I’ve never been reluctant to talk about my hearing loss. Not in person and not online.
Sure potential employers (not that I am looking) could read my blog and form an opinion that would not work to my advantage.
But really, if an organization was reluctant to hire me because of my ear situation I am not so sure I would enjoy working there.
The fact is that with hearing aids I have little difficulty. The only accommodation I require is a telephone amplifier which is not a big deal at all.
Most people woud not even guess I am hard of hearing — except when I am not wearing my hearing aids.
There have been a few times that I’ve forgotten my aids at home and on those days I am not my chatty self — it’s very hard to speechread all day so I tend to spend more time in my office doodling…I mean typing.
I also send more emails on those days because even with my super volume telephone device I can’t hear well without the added amplification of the hearing aids. (People across the hall can hear that phone — I avoid sexy topics — but to me it needs to be quite loud if there are no visual cues.)
But I am pretty sure most people I am interacting with these days can tell I am not hearing well. That and I tell them since I can barely hear what anyone is saying on my left side. The right aid is working at the moment but I think it is getting tired of doing all the work.
It’s not so bad one-on-one but meetings have been hell. And a group conversation (aka break time) is almost impossible to follow.
It’s really surprising how much this is affecting me. I never think of myself as disabled but really I am. It is just thanks to modern technology (and speechreading) that I am able to work and play in the hearing world.
