Being Deaf Has Taught Me Some Valuable Lessons
I have been wearing hearing aids for almost 30 years. When I got my hearing aids for the first time at age five, I couldn’t wait to show my friend who lived down the street.
I wasn’t even halfway to her house when I heard this noise outside that I had never heard before. You know, because I’m deaf. The noise was so scary that I decided to run back home.
I ran into the house crying, telling my mom that a monster was outside. I explained to my mom what I heard, and she said that the “monster” I heard was the wind.
I had never heard the wind before until I got my hearing aids. Being in my mid-30s, I can still remember hearing the wind for the first time and thinking it was a monster.
Being Deaf Has Taught Me a Few Valuable Lessons.
Over my 30 plus years of life, or at least the parts I remember, being deaf has taught me some valuable lessons.
For starters, there is nothing wrong with having a disability.
It’s the ignorance of others who continue to stigmatize people with disabilities and their lifestyles that are wrong.
We shouldn’t feel shame and guilt over having a disability.
Unfortunately, some people out there are just inconsiderate about the trials we are faced with each day. We cannot let our disability choose our path in life.
Yes, we may have to alter the route a bit to work around our condition, but that doesn’t mean we can’t flourish in new and exciting ways.
We need to learn how to make the system work with us, not against us.
I Am Not Any Less of a Human Being for Wearing Hearing Aids.
I can’t tell you how often I have been treated like garbage for wearing hearing aids. It’s like people don’t know how to react or communicate with someone who has a hearing disability.
