When I was young, people that were different, scared me and that's the truth.
Though it shouldn't have been that way, it's a fact. I have a cousin who is about 8 years older than me with Downs Syndrome. When I was 4 years old, at my Grandparents 50th anniversary party, she scared the heck out of me. For no reason what-so-ever, I was scared of her. She didn't DO anything to me. I was just scared. She was different. Back in those times (OK, I'm talking about the late 60's early 70's, NOT the pre-historic times), people with Downs were not asually in the mainstream population. My Aunt Joyce, my cousin Barb's mom, was told when Barb was born, that she should send her to an institution, because Barbara would never be able to walk, talk or function. Well, thank God my Aunt Joyce didn't listen. She worked relentlessly with Barb, and because of that, Barb learned to walk, talk & be productive, all of the things that the doctors said would happen, NEVER HAPPEN!!!
My cousin became semi-independent. She works, and has worked for years; she is a productive member of our society. Today she lives in what would be classified as assisted living. Not bad for for a baby that supposedly would have never walked or functioned & should have been either aborted or sent to an institution at birth...Anyway, I watched a documentary tonight on HBO about a married couple who have been deaf since birth & then decided that at age 65, they should have cochlear implant surgery. Afterward they could hear some sound, but not the same way we do, at least not all of the time. They could hear talking, but were not able to decipher the words. Some sounds were deafening while others were minuscule. Watching that program mesmerized me!
There is a good reason for that... I work with a deaf guy and he has a cochlear implant. I always thought that he could hear a lot, at least more than he let on to. After watching the HBO program, I wonder, "How much does he really hear?" I know everyone is different & there was a lot of screeching involved, and, I also know, he hears just 'noise'. So let's bring it on!!! What do you hear/sense? Our voices, our tone of voice, the revving of the engine...
Truthfully, there is no 'Can You Hear Me Now?'
3 comments:
btw, Barb, who is my age, shouldn't have lived this long either... n suffers from Cerebal Palsey.
I never knew she freaked you out. At Mike's funeral, I sat with her for most of the dinner.
She can carry on a good conversation, too. Her, Mom, n Aunt J all came to visit me on the Cape one year. We went on a grand tour, because they'd never seen the ocean, (Great Lakes, but not the sea), before. We also did a Red Sox Game at Fenway on a different visit.
Most of the time, if I can't read lips, I have trouble understanding voice, myself. I am partially deaf, you know. I thank loud rock n roll for that...
Those implants sound painful, n confusing!
How can anyone answer that question not knowing another way to hear?
I have a cochlear implant and can hear pretty much as well as a normal hearing person. But I had normal hearing until I was close to 20 years old so I know what sounds are and therefore can understand them. The problem with being implanted at 65 after being deaf for all that time is the hearing nerve isn't functioning as it does in a normal hearing person. It is a case of use it or lose it. If you do something strenuous one a day you'll probably find you have stiff muscles the next day. Your body just isn't used to it. Imagine if you didn't walk for a year or maybe 65 years - perhaps you couldn't walk after that because your muscles would waste away. So these people were very brave in having this operation.
Your deaf mate with a cochlear implant - well it depends on the amount of hearing he had before he went deaf as to what he can hear now. As I said I hear most things normally. I just don't have the range/distance for sound - ie I can't hear as well as normal hearing person if they call me from another room. I need the tv a little louder or I have sit closer. I even listen to enjoy and understand music, but I was a piano teacher so once again I have a lot of exposure to this kind of music
Snaggs, I can hear you now!! Can you hear me? (no, then, that's ok)
Crap, getting old sucks!
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