Out of curiousity, who is deaf/hard of hearing?

[rmcbuckeye]

I just recently responded to a thread so it sparked my interest into seeing who is deaf or hard of hearing on here. I am deaf, and I know ASL. I also have a cochlear implant so I am able to hear with it. I believe that art has always been my "main" communication due to my hearing loss. So I'm just curious, and is there anyone on here who is also in my shoes with hearing loss?

[WFMartin]

Me! Lost my hearing (almost totally) in one ear about 15 years ago, quite suddenly, within a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon, never to return. It left me with tinnitus. When one goes deaf (even in one ear) so suddenly, it is if someone had placed you in a coffin, and slammed the lid. It took me years to accustom "acclimate" myself to my deafness and tinnitus. Now, because of simply growing older, I wear a hearing aid on my "good" ear. The profoundly deaf ear is beyond help, with the usual, amplification devices.

I used to be a bluegrass musician as my hobby, but my hearing loss simply forced me into doing more painting, which I was already enjoying.

I teach a class in oil painting, and almost the first words out of my mouth to my class each beginning session is when I tell them that I am the classic case of a person who is deaf in one ear, and can't hear out of the other. They always seem to understand, especially regarding my lack of "stereophonic" hearing. When I hear a voice, I have no idea from where it is originating.

[purpleheather]

Yes, I now wear a hearing aid in one ear and the other ear is going to need one too pretty soon. I also have tinnitus.
My hearing loss is apparently hereditary, and noise induced.

[eli]

I have no hearing loss myself but my son is deaf. I've always been interested in the way he sees things. I gave him a camera when he was quite young and it seemed to me that he always had a feel for ....I guess framing the picture or capturing the scene.

Harley

[artc]

Well I'm not deaf...yet.
I have a mildly severe hearing loss and wear hearing aids.
The hearing aids dont really help me too much....especially
in noisy locations. The hearing aids gave me back maybe half of my
total hearing loss. The other half is gone forever.
I thank god for my little dog.....he alerts me when someone is here
or something is wrong.

I find using the telephone VERY difficult and I really don't have much
of a social life due to my bad hearing.

Good luck....art