Photo by: Daniel Hackney

…when I continued to fail to answer his questions appropriately, he began to look more and more puzzled. He even stopped eating just to look at me and try to figure me out. I could see him trying to decide whether or not I had any marbles in my head, and whether or not he wanted to continue his efforts in chatting with me. ‘Crud.’

By then, I finally decided to explain that I had a hearing loss. It just wasn’t worth all the peculiar looks from him. I lifted my hair up to reveal my hearing aids in both ears and told him I was hard of hearing…

…Slowly, I watched this guy’s face go blank. He froze, not knowing how to respond…

… And with a quick dash, he grabbed his tray and abandoned any further exchange with me. It was as I had feared. I had been rejected.

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Deaf, Grief, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Miscellaneous, My Story | No Comments »

…But something inside me knew it was time to get serious about my communication needs.

Photo by: Kevin Ryan

…As I began to learn sign language, my self-confidence and social life began to improve…

Photo by: Laurence Shan

Learning sign language helped me see a light at the end of the tunnel. It made all the difference!

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ASL - Sign Language, Deaf, Grief, Health, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Meaning, Miscellaneous, My Story, Support | No Comments »

Photo by: “Esther G.”

I continued to wonder in the months ahead if my hearing would ever return… Many tears followed that first year after losing my hearing, and I wrapped myself in my own arms often as I grieved.

Photo by: Seymore Sinn

…One path was clearly the more commonly traveled one, while the other “less traveled” path was unfamiliar and perhaps more difficult. Yet, in choosing the road less traveled, the poet looks back and knows he had made the right decision, as his journey has been a more personally satisfying one….

I began to feel something awaken in me, another moment of truth….

….perhaps I did have a choice about how I traveled this path. I could journey with courage or with fear….

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Deaf, Deafhood, Family, Grief, Health, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Meaning, Music, My Story, Spiritual, Support | 5 Comments »