Two Women Shouting

I am a writer with moderate hearing loss, which I have had since I was in my early 30's. Now in my mid 50's I want to create a blog where we can have open discussion about what it is like in the world of the hard of hearing. This may be humorous stories or poignant ones and hopefully there will be some useful advice on how to avoid the isolation which occurs when communication becomes difficult. Please interact with the site. It's for you and me to talk.

I can not help feeling sorry for my husband at present. He has two hard-of-hearing women in the house. My mother has come to stay for a couple of weeks and she loves to talk and so do I. The computer suddenly holds a great deal of attraction for him as he seeks other sensory input.

My dad always used to say that the voices of my mum and me would become louder and louder trying to outdo each other until we reached the point of nearly shouting at each other. When I bought my new hearing aids it shocked the entire family. Suddenly my voice dropped to normal, indeed quiet, levels. No one could hear me once I started hearing myself. I suddenly knew why people seemed to cringe when I started to speak and if I became excited, well, ear plugs were needed.
I received a notification from my hearing aid company the other day saying that I need a review. Although I know that this is marketing I will go because my hearing aids have given me the gift of social acceptance and that is worth spending a few coins on.

Emergency Alerts for the Hard of Hearing

I am a writer with moderate hearing loss, which I have had since I was in my early 30's. Now in my mid 50's I want to create a blog where we can have open discussion about what it is like in the world of the hard of hearing. This may be humorous stories or poignant ones and hopefully there will be some useful advice on how to avoid the isolation which occurs when communication becomes difficult. Please interact with the site. It's for you and me to talk.

 Last week's terrible news about the difficulties caused by Hurricane Sandy made me think about how people with hearing loss are alerted to danger. I am fortunate that my own hearing would allow me to hear someone knocking loudly at a door or perhaps a loud bell. But how do others with a more severe impediment receive news alerts? I would imagine that in many cases such individuals rely on good neighbours or relatives. This made me think about good neighbour schemes and how they could help in such emergencies. 

Do you know of what schemes there are in your area? Are there people living near you who would be vulnerable in an emergency situation? Do you think that there should be a central record kept of such people? And what about communities where the people are so poor that alert systems are prohibitively costly? 

Please feel free to send me your comments.