Wish to connect with people - Severe Hearing Loss

[inspiresuccess]

There's a picture with a pair of lips and a lot of letters. If you click on the picture, that takes you to the petition, and you can sign it there. You have to log on and make a password if you don't have one, but that's how you sign the petition.

THANK YOU! FINALLY.........!!!!!

I hope people who read this will sign the petition. And please pass the request onto anyone you know whom you think would like to sign it and help.

[inspiresuccess]

I've been doing my daily 10 minutes of lip reading on lipreading.com. I definitely recommend this site. It's going to take a long time and lots of practice for me to get good at it, but I'm already seeing some improvement. Also, I notice myself automatically focusing on lip reading when I'm talking to someone. I know I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't get their daily email reminder. That really helps me stick to it.

[SquarePeg]

great news, inspiresuccess! Keep up the good work!

[Elaine Glimme]

It will be SOOOOOO worth it.

[inspiresuccess]

This Wednesday will be my first HLAA meeting. I hope it goes well.

[SquarePeg]

Good luck! Hope it goes well!

[inspiresuccess]

The HLAA meeting went well. The people were friendly. The lecture was about tinnitus, which I've had way before my hearing loss, so it was an interesting lecture for me. I got lots of information to bring home and read. I already know there's something called a.................. can't remember what it's called but it's something I can ask my audiologist to add to my hearing aid.

I'm definitely going back next month. The president of the group is a real advocate and clearly fights hard to get things done. She's been fighting with the local library to get a hearing loop installed in their lecture room. A hearing loop is an electronic device set up in a room that improves people's hearing. She's gotten a lot of resistance from them and finally told them she'd contacted a lawyer to sue them about it. Guess what. They're responding! She's going to be an inspirational person to know.

It does make me feel sad that everyone else there is so much older than me. But it is what it is. It's unclear as to why my hearing loss has developed earlier than other people's.

This group meets once a month except the summer time and the holidays. I look forward to being part of the group.

[Elaine Glimme]

Inspire, I'm so glad it went well. There's nothing like connecting with people who get what you're going through. And it breaks the isolation that the hearing loss causes. Thumbs up for you.

[inspiresuccess]

I have a free phone from CA state. It's gotten to the point where it doesn't help anymore. I was going to get CC (closed caption) set up. I found out from the HLAA meeting what that involves. It involves an operator listening to the call and typing in what people are saying. No privacy but I would be able to read what people are saying.

I called the free phone site again and explained my situation and the person I talked to said that the phones that have a cord (mine is cordless) tend to have better clarity. I'd love to trade in the one I have and exchange it for a corded phone. The only problem is I'd have to drive on the freeway to Berkeley from where I live and I have a freeway driving fear due to an auto accident 3 years ago. I'm working on overcoming it but I haven't made it to Berkeley yet. And no, I don't have any family or friends who could drive me there.

At least I called and asked. I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't gone to the HLAA meeting. What I learned from the HLAA meeting is not to give up on things. There might be things that would help me that I don't know about yet.

[inspiresuccess]

I learned about a T-coil at the HLAA meeting. It could help a lot if it were attached to my hearing aids. I contacted my audiologist and he said it's not possible to attach a T-coil to the hearing aid model I have. My hearing aids are paid for by Medicare. He said they only pay for new models every 5 years. I'd have to wait 2.5 years. But....what he actually said was:

NORMALLY, they only pay for a new pair every 5 years. I perked up my ears at the word, NORMALLY. I'm going to talk to someone next month at the HLAA meeting to see if she can think of a reason to convince the audiologist to put in a request for the T-coil model SOONER that 2.5 years. The president of HLAA is a real strong advocate and I think she'd love the challenge of thinking of a way to help. It's worth a try.

[SquarePeg]

Good luck! I hope the HLAA president will be willing to advocate for you!

[Elaine Glimme]

MY MIL had a phone with closed captions. Years ago there was an operator who typed what the other person said. I don't think that's true anymore. The phone makes the kind of mistakes that computers make, not the kind of mistakes that humans make.

[inspiresuccess]

MY MIL had a phone with closed captions. Years ago there was an operator who typed what the other person said. I don't think that's true anymore. The phone makes the kind of mistakes that computers make, not the kind of mistakes that humans make.

The phone company made it clear that the operator would be typing everything that was said as it was said. They've not got to a point where a computer does it. On a TV or a movie screen it can be recorded in advance and then played together. But in real time, it still requires an operator.

[Elaine Glimme]

If that's what the phone company said . . .

[inspiresuccess]

The president of the local HLAA says there's a way to have CC through the computer instead of through the phone company. In that case, it would be a voice activation system. She's says it might be free. So much info for me to learn at a time when I'm trying to learn other things from the internet. Too much! But according to this HLAA person -- I'll call her Jane -- there are a lot of things available to me besides just hearing aids.

One interesting thing from her -- HEARING AIDS ARE DESIGNED TO WORK WITHIN A 6 FOOT RADIUS. That's why they are so limited.