Life as a Hearing Impaired Person: Adaptation and Resilience

For individuals who are hearing impaired or just hard of hearing, daily life presents unique challenges and opportunities for adaptation. Living in a world where perfection is often prioritized, these individuals navigate through a landscape that can sometimes be indifferent and disinterested, relying on their own strengths to thrive. This article explores what it means to be a hearing impaired person and shares insights from personal experiences.

Resilience and Adaptation

From an early age, it is necessary for individuals with hearing impairments to adapt and become resilient. This often means learning to survive in a society where emotions can be as unpredictable as a roller coaster. Friends are found among those who share common challenges, such as sign language users or those adept at Braille and lip reading.

The world of the hearing impaired is not one of envy. Instead, it is a world where understanding and compassion are essential. Ignoring the behavior of hearing individuals who may enjoy substances to the point of intoxication, or even causing themselves harm excessively, is not out of jealousy, but rather curiosity. Emotions can certainly run high, but these experiences are not unique to the hearing community. What is unique, however, is the societal response and often the indifference towards the deaf community's struggles.

Personal Experiences

Even those who have partial hearing can face significant challenges. In my own life, I have managed with only partial hearing in my right ear since junior high. Over the years, strategies such as positioning myself to hear better have become automatic. It became routine to try and position myself so that the person speaking was on the left side, where my better hearing was.

As I aged, guessing the content of conversations became part of the routine. Sometimes, the humor in these situations was unmistakable. Once, I misunderstood my granddaughter and hugged her in place of answering her direct question. She then asked her mother if she could have a tissue. It may have been beyond her years, but the misunderstanding wasn’t particularly strange to her. However, not everyone is as forgiving. The frustration of not being heard can be intense, and it is important to communicate clearly and find empathy for others who face similar challenges.

Seeking solutions, I invested in hearing aids in my late 50s. The latest model included a sophisticated system that transmitted audio from one side to the other, ensuring sound was heard accurately and naturally. These aids are indeed expensive, but the benefits were immeasurable, making daily interactions so much smoother.

Deaf Culture and Society's Reaction

For those who are deaf from birth, the world they know is the one of deafness, and they learn to navigate it with the strengths and cultural values that sustain them. Many deaf individuals thrive in everyday life due to flexible and well-thought-out adaptations and a strong support network.

However, the hearing world, often unaware of the unique challenges faced by the deaf, continues to be inflexible and indifferent. It is far from common to see deaf individuals in positions of power or prominence. It is as if the deaf population is invisible, pushed to the margins, and often tolerated rather than integrated.

Living as a deaf person means learning to tolerate societal behaviors that others shrug off as 'Not my problem'. It is a constant battle of being completely ignored and pushed aside. Despite the challenges, a sense of politeness and diplomacy is maintained in all circumstances. Deaf individuals continue to navigate life with resilience and adaptability, striving for a more inclusive world.