Category: Hear No Evil - See No Evil
Hi, My name is Nathan, and I have Norries Disease. Someone mentioned in a previous topic that they knew Jake. I met him at Helen Keller, when I decided to maybe train their. As far as O and M, I have decided to just use my skills to the best of their ability. I guess my O and M isn't that bad, because I'm going to Guiding Eyes in New York this June or July. My hearing loss is considered moderate to moderately severe in both ears. As a baby, I had pretty much normal hearing, but as I aged, like Jake, my hearing became worse. Well, I just wanted to say hi, and hope that I can help in whatever way possible. I found some good alarm clocks for the hearing impaired too!
Come on, I know I'm not the only person on this board who is deaf or blind??
I was born totally blind, and my hearing loss was noticeable by age 6. Now, I have about 10 percent of useable hearing, and am considered to have a profound loss. Aids are expensive, and there's only so much they can do.
Yes, Anthony, you are right about hearing aids. If you were to have CIS, it would destroy the hearing that you do have. In your situation, it must be very difficult. It would be nice if you had an alternative method of socializing with folks when you went out to dinner. If you had a deaf blind communicator, but those are expensive as well. Have you ever heard of one? It just converts text into Braille. You should learn tactile signing; though that takes practice and only a handful of people know how to teach it properly. When I attended the school for the blind in my state, I requested to have signing classes. The guidance counselor, at the time, told me that the person teaching it was deaf, so she wouldn't know how to teach me. I felt like yelling, punching, and scratching someone's brains out for that one. It is hard for those of us who are hearing impaired. Most people who are blind only have one symptom blindness. When I am on the TT server, people make fun of me because I can't hear them, and I don't take lightly to this. It's that person Mark. He always makes fun of me, and I just wish he had the slightest clue what we go through. However, the normal person has no idea and is ignorant and uneducated.. If only there was a way...
i'm hearing impaired as well however hearing aids help me restore at least some of my lost hearing. Granted without them i can't hear long range or quiet stuff but other wise i'm pretty good. Lots of noise can be a pain in the neck durring mobility though, especially wind.
Wish cochlear implants were at a stage where one could hear music properly again, or for the very first time, depending on one's situation.
I used to wear Hearing Aides since the age of 3 till I was 18. I now use a new form of Hearing Aides called "Bone Achered Hearing Aides" or BAHA for short. It's not an in ear HEaring Aides it's attached to the Bone of the ear, firstly the Surgent implants a metal screw then weeks later I recieved a small tiny box which has a hook, you put it in the screw and turn it on and it sounds wierd at first but I've now worn it for 3 years and it's just gets better! as for my Vision, it's Shitty but I don't care. In Australia we have different organisations that assists me and we go on group activities and mingle with other Deafblind people.
Wow there is not a lot of death blind people on her.
I would love to talk to you guys on email if you guys would like to have a friend cause maybe you do not have many of those.
My email address is babybuffalovanessuevega@gmail.com
Deaf blindness is definitely rare. I have heard of that type of hearing aids before. If only America had more deaf blind organizations...
Sure is but you all know how it goes. My problem is I'm one of those have been used to anolog hearing aids for so long and at least for now (thank god), you can make digital sound close to anolog.
I'm a power user, phonec. Thank god for Fm's too.
Noisy places suck, but ya know how that goes too.
so who else hates those really big open houses ware all the sound echo's around and that? its not for me the not hearing, i its not understanding. i think tha'ts kinda the problem when it comes to well i can't speak for everybody here... but i'll say "I can't hear you..." which is kinda a lie when you think 'bout it, cause i can hear them like i know they are talking, but understandeing them? tha'ts another story.
Unless I have an FM System in a loud place, forget it, especially if it is an echo oriented one.
I know the feeling very well.
Yep, if there's any echo at all, I'm totally lost. The fm system is great in a one on one situation, but it doesn't do much in a group.
Right cause well, the FM is designed for one on one. Harde to do wel in a group since it is suppose to get rid of the noise by blocking sound.
Statistics show's that in Australia, upto 5000,000 people diagnoised with Deafblindness is expected to reach that figure by 2050. So far, there's up to 100,000 in Australia (including myself) who are Deafblind.
diagnoised? not sure what that word is.
Diagnosed was the word I ment to use.
Well, that is interesting.
That would depend on your definition of deaf-blindness. If, by deaf-blind, you mean someone who has a total vision and hearing loss, it is indeed a very small segment of the population. However, if you define deaf-blindness as any one who has a significant hearing and vision loss, the numbers go way way up.
As for organizations, you're right, there isn't much out there. There is the deaf-blind division of the NFB, AADB, and I am not sure if ACB has any specialized group for deaf-blindness. I also think the National Association of the Deaf has a deaf-blind group.
Someone that is color blind and has only a mild hearing loss could be considered deaf-blind.
Of corse it could be a total blind and total deaf thing too .
Pretty wide scope.
We classify people with DeafBlindness to be ones who has what's called Ushers Syndrome. We also classify those with a limitted hearing and Vision Impairement to be DeafBlind.
i understand that, but you can see how wide that scope can be.
If you have a PAC Mate, there is supposed to be some software that helps as a deaf blind communications tool, though I don't know how it works.
For $1.99 in the app store, there is Bluetooth Chat, which will allow two iPhone users to communicate. Not everyone has an I device, or a PAC Mate, but I imagine Android has a similar solution though I don't know how well it works with Braille.
I'm sure what you have must be very difficult. Since being on these boards and learning more about you guys, I have kept my eyes open for tools that may be helpful to you. I only have met one, who was in the vending program, and ran all the machines and coffee setup in a public building. The coffee was done on a bit of an honor system, which to me, she'd have to be pretty brave to go and do that.
Anyway I hope that things improve for you guys. And I wish as a totally blind person there was a way I could tell someone was deaf so could respond accordingly.
you are thinking of face-to-face found at:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/fs/facetoface-product-page.asp
an oners system? what do you mean?
An honor system, you mean?
Well, she had a cup out where people would deposit a buck apiece for a cup of coffe, two for something else I can't remember which. Anyway hope that the Face to Face can help people, or the Bluetooth Chat, or some other variant. Communications must be difficult but I should think that if you know someone, texting them could be really helpful that way. That's all the kids ever do, you know. Sit right by each other and text each other. Kinda weird but OK I'm sure my parents' generation thought we were weird for some things also. But for the deaf-blind it could be really useful.
This is going back a while, but I used to have my modem call a deafblind friend's modem, and we'd just chat, directly, comp-to-comp. Later, we both ended up using AIM. For a non-computer system, I suppose you can pass a brailler or slate-and-stylus back and forth?
Yes, you sure can.
You could use any note-taker now-adays also.
For in-person encounters, maybe it's time I learned the manual alphabet? LOL
Dave
You could yes. However I hope for your sake that you have people to practice it with.
Tactal might be something to learn also, if you are gonna comunicate with totals that are deaf-blind (no hearing and no vision) you'd spell into there hand.
Some use print-on-palm, and I've seen braille on palm too.
Initiating said communications must be quite challenging. How would one make known their intentions? Just like sighted people with vision, hearing people use sound for so many things, especially those of us who are blind.if we're blind, to
it is not hard.
tap a total on the sholder.
The only problem is if a total signs and you dont.
I just found this thread. I think my hearing aid specialist is still a little baffled as to why I like the old analog "ears" so much more than the digital ones, but things just sounded sharper, clearer with them. As for echo, I think that's a universal problem for people with hearing loss. I have to attend seminars from time to time at work that are held in a room with no carpet, high walls and nothing to absorb the echo, so even if the speaker is speaking loud enough I can't understand what's being said because of all the echo.
I think someone mentioned their hesitancy of approaching people, and I go through this as well. Being totally blind, sometimes I don't even hear people until their right on top of me. There was one time when I was out walking and someone who I was approaching yelled out a greeting to someone who was obviously quite a ways behind me and startled me, and it made me wonder how many people I pass on any given day that I never realize because I can't hear them.
I used to be quite proficient at playing string instruments, however I no longer do so because they don't sound right after I tune them. Playing music was one way when I was younger to meet people, but now that that's gone I find it very hard to introduce myself to anyone new. I mean, how do you approach someone when you don't know they're there?
Hearing aids are great, but they're far from perfect and quite expensive. As soon as I buy a new pair I have to start saving for my next ones.
You should get your people to make your digital to sound like anolog.
Tha'ts what I did.
I know how it goes.