Sensorineural Hearing Loss, other wise known as a Mixed Hearing Loss. Basically I have middle ear bone damage and nerve damage. For further information you can go to the House Ear Clinic at http://www.houseearclinic.com/hearingloss.htm for more information. I also think I have a touch of Central Auditory Processing Disorder which you can find on this same page.
Thanks for asking Paula!
Peace!
C-
PitaPata Dog tickers
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Life as an HOH/HI: a painful childhood memory
I have so many memories from my childhood as a main streamed HOH, sadly many are not happy. I want to say in NO way do I blame my parents or my teachers. My father did everything humanly possible he could do and did what he felt was the right thing for me. The blame goes squarely on the shoulders of my tormentors and to extension their parents (in my opinion, who were not as involved in their child's life as they should of been).
It was Jr. High, I think I was going to lunch and I stopped by to say hello my speech therapist (I spent K-8 going to one). There was a group of girls behind me, honestly I don't think I even knew them! While I was standing in the doorway to her office, these girls passed by and they were talking to themselves, I glanced at them and one of the girls stared at me over her shoulder (rather rudely if I recall correctly). My speech therapist came up to me and asked if I heard them calling my name and I said no. That explained the rude look. Obviously this is not one of my tormented stories, but you get the idea of my sense of isolation. Because I didn't or couldn't hear someone, people thought I was rude and ignoring them!
I never hide my HI, but I did not talk about it either, mostly because I didn't know what to say. Even now as an adult I don't hide it nor talk about it.
Here is a torment story. It was about third grade, Chris and I had just returned from Washington State (that is a long story in itself and for another time). My parents were getting a divorce, I was once again going to a new school and knew no one. There was this girl that thought it would be funny to scream in my ear. Every day, any time of the day, usually at recess or after school out on the side walk. Not only would she scream in my ear, but she would also pinch me and run off laughing. Needless to say it was quite painful to my ear and my self-esteem was at its lowest. Thankfully, I was able to go to my father (he always made me feel like I could) and the girl got in trouble and she never did it again.
I certainly do not remember her name now, nor what she looked like. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I knew her before she started the torment. Anyone have any thoughts on this phenomenon of not knowing the person before the torment starts?
Anyway, enough for now.
Peace!
C-
It was Jr. High, I think I was going to lunch and I stopped by to say hello my speech therapist (I spent K-8 going to one). There was a group of girls behind me, honestly I don't think I even knew them! While I was standing in the doorway to her office, these girls passed by and they were talking to themselves, I glanced at them and one of the girls stared at me over her shoulder (rather rudely if I recall correctly). My speech therapist came up to me and asked if I heard them calling my name and I said no. That explained the rude look. Obviously this is not one of my tormented stories, but you get the idea of my sense of isolation. Because I didn't or couldn't hear someone, people thought I was rude and ignoring them!
I never hide my HI, but I did not talk about it either, mostly because I didn't know what to say. Even now as an adult I don't hide it nor talk about it.
Here is a torment story. It was about third grade, Chris and I had just returned from Washington State (that is a long story in itself and for another time). My parents were getting a divorce, I was once again going to a new school and knew no one. There was this girl that thought it would be funny to scream in my ear. Every day, any time of the day, usually at recess or after school out on the side walk. Not only would she scream in my ear, but she would also pinch me and run off laughing. Needless to say it was quite painful to my ear and my self-esteem was at its lowest. Thankfully, I was able to go to my father (he always made me feel like I could) and the girl got in trouble and she never did it again.
I certainly do not remember her name now, nor what she looked like. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I knew her before she started the torment. Anyone have any thoughts on this phenomenon of not knowing the person before the torment starts?
Anyway, enough for now.
Peace!
C-
Monday, June 30, 2008
Life as a HOH/HI: Part I
What on earth is HOH and HI you ask? I just learned these terms this past weekend:
HOH - Hard of Hearing
HI is Hearing Impaired.
I am sure many of you are wondering what brought this topic up since I rarely discuss my hearing loss and its effects in my life. As a matter of fact 95% of you forgot I am hard of hearing! Not that I want anyone to dwell on it. I certainly do not, especially since my disability is part of who I am. So why dwell? What brought this topic to the front of my thoughts is the fact that my hearing aids are over 15 years old and have started to fall apart (literally). Due to this sad event of aging, I started researching "free hearing aids". Honestly, I simply can not afford new aids, not now nor in the past. I have run across a few resources that are provided by the state and federal governments. I am uncertain as to whether I qualify for anything, however I thought that I would try. Before I get to that, I thought I would share with you my test results from my hearing test from July 2007 (I have my annual test in August, but this will give you the basic idea).
This chart will help to understand where the decibel (the intensity or loudness of the sound) lands in relation to hearing loss:
0 dB - 20 dB ....... normal hearing
20 dB - 40 dB ..... mild hearing loss
40 dB - 55 dB ..... moderate hearing loss
55 dB - 70 dB ..... moderately severe hearing loss
70 dB - 90 dB ..... severe hearing loss
over 90 dB....profound hearing loss
My average decibel (dB) was recorded as 39dB. So for my right ear I have a mild to moderate hearing loss. However, the frequency (how low or high a sound or pitch is) which is measured in Hertz, are different. 250 is low and 6000 is high - this really has to do with understanding human speech.
