…I know now that it was not the loss of my wallet, money or pictures that I was lamenting. In reality, I was mourning the loss of my hearing and former identity once again. The lost wallet was simply the incident that triggered the grief. I had lost something invaluable and irreplaceable — my hearing. There was no number to call to report this missing item. No one to ask to have this silence stopped.

Photo by: Alex Vinter

My hearing, like my wallet, was gone for good. I had to accept it and move on…

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Family, Grief, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Meaning, Music, My Story, Spiritual, Support | No Comments »

Photo by: Mary Harrsch

St. Barbara is the patroness of prisoners due to her confinement to the tower and her cruel treatment in prison.”…

…As this troubadour sang The Song of St. Barbara, I realized how closely the words mirrored my own experience as a person who could no longer hear.

….Like St. Barabara and Rapunzel, I felt imprisoned in a way, by the isolation and cold stone of silence….

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Deaf, Family, Grief, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Meaning, My Story, Spiritual, Support | 1 Comment »

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 »