Hi, my name is Neale!

neale

Hello everyone! Reaching out from Bradford and Leeds, I am deaf (BAHA user) and feeling a little lost in the world, seeking a bit more community. Thanks to Scope for making me aware of this! How is everyone?

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @neale, it's great to have you with us! I'm well thank you, how are you doing today?

Thanks for joining, and for telling us a little bit about yourself. I live in Leeds too

I hope that you manage to connect with some likeminded people with similar experiences to yourself. You might like to check out our category for sensory impairments, as well as the coffee lounge if you fancy taking part in some casual conversation and games. You can see the full list of categories of discussion we faciliate here on the categories page.

How do you find your bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA)? I don't know a huge amount about them, so I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.

neale

Hi @Tori_Scope, thanks for the kind words. Today is a good day, a restful day after a long weekend in the office. I moved north a few years back now and I'm still very much enjoying it here! Thanks for the category suggestions - I'll get stuck in soon!

Oh! Ask away! Having had a variety of hearing aids, the magnetic BAHA is probably the most interesting. For me they are far more intrusive than say the renowned BTE aids, but require less medical attention and there's the bonus of taking calls/listening to music without other people hearing it I moved to BAHA a few years back after an internal collapse (which was very painful!), but I struggle less and regulate my speech much better - that is until electrical interference hits or someone decides to shout - but you can just slip them off or mute via your phone without having to fiddle with them. In fact, I sometimes forget I have them on until that blissful moment of taking them off when I'm home. It's amazing how far the technology has come!

The strange thing is I don't know other deaf people (I use the term deaf as I feel some treat my profound hearing loss as something that can be fixed with technology). I'm firmly cultured in the hearing world and every day feels like an education for those around me; it would be lovely to hear other people's experiences and connect to that community. This seems to be an ideal place to start.

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community Feel free to join in or ask any questions 

neale

Hi @janer1967, thanks for the warm welcome! I've had a quick browse and it looks like there's plenty to get involved in. I'll dip my toes in soon.

L_Volunteer

Hello @neale

Welcome to Scope's forum. It is great to see you have joined us. How are you today? I am sorry to hear you are feeling a little lost in the world sometimes. Sometimes it really does feel like we are fish in a big pond. However, I think we are a supportive and friendly community here on Scope's forum and I hope you will find the same! If we can help you with navigating the forum, please don't hesitate to let us know. Though I am sure that with a few clicks you will feel like you have always been here with us 

Alex_Alumni

I'm really looking forward to hearing more from you soon @neale, a warm welcome to the forum

Don't be afraid to ask if you've got any questions!

neale

Hi @L_Volunteer and @Alex_Scope, it's lovely to hear from you both and I'm good - thanks! I've spent the afternoon amongst other things browsing the forum, it looks like I've come to the right place.

Reg

Hello @neale

A warm welcome to the community.

I wear hearing aides though I don't think my hearing loss is that bad - that is until I see my family and then as they all mutter I realise why the hearing aides help.

I just wish cyclists would not assume everyone can hear them to get out of their way - another bug bear ! 

I don't know about you but to me it is a big relief to take them out at night 

I hope you find the forum useful 

Reg 

neale

Hi @Reg, it's lovely to meet you on this forum. You're bringing back a lot of fond memories with family and friends where I would just nod along, they'd figure it out, and suddenly I'm agreeing to do their chores or lead presentations Oh, it really does feel wonderful to take them off. If it's been a tad too hectic at work, I'll take them off for five minutes before taking a deep breath and diving back in.

I know how you feel about cyclists (I do enjoy cycling so I'm probably guilty of this!), especially when walking down the canal trying to escape the city for some peace and quiet... I tend as a result to time my walks and trips outside of peak times. My bugbear is even after you've told someone you struggle on the telephone or two-way radio systems they still insist on using it

I'm hoping the recent increase of D/deaf/HOH personalities and characters on TV and in popular culture will lead to greater awareness and a few second thoughts. Great to say hello, have a lovely evening!

chiarieds

Hello @neale - good evening, & welcome to Scope from me too. I think you're right, with all disabilities, raising awareness of these is so important; I think you'll find we'd all agree here. I look forward to your further input on the forum.

neale

Hi @chiarieds, thanks for the warm welcome! I couldn't agree more, although I do find the world quite bizarre. I had very few issues throughout school (and we're going back a few years now), the right questions were asked and I felt included throughout by pupil and teacher alike. Moving away for university and into the world of work suddenly became far more challenging. There are some days I have to prove just how much my ears hurt, there's little patience or belief, leaving me begging for reasonable adjustments. It's a strange paradox of moving forward with fascination and turning the clock back to a time of indifference because I appear to cope. But then I wonder: who has the ability to just switch off and blot out all the sound? Now that's a superpower!

Naz18

Hi Neale, Welcome to the Community. I hope you find lots of useful discussions on here. Please ask if you have any questions. 

Tori_Scope

Thanks for sharing your experience of BAHAs @neale- I'm glad you find yours helpful! It's cool that you can mute them from your phone, I didn't realise that technology existed.

I'm sure many d/Deaf people can relate to feelings of being surrounded by hearing people and culture. I hope that the community will be a good place for you to connect with others and share experiences. 

Have you been in touch with any hearing loss specific charities? Organisations like the RNID (previously Action on Hearing Loss) may be able to point you in the direction of some local groups or communities. 

Do you follow any deaf influencers at all? That might help you to connect with others in a similar position, too.

Reg

Hello @neale

I should have thought that you might be a cyclist when I mentioned cyclists ! 

I live near a canal too