WARNING! HEARING IMPAIRED
Warning: this is a long post.
You will need a few minutes to sit and read it.
I promise you won't lose anything by doing so.
No filter, written by yours truly.
Good Afternoon World,
If you didn't know, I am hearing impaired. Many people I meet do not realize this at first and I have realized and learned through good and bad experiences, that it is my responsibility to tell them that I do in fact, have an impaired ability to hear. I do not live life thinking "oh, woe is me, I can't hear without my hearing aids". I do not let not being able to hear, stop me from doing anything really just like one of my dearest friends does not let a spine deformity stop her (she is amazing by the way!).
I have been wearing hearing aids since I am 4 years old. I just can't wear them in the water. I have been dealing with a lot of people helping me with my hearing aids for the last 30 years (ew I can't believe I am old enough to say that I have been doing something for that long!! ahhh I am getting old!!) and my experiences have not always been pleasant. I used to go to a hospital location where the front desk women would roll their eyes when they saw me, or not make eye contact at all (there was one nice lady who was always helpful but most of the time I was there, she wasn't). The hearing aid technicians would always be the new intern of the year and my audiologist changed several times as well. So every time I went, I would have a new person filling my ears with the molding material, or adjusting my volumes and cutting my tubes, and a new person speaking to me during the hearing test and working on helping me find the appropriate levels for everything. Although they were well educated and professional, it was just very impersonal because I felt we never made any connections that lasted long enough for someone to get to know me, what I was used to versus what I needed and how to help me (the customer, the client, the paying patron, the hearing impaired person) the best possible way. I would often feel like "These people can hear, how can they possibly tell me that I need to keep the volume lower?!! I cannot hear them as they are trying to tell me this!! I am struggling to hear you now, why would I accept a lower volume as my default setting?! No! Make it louder please!". People would get frustrated with me and mostly, I would be frustrated with them.
But one day, I needed to get a new hearing test and as I was going to set up my appointment at my usual dreary location, my sister brought a hearing aid facility in a new location to my attention. It is called Long Island Hearing. You can visit them here if you are interested to learn more on your own. They have 3 facilities actually. http://www.lihearing.com/
It is a lovely family practice that has been around since 1985 and from the moment I walked in the door, I was welcomed with smiles and friendly conversation. Instantly, I had a good feeling. When I let them know who I was and that I had never been there before, and they found out I was Jen's sister and Lily's aunt, well then! That was it! They were all just so nice! When I was invited to go inside for my appointment, I met Bill, (the son- because you must know there is a father and son who both work there). Now Bill brought me into his office and took time getting to know me. (Me! Danielle Keen in case you weren't sure - lol- yes I think I am funny. It's okay if you don't. I still do:))
Well, after taking time in getting to know me, what do I do for work, where do I go to school, what am I studying, how is the social life going, he gently took my hearing aids off and tested my hearing. Aside from the fact that this man is obviously trained for this, his speech is impeccably clear. With or without my hearing aids I am pretty good at understanding whatever message it is that he is trying to relay to me. I even had to keep reminding him that if I have my hearing aids on, "you, of all people definitely do not need to be so thorough in your pronunciation because you speak so clearly"! I told him I felt like the test was so unfairly producing such good results because we are in such a quiet, unrealistic environment and that his articulation was so on point!
When it came to adjusting volume or molding and tubing, he was most helpful and understanding. What no one realizes is how hard it is to be hearing impaired day in and day out and not be able to hear everything you are trying to. I try to do a good job at letting people know that I cannot hear, but every now and then I forget to tell people. I am still learning everyday ways to communicate better to my peers, coworkers, friends and family.
I only want a positive experience for everyone around me. The empathy that came from this man actually brought my eyes to water up a bit, and me to a new realization that there are empathetic "hearing" people who can help me. One day, while adjusting the volume settings for me, Bill brought it just about to the highest setting he could and I said "it still feels like it is too low for me Bill".. He responded with, "I am pretty much at the highest level that we can go. Any higher, and you will only be hearing feedback". (For those of you who are not familiar with the term, feedback is the "whistling" noise you hear when you hug me, or the loud, obnoxious, ringing sound that my hearing aid makes when air gets into the tube or if the mold is not fit tightly to my ear). Now, I finally understood how bad my hearing was and how helpful a person could possibly be. He was so patient and kind and even gave me a great discount on a 20 pack of batteries.
I don't usually boast about much, but these people deserve some recognition. Maybe for dealing with me and keeping me smiling, but no, honestly, they are the demonstration to me that there are other people in this world who are capable of being naturally nice, professional, caring, empathetic, helpful, patient, and they even go so far as to extend amazing opportunities such as helping me with funds towards a pair of new hearing aids (which Bill highly advises that I need since my current ones are eroded externally and starting to electronically break down internally).
I just thought I might share this with everyone. A little excerpt of my internal feelings, thoughts and intentions. These people helped me so much, I feel happy just to think about them. I never dread another appointment, in fact, I look forward to them.The article below is why I even thought about any of this in the first place. So, my thoughts on this was, "Wow, all these years, I just thought I was getting dead batteries in my new packs". Now, I realize, they need to air out for a minute before they get put into the hearing aid. Ugh, genius! After thinking this, I felt inspired to share a bit of my story."If only someone told me this 30 years ago, I am sure I would have saved a lot of money"! These batteries can cost a dollar each sometimes! 30 years!! No insurance companies back in the day would recognize hearing impairment as something that they would cover, therefore my parents paid for everything out of pocket. This was expensive as you can imagine. One hearing aid can cost $3,000 or more...
Another note to my family and friends: All the money my parents (Mommy and Daddy) spent on hearing aids and being patient with me through the years, always repeating what they said (lord knows how frustrating this can be), you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Not one hearing aid, not one unanswered "what did you say?", not one battery, not one mold or tube has ever gone unnoticed or unappreciated. I love you all for being patient with me and hope that you will continue to be so with me. It is not in my control what I hear and what I don't. I have anywhere from 85-100% word recognition (and that is when Bill speaks to me through a special microphone in a very quiet room with no other distractions and I am reading his lips with my hearing aids on). So, when I am listening to people who speak with a speech problem or an accent from another language or who do not move their lips much, it definitely dips below 85% recognition.
Through writing this, I hope I have opened some eyes and ears to the mind, thoughts and feelings of a hearing impaired persons journey through life and the challenges that we face a little differently than many. I will continue trying my best to remember to tell people that I do still have difficulty even though I wear my hearing aids, but I just need a repeated letter, word or sentence, some patience and a little compassion. I thank you all so much for taking the time to read a little bit of my story and welcome any and all feedback privately or down below the post. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments or anything that I can help you or your loved ones with.
I highly recommend this facility to be at the top of your list for your hearing needs. Please let me know if you go, I would love to hear your experience as well. Thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
Danielle Keen
~Namaskar (The divine in me, loves and honors the divine in you)
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