“Consider us in your systems because we work very well when communicated in a way we can hear and understand.”
1. When did you first become aware of your hearing loss?
My mom became aware of my hearing loss when I was in 5th grade after an in-school hearing test, but the first doctor told her I didn’t require hearing aids and to sit me in the front of the class. It wasn’t until I was in 7th grade that I got my first pair of hearing aids.
2. What’s one thing people often misunderstand about hearing loss?
That I did something to lose my hearing, or that I know how to sign. I was born with my hearing loss, and my family and I never learned how to sign because we didn’t need to. My family is very loud on their own, so I never had a problem hearing them. People also ask me if I have other family members with hearing loss. Oddly enough, I am the only one in my entire extended family. I am now learning how to sign because of the field that I am in, and because I worry about losing my hearing at an older age faster than others, and I want to maintain a way to communicate if that ever happens.
3. Have you ever felt left out of a conversation or social situation because of your hearing loss?
YES! YES! YES! I love making new friends, but it’s hard when someone speaks at a low volume all the time or goes to a loud place. I went through a period this year where I didn’t have my hearing aids for a month because they needed to be fixed, every conversation in a group with my friends felt like they were whispering secrets right in front of me, but they weren’t obviously, they were just talking the way they were used to and my ears couldn’t make out their speech. I would need to ask for clarification more often. I also came across difficulties on the nursing floor with nurses telling me information while not looking directly at me or while walking away, which is harder for me to understand or hear. One of my biggest pet peeves is asking somebody to repeat themselves because I didn’t hear it, and they say “oh never mind,” like what do you mean never mind?!?! I wanna hear what you said too!
4. Do you consider hearing loss part of your identity or just one aspect of who you are?
I think due to the way my family went around discovering my hearing loss, it’s always just been one aspect of who I am. Being HOH never was the reason my grades were low in school and if I’m being honest my high school never wanted to give me aid for my HOH, it wasn’t until I went to UCF that they took my hearing loss seriously and asked me what they could do to make me more comfortable which I appreciated because once I entered larger classrooms I did need help understanding the teachers. As stated previously, I never had problems hearing my family members, and after I got hearing aids, it was easier to assimilate with the public at a younger age. Now that I’m older and working in the nursing field, as well as having met many quieter people, I do feel like my hearing loss guides me in how I approach situations. When I was younger, I felt like my audiologists would try to make my hearing loss my identity; they were surprised how well I was doing in school and that I wanted to go into a scientific field without even being worried about my hearing getting in the way. I never understood why they were so surprised. I never felt like it stopped me that much, but now that I am older, I understand that not everything is as easy when you’re younger, surrounded by family that’s easy to hear, and small classrooms.
5. What’s something someone did that made you feel included or supported?
I love when my friends will just fill me in on what someone said. Like they see the confused look on my face in a group, and instead of waiting for me to ask, one of my friends will just let me know what was said, and it helps me feel like I’m not disrupting the flow of the conversation. Also, my friends who learned how to sign in college are signing with me while I learn, so that’s how we communicate sometimes at the club, during water activities, or just when I can’t understand what they’re saying. I also always feel included when it’s movie night and they play the movie louder and have the subtitles on.
Key Takeaways
Guerra emphasized that hearing allies should communicate clearly, face the person when speaking, repeat themselves when needed, provide accessible communication options such as captions, and take disability-related concerns seriously.