at. Which the audiologist then said the words I have been wanting to hear '...meet the criteria for a Cochlear Implant'. I knew that was the start of a journey to hearing again, but it wouldn't be straight forward. Nothing ever is.
After this appointment I had to talk to a teacher for the deaf since I was still in education. She advised me on what to do, how much more research I should carry out. Questions were flung at me again about my expectations etc. Boring but essential.
From this meeting I was given a information pack which advised me on what I could do and cant do if I have a cochlear implant.
For example I can't do Badminton if I don't wear some form of protection head wear. My initial thought was what the hell!
Another example is I can't do Karate again. Even though I gave it up many years ago, I have been recently thinking about going back to it. Bugger!
The DVD was similar and this has been making the rounds to all the people which are close to me. It has the aim to make them understand what I am going through.
The next step in this journey is going to a Cochlear Implant Conference provided by the Ear Foundation. This will hopefully resolve and find the solution to problem which has been weighing on my mind. The decision whether to have 1 or 2 Cochlear Implants!
I broke up from school on the Thursday just before Easter still having some of my hearing. Unlucky for me my hearing went on the Easter Monday but it did it whilst I was at home thank god!
My mam arranged for me to have emergency testing at my audiology centre again. It was pretty much what I expected. My hearing had gone...
Back on the magic pill (steroids) I go!
It wasn't magic this time!
My audiologist by this point had already put a referral through to a Cochlear Implant centre in Nottingham. I was hoping that the appointment would come through quick!
After Easter...
Luckily for me that my referral came through quickly and that I just attended this week gone. I had pretty mixed feeling yet again, I was unsure how it was going to go. I attended 6th form in the morning explaining the situation to all my teachers, then I headed on the journey down to Nottingham.
Arriving at Nottingham Audiology centre was quite complex, so many roads that went in the different direction to the place I wanted to go. Luckily me and my mam had Sean with us, the Irish accent SAT NAV which she is nuts about. Sorry Mam, it had to be said!
Once I got inside the building it reminded me of a swimming pool, my mam said my voice was echoing and bouncing off the worlds from when I spoke. Therefore that point was proved. Ha-ha.
Once meeting the audiologist I began to felt more relaxed. Up until now, people who were in the medical profession didn't exactly know what to do with me. These guys were specialised! Another hearing test was conducted, it must have been my 8th one in the last two months. There was no surprise, my hearing had remained at the level it was at. Which the audiologist then said the words I have been wanting to hear '...meet the criteria for a Cochlear Implant'. I knew that was the start of a journey to hearing again, but it wouldn't be straight forward. Nothing ever is.
After this appointment I had to talk to a teacher for the deaf since I was still in education. She advised me on what to do, how much more research I should carry out. Questions were flung at me again about my expectations etc. Boring but essential.
From this meeting I was given a information pack which advised me on what I could do and cant do if I have a cochlear implant.
For example I can't do Badminton if I don't wear some form of protection head wear. My initial thought was what the hell!
Another example is I can't do Karate again. Even though I gave it up many years ago, I have been recently thinking about going back to it. Bugger!
The DVD was similar and this has been making the rounds to all the people which are close to me. It has the aim to make them understand what I am going through.
The next step in this journey is going to a Cochlear Implant Conference provided by the Ear Foundation. This will hopefully resolve and find the solution to problem which has been weighing on my mind. The decision whether to have 1 or 2 Cochlear Implants!
Saturday 20 April 2013
THE COCHLEAR IMPLANT
Before Easter...
A couple of weeks before Easter I got in touch with an old friend of mine who had their cochlear implant done when they were a similar age to me. We went out for a meal, this was an opportunity for me to ask a bunch of questions. It was like an explosion of questions coming out of my gob!
Some were funny such as 'can you stick a fridge magnet to your head?'
The response was no! Much to my brother displeasure! I think he thought if I a Cochlear Implant he could go round with a bunch of fridge magnets and re-invent the pin the tail on the donkey.
I did ask some serious questions as well. By the end of the evening I got most of the answers that I desperately sought.
The next day at school, I would not shut up according to one of my closest friends. Telling almost everyone who spoke to me what I could be going through and relaying all the answers I received.
It was becoming a weight off my mind!
 |
| the outside of a cochlear implant (the processor) |
A couple of weeks before Easter I got in touch with an old friend of mine who had their cochlear implant done when they were a similar age to me. We went out for a meal, this was an opportunity for me to ask a bunch of questions. It was like an explosion of questions coming out of my gob!
Some were funny such as 'can you stick a fridge magnet to your head?'
 |
| the inside implant linking to the cochlear |
The response was no! Much to my brother displeasure! I think he thought if I a Cochlear Implant he could go round with a bunch of fridge magnets and re-invent the pin the tail on the donkey.
I did ask some serious questions as well. By the end of the evening I got most of the answers that I desperately sought.
The next day at school, I would not shut up according to one of my closest friends. Telling almost everyone who spoke to me what I could be going through and relaying all the answers I received.
It was becoming a weight off my mind!
Hallelujah or not...
After that appointment...
The magic pill were of course short lived, it gave me my hearing back for a couple of months which yippee I could hear music, TV and voices! Thank god!
School became more supportive through that period by giving me extra support and I had signing interpreters put in place. So I could understand my teachers, as some of them are mega hard to understand when just lip reading them.
From that audiology appointment, I had to constantly go back for further hearing tests to make sure that I could still hear. It was beginning to show again that my hearing was dropping again and at first my confidence was too.
My deaf friends who had Cochlear Implants were beginning to help me understand and get my head around the idea of having one. As that could be an option to take.
There were conflicting opinions from people around me on what I should do. My parents of course said go for whatever was best for me!
Whereas other people said to me it wasn't natural to have a Cochlear Implant, my response was 'well would you prevent a person having a hip replacement, because that's not natural' this shut them up.
Around March...
My hearing was beginning to drop again, which gave me the idea of researching all the options that I have laid out in front of me.
1. Going down the pathway of having no hearing and being deaf for the rest of my life. This is ruled out straight away! I was not going to sit around hearing no music, my parents voice, or potentially failing my A Levels.
2. Keep wearing my hearing aids and have very little sound. As I know scientists now conducting research to help restore hearing.
3. Go for the Cochlear Implant which had be recommended by Audiologist.
Option 2 and 3 were becoming more favourable to me!
The magic pill were of course short lived, it gave me my hearing back for a couple of months which yippee I could hear music, TV and voices! Thank god!
School became more supportive through that period by giving me extra support and I had signing interpreters put in place. So I could understand my teachers, as some of them are mega hard to understand when just lip reading them.
From that audiology appointment, I had to constantly go back for further hearing tests to make sure that I could still hear. It was beginning to show again that my hearing was dropping again and at first my confidence was too.
My deaf friends who had Cochlear Implants were beginning to help me understand and get my head around the idea of having one. As that could be an option to take.
There were conflicting opinions from people around me on what I should do. My parents of course said go for whatever was best for me!
Whereas other people said to me it wasn't natural to have a Cochlear Implant, my response was 'well would you prevent a person having a hip replacement, because that's not natural' this shut them up.
Around March...
My hearing was beginning to drop again, which gave me the idea of researching all the options that I have laid out in front of me.
1. Going down the pathway of having no hearing and being deaf for the rest of my life. This is ruled out straight away! I was not going to sit around hearing no music, my parents voice, or potentially failing my A Levels.
2. Keep wearing my hearing aids and have very little sound. As I know scientists now conducting research to help restore hearing.
3. Go for the Cochlear Implant which had be recommended by Audiologist.
Option 2 and 3 were becoming more favourable to me!
The Big Shock!
January
Way back in January my life had began to change completely. The change wasn't something I could control, being a deaf lass in 6th form was already hard. Having to rely on lip reading, sounds through my hearing aids. I stood out already but having a great group of friends I feel normalish.
Although I wasn't that deaf, it was a big shock to find out that I had gone to bed normal.
To then waking up the next day to find out that my hearing had gone completely. My instant thought was 'oh hell' its just a dip in my hearing caused by a ear infection or something.
Oh how I wish it was just that. Then came the visits to my useless GP's, who whenever I have a health problem always seem to diagnose me with something totally different to what ever I have. Yes I know your reading this and thinking that I should change doctors or something. ha-ha.
One doctor even said 'why on earth are you seeing me?' My reply was I need help of course!
The audiology appointment was made in a emergency, shortly after that. On the day of the appointment I was in mixed feeling because I didn't know what to expect. Part of me still had hope that my hearing can be fixed by a magic pill, whereas the other part of me knew that I had no chance!
The testing was carried out and yep it was confirmed my hearing had vanished and that I now met the criteria for Cochlear Implant. The Cochlear Implant is a hearing equipment which would be inserted in a person head to give them hearing.
I have many friends who have one but the thought of myself having one upset me. I wouldn't hear normally again. People would sound robotic, friends and family would not longer sound the same!
Thankfully I got given the magic pill which helped bring my hearing back up. Hallelujah!!!!
Way back in January my life had began to change completely. The change wasn't something I could control, being a deaf lass in 6th form was already hard. Having to rely on lip reading, sounds through my hearing aids. I stood out already but having a great group of friends I feel normalish.
Although I wasn't that deaf, it was a big shock to find out that I had gone to bed normal.
To then waking up the next day to find out that my hearing had gone completely. My instant thought was 'oh hell' its just a dip in my hearing caused by a ear infection or something.
Oh how I wish it was just that. Then came the visits to my useless GP's, who whenever I have a health problem always seem to diagnose me with something totally different to what ever I have. Yes I know your reading this and thinking that I should change doctors or something. ha-ha.
One doctor even said 'why on earth are you seeing me?' My reply was I need help of course!
The audiology appointment was made in a emergency, shortly after that. On the day of the appointment I was in mixed feeling because I didn't know what to expect. Part of me still had hope that my hearing can be fixed by a magic pill, whereas the other part of me knew that I had no chance!
The testing was carried out and yep it was confirmed my hearing had vanished and that I now met the criteria for Cochlear Implant. The Cochlear Implant is a hearing equipment which would be inserted in a person head to give them hearing.
I have many friends who have one but the thought of myself having one upset me. I wouldn't hear normally again. People would sound robotic, friends and family would not longer sound the same!
Thankfully I got given the magic pill which helped bring my hearing back up. Hallelujah!!!!
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