living with hearing loss
hearing health foundati o n
You Are Not Alone! Always remember that, as you go through the difficulties of being hearing impaired, every person with a hearing loss has different hearing situations to deal with, yet they are similar to other people’s hearing impairments. We are in this together! By Mary Horton Do you think that you are too young to have hearing problems? Don’t believe it! I was just 50 years old when I began wearing hearing aids… and my hearing problems began long before that. Looking back, I accept that I was the cause of a lot of my hearing problems. When I was a teenager, I assisted writing a column for the local newspaper, aimed at drawing young readers to the newspaper. As one of the perks of the job, I interviewed many of the up and coming rock stars of the late 1960s and was given front row seats at their performances, usually right in front of the speakers. What teen would have passed up that opportunity? Between that, and choosing to turn my car radio and my transistor radio up in volume, I was damaging my ears already. If anybody would have told me that back in the
1960s, I would have shaken my head and rolled my eyes… as my kids and grandkids do now (but they do it a little more hesitantly, knowing my hearing problems). Let’s go back about 20 years from today. I was in denial. People weren’t talking loudly enough. I wasn’t paying enough attention. I hadn’t cleaned my ears in a while. I was tired. Anything to explain why I wasn’t hearing conversations. When I finally went to an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose, and throat specialist, or ENT), I was told that I did have moderate hearing loss in one of my ears, and not as much loss in the other one. It was recommended that I get hearing aids. Wait a minute! I wasn’t even 50 years old! Hearing aids were for old people—not me! So, I went further into denial, continually making excuses to family and friends, at work, and at all kinds of extracurricular activities for why I wasn’t hearing properly. Then, when I eventually decided that I couldn’t constantly make excuses for my hearing loss, my vanity entered in. I have worn my hair short the majority of my life. It was important to me, at my young age, that nobody knew I was wearing hearing aids. So, I delayed about
When I was a teenager, I assisted writing a column for the local newspaper, aimed at drawing young readers to the newspaper. As one of the perks of the job, I interviewed many of the up and coming rock stars of the late 1960s and was given front row seats at their performances, usually right in front of the speakers. What teen would have passed up that opportunity? 22
hearing health
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