For most of my life, I was a hearing person who enjoyed but took for granted all the sounds of nature. Like any other hearing person, I was into music and even played the piano and drums. I was pretty good at both and fortunately I had the opportunity to share my musical talents with my spouse. And upon looking back, I'm glad I did. My spouse and I loved the same music and loved talking to one another because we were both good listeners. Planes, Helicopters, Birds and insects like Crickets were all sounds I took for granted. If you're a hearing person reading this, be aware of your gift of sound. You never really appreciate something until it's gone. Also, my independence is temporarily gone as well. You see, before becoming deaf I had no idea there were deaf motorist on the roads. As a hearing person, it's something you never think about. You just assume all drivers are like yourself. With that being said, I no longer drive because it scares me to death to know that I can no longer hear sirens from a fire truck, police car or ambulance. Rather than noticing why everyone driver on the street has stopped, I'd be the one to keep going because I obviously don't hear any sirens. Boy! What a disaster that would be. So in essence, I'd have to learn new driving skills.
My spouse and I took a drive to the Ocean recently and I began to realize I can't hear the wind, Seagulls or the rolling waves.
When I could hear, I'd talk on the telephone just as any hearing person does. And now, that's all gone. Most of all, I miss hearing my spouses voice, my mothers voice, my own voice, and also my fathers voice. Everything I knew and heard has all changed and in some cases the sounds have been erased from my mind. Such sounds in particular are songs that I loved to hear. Not only can I not hear them any longer, I now can only feel the beating of a very loud radio. If I had the choice of having my eye sight or hearing I would much rather have my eye sight. So, I am thankful that I have eyes to see because I can always imagine or remember what a particular object sounded like.
When I could hear, I could easily learn new words and add them to my vocabulary. Now, it is rather difficult when I come across a word that I've not heard before. So you see, being born deaf it's no wonder they can't speak. They've never heard the spoken word.
One thing I must remember now is the fact that I still can lead a productive life. If anyone reading this is experiencing becoming deaf late in life, do not fear as the end is not here. Indulge yourself into your new life by finding support groups around your city. And tell yourself all will be okay. I tell myself this everyday. And I use my support system often. My support system includes my ALDA which stands for Association of Late Deafen Adults, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, DSDHH which stands for Divisional Services of Deaf and Hard of Hearing which is a state agency and of course my spouse. If it had not been for my spouse taking me to these agencies, it would have taken me much longer to adjust to my sudden deafness.
