hard of hearing

‘You can’t be THAT deaf. You can speak to me.’ My disability was always up for debate.’: Advocate urges ‘there’s no right or wrong way to be deaf’

“They pulled out my eardrums. ‘You’ll be permanently deaf by 30.’ I was devastated.”

‘I can’t hear youuuu, I’m deaf!’ Kids mocked me. I started to realize the world wasn’t so kind.’: Deaf woman advocates for change, ‘I’m just as human as you are’

“Some thought they should speak loud and slow, as if I was dumb and incapable. ‘Young lady, I want a cappuccino, you know COFFEE with FOAM?!’ Others tipped me too much and said things like, ‘I admire your strength and positivity.’”

Edited By Sara Vianna

‘Have you ever considered the label of deaf?’ I was riddled with anxiety. For the first time, I wasn’t the odd one out.’: Woman advocates for hearing loss, ‘Someday, we won’t need to fight’

“I was too ashamed of my differences to accept my hearing aids. I hid them behind my hair and tried my best to fit in. When I couldn’t, I’d ‘forget’ them at home. I didn’t want to be ‘hearing impaired.’ I wanted to be normal.”

Edited By Janai Smith

‘He failed both of his hearing tests. ‘It’s just fluid.’ I could tell something wasn’t right. All of my hopes for him were RUINED.’: Mom advocates for son with hearing loss, ‘Trust your gut’

“I had no clue about hearing loss and had never even met a deaf person. I left that appointment in shambles, feeling so bad for my baby. ‘Is this my fault? Can it be reversed?’ I wanted Mason to experience waves crashing on the shore, crickets chirping at night, the giggles of his sisters. I wanted him to HEAR.”

Edited By Emily Richey

‘I want to be normal.’ People around me were always talking. I felt so lonely in my own world. I struggled to accept my deafness.’: Woman becomes hearing loss advocate, ‘I can do anything’

“I saw an ad about a deaf dog in a shelter and decided I MUST meet him! He captured my heart. I knew he was going home with me. I felt this special bond when I met him. I could feel the way he experienced the world.”

Edited By Sophia San Filippo

‘He has a growth.’ No one came to help. We had to watch a YouTube video on how to feed our newborn.’: Mom shares son’s journey with cleft palate, ‘We do it for our babies’

“The nurse dropped the bottle on the counter and left. It gave him a massive blister on the little bit of palate he had. He lost over a pounds in 3 days. He was starving!”

Edited By Janai Smith

‘I’m worried to give you the spot because of your hearing.’ I was mortified. I needed to prove him wrong.’: Student with hearing loss becomes advocate, ‘I’m proud of myself’

“The coach pulled me aside. ‘You have the skills, but I’m worried you’ll miss commands.’ I wasn’t about to let someone make assumptions based on my disability.”

Edited By Emily Richey

‘This won’t change his love for you.’ I was deep in wedding planning. They MUST have the wrong person.’: Woman diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis travels world, ‘Fear doesn’t control me’

“Dizzy and still very much half-deaf, she insisted I see her doctor. ‘That can’t be MY brain.’ No one could agree on what was happening to my body. I felt cheated.”

Edited By Emily Richey

‘You will never become anything,’ my doctor said. I was going stone-cold deaf. ‘What now?’: Woman loses hearing to infection, vows ‘deafness will not define me’

“As a young girl, there were signs. I literally danced to my own beat, mispronounced words. I spent years humiliated, called to stand up in front of classmates and speak the language I couldn’t hear. On one test in particular, I completely bombed the oral exam, tears streaming down. ‘I thought you didn’t want to be labeled as different,’ my teacher said. That was the final straw.”

Edited By Sophia San Filippo