My parents didn’t discover I was…

I was born in Wayne, Ohio.  My parents didn’t discover I was hard of hearing till I was almost 3 years old. My speech didn’t sound right and it was hard to pronounce my words.  I went to a Dr. in Ohio, to seek care, the Dr. assumed I might have a hearing problem but didn’t have the resources or any programs to help me. So my parents moved to a bigger city, Milwaukee, WI.

Milwaukee had a better offer of Doctors and programs for me and my family, however after a brief stint in a neighborhood school, and a Catholic school, my parents was able to find a school that specialized in hearing impaired students and speech pathology.  I had to wear a chest hearing aid. It was a transistor that is worn over the chest with shoulder blades. It would sometimes have a problem with static interference, even if the I laughed or smiled. This was back in the 70’s.

After 18 years of Speech pathology, learning sign language, reading lips and wearing hearing aids, I am getting better every day. As of today, I still have problem hearing over the phone. I have to remind those, I’m hearing impaired, can they speak slower or write it down on paper? I work to make myself comfortable in uncomfortable environments. I hope one day that we can make people better communicate with the hearing-challenged, as well as having understanding. I believe to motivate myself.

Thank you~

P.

 

I became aware…

Dorcelle – 2017-02-27 00:36:18Ms. B., I feel sitting your child in the front of class will be beneficial for her. “Maybe you should get her hearing check.” I was in the second grade, and during parent conference, that was my first awareness, that something was “wrong” with me. Now, I don’t remember what my Mom said, and  I don’t think she meant for it to go unnoticed, but I never went to a Dr, never talked about it. It was pretty much an open secret in my household. I was never teased, however, I do remember feeling frustrated whenever, I was in a group setting, large rooms, I could never learn all the words to a song, or simply understand what someone was whispering in my ear. Even then, it never occurred to me, that I was hearing challenged! So, my journey began…

Can you imaging at that age, at that time… in the 1960’s as an African American, that you have a disability? You didn’t talk about it. You just dealt with it! As I reach deep in my recollections, I now see, my denial, my disappointments, my renewal of belief and my consensus of my disability. Though I am still a work in progress, I hope you find this story as helpful or help someone who is struggling with hearing loss. Please follow our blog… you are not alone!

Stay encouraged~

D.

 

 

 

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