250 Hz: 20 dB (border line normal to mild hearing loss)
500 Hz: 25 dB (mild loss)
1000 Hz: 35 dB (mild loss)
2000 Hz: 40 dB (moderate loss)
3000 Hz: 55 dB (border line moderate to moderately severe)
4000 Hz: 65 dB (moderately severe)
6000 Hz: 80 dB (severe loss)
What this means is the higher the pitch; the less I hear.
Now for my left ear: My average dB is 79 which is a severe hearing loss. (That is why I always try to be on your left side, so I can hear you out of my right ear!). The frequency is:
250 Hz: 30 dB (mild hearing loss)
500 Hz: 40 dB (moderate loss)
1000 Hz: 55 dB (border line moderate to moderately severe)
2000 Hz: 110 dB (profound loss)
3000 Hz: 110 dB (profound loss)
4000 Hz: 110 dB (profound loss)
6000 Hz: 95 dB (profound loss)
I can only hear low sounds such as a rumbling sound. If someone tries to speak in my left ear, I get enough vibration to know that there is a sound, however, I can not understand or make out what that sound is. For more information on Audiograms you can check out Audiology Awareness at http://www.audiologyawareness.com/hearinfo_audiogramread.asp.
The good news is that my hearing has not changed since my first test at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles in 1980 - http://www.houseearclinic.com. I have been blessed with the best doctor in the world (no joke here - he is the top of his field in the world), Derald E. Brackmann, M.D. has been my doctor for 28 years. Wow! He knew me throughout my timid childhood, my gawky teenage years (now that is frightening) and my borderline early adult life (I do not think I have entirely grown up yet...now I digress).
I think I will end this discussion here for the evening. I will continue my thoughts later, however, for now if you have any questions, etc. please ask them!
Peace!
C-
HOH - Hard of Hearing
HI is Hearing Impaired.
I am sure many of you are wondering what brought this topic up since I rarely discuss my hearing loss and its effects in my life. As a matter of fact 95% of you forgot I am hard of hearing! Not that I want anyone to dwell on it. I certainly do not, especially since my disability is part of who I am. So why dwell? What brought this topic to the front of my thoughts is the fact that my hearing aids are over 15 years old and have started to fall apart (literally). Due to this sad event of aging, I started researching "free hearing aids". Honestly, I simply can not afford new aids, not now nor in the past. I have run across a few resources that are provided by the state and federal governments. I am uncertain as to whether I qualify for anything, however I thought that I would try. Before I get to that, I thought I would share with you my test results from my hearing test from July 2007 (I have my annual test in August, but this will give you the basic idea).
This chart will help to understand where the decibel (the intensity or loudness of the sound) lands in relation to hearing loss:
0 dB - 20 dB ....... normal hearing
20 dB - 40 dB ..... mild hearing loss
40 dB - 55 dB ..... moderate hearing loss
55 dB - 70 dB ..... moderately severe hearing loss
70 dB - 90 dB ..... severe hearing loss
over 90 dB....profound hearing loss
My average decibel (dB) was recorded as 39dB. So for my right ear I have a mild to moderate hearing loss. However, the frequency (how low or high a sound or pitch is) which is measured in Hertz, are different. 250 is low and 6000 is high - this really has to do with understanding human speech.
250 Hz: 20 dB (border line normal to mild hearing loss)
500 Hz: 25 dB (mild loss)
1000 Hz: 35 dB (mild loss)
2000 Hz: 40 dB (moderate loss)
3000 Hz: 55 dB (border line moderate to moderately severe)
4000 Hz: 65 dB (moderately severe)
6000 Hz: 80 dB (severe loss)
What this means is the higher the pitch; the less I hear.
Now for my left ear: My average dB is 79 which is a severe hearing loss. (That is why I always try to be on your left side, so I can hear you out of my right ear!). The frequency is:
250 Hz: 30 dB (mild hearing loss)
500 Hz: 40 dB (moderate loss)
1000 Hz: 55 dB (border line moderate to moderately severe)
2000 Hz: 110 dB (profound loss)
3000 Hz: 110 dB (profound loss)
4000 Hz: 110 dB (profound loss)
6000 Hz: 95 dB (profound loss)
I can only hear low sounds such as a rumbling sound. If someone tries to speak in my left ear, I get enough vibration to know that there is a sound, however, I can not understand or make out what that sound is. For more information on Audiograms you can check out Audiology Awareness at http://www.audiologyawareness.com/hearinfo_audiogramread.asp.
The good news is that my hearing has not changed since my first test at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles in 1980 - http://www.houseearclinic.com. I have been blessed with the best doctor in the world (no joke here - he is the top of his field in the world), Derald E. Brackmann, M.D. has been my doctor for 28 years. Wow! He knew me throughout my timid childhood, my gawky teenage years (now that is frightening) and my borderline early adult life (I do not think I have entirely grown up yet...now I digress).
I think I will end this discussion here for the evening. I will continue my thoughts later, however, for now if you have any questions, etc. please ask them!
Peace!
C-
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How did you lose your hearing, by the way?