Hearing Aids Help
Posted by Living Sounds
The other day a curious thing happened; my very young daughter approached me and said, “Mommy, I want to get Hearing Aids.” I looked at her sweetly and said “But why Poulette?” Her response was simple and touching, “I want to be just like you Maman.” I explained to her that she didn’t need hearing aids because unlike me, she was born with excellent hearing. I feel honoured and pleased that my daughter sees me – all of me, including my hearing loss in such a positive fashion. It is this honesty and innocence that makes me curious to know when in our lives we replace this innocence and positivity with stigma, fear and judgement. And it is this curiosity that has inspired me to touch on these topics today. I see various forms of these negative emotions regularly in my practice. Fear that by discovering a hearing loss, we have to admit there may be something not quite “perfect” about us. Fear of stigma, that wearing a hearing aid will lead to embarrassment or ridicule because other people will see that they are getting “old”. I think that we should nip this attitude and embrace that there is help available and together we can change the way the world views these so called imperfections.
After all, “Imperfection is perfection to a positive perspective.”
I went into this industry because I wanted to help people. I wanted people to be successful with hearing aids, and I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Having discovered my hearing loss at the age of 9, I can relate to the negative emotions, but also the overwhelming positive outcomes that came with my experience with hearing loss. Hearing aids have not restored my hearing to 100% but the benefits make the experience and the effort 100% worth it!
My enjoyment of certain sounds would not be nearly the same had I been left in the rhetorical “darkness” of my hearing loss. Sure I could hear a lot of sounds before, and I didn’t realize what I was missing before I started wearing hearing aids. Instead of dull, flat sound, my world is full of clear, vibrant voices. I can hear my infant son’s infectious laugh from across the room. I can hear my daughters soft, small voice when she says “I love you maman” before bed. I can hear my husband saying “Thank You” for cooking his favorite meal. I can even rock out to my favourite song with pure abandon (when no one’s looking)!
I personally can say that wearing hearing aids takes patience, dedication and effort, especially at first, but the benefits are so much more significant. “If you never try, you’ll never know”
Believe it or not I do know how you feel.
Focus on the positives. Know that you have nothing to lose but plenty to gain.
“You’re mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts your life will start to change”.
