Published: April 20, 2007 10:00 am            

How to Cope with a Disability

“Can you HEAR me?”

“Maybe if you turn your hearing aid up you’ll hear me.”

“Mind if I take your hearing aid? I don’t think it’s working for you.”

These are just a few of the many things I had to put up with, growing up with hearing loss. It is not necessarily my fault that people are too foolish to understand the story behind my hearing loss, and too foolish to understand that words like those are hurtful. This is my story: the story of a kid who had to go fifteen years with profound hearing loss, and a small object in my left ear. In this story I will recall events, and towards the end I will tell you all what has become of me now, and how to deal with those like me and those who are worse than me.

It all started at age 3, I fell down the basement stairs at my grandparents’ house. At the doctor’s office afterwards, he said that things were ok; that maybe there was a small chance that my hearing lessened a bit. Well two years later, age 5, I was outside playing with one of the neighbors. Soon, though, the boy took his hands, and in a clapping motion he palm-thrust both my ears. Crying, I ran back home. As the days went on, when I would watch T.V. mom noticed that I was sitting closer than usual. She also began to notice that as the days went on, I would sit closer than the last. Mom finally said something, but noticed that I didn’t respond. She moved right beside me and asked me, when finally I turned around and said “What?”

We returned to the doctor and it was deduced that I had lost a profound percentage of my hearing in the left ear, and completely lost my hearing in the right ear. That was when I began to use my hearing aid, and a long life spent of cruel jokes and hard times in general. As I grew up I had to put up with people calling me names, making fun of the fact that I had something in my left ear. I was young then and didn’t understand why they made fun of me. For the first eight years of my life with the hearing aid, I hated it all. I held a disdain for the simple fact that I had hearing loss, and was disgusted by the fact that I had a hearing aid. People who grew up with perfect hearing will never understand people like me or people worse than me. Instead, they make their cruel jokes and expect us to just go with it and laugh. At a young age, it was cruel. I’m 18 now and still think that it is cruel. And the hard truth is… people still poke fun at my hearing impairment.

I look back on those harsh days and frown. In the last 5 years, I have finally come to accept my hearing loss. In the last year, I’ve finally been able to make jokes about my hearing loss. However, that doesn’t make it okay for people to continue their sad charade of making fun of those like me, who are less perfect than them. I come to you all today to address my impairment with class. All that I have to ask of you is this: when faced with someone like me, please do not scoff and turn away when we cannot hear or understand you. Repeat what you said as many times as it takes until we understand what you have said. It’s that simple. Doing otherwise just proves to us that you don’t respect our disability or our friendship.

My point has been made and my thoughts expressed. Hopefully, everyone who reads this will keep in mind that those with disabilities are less ‘privileged’ than those without. We can’t hear or understand what you say. Repeat it. Making fun of us is cruel and uncalled for, and honestly shows lack of maturity.

Thank you for your time and allowing me to address this issue that still looms over my head. I hope that you will think twice before demeaning someone with a disability and try to put yourself in our shoes.

        

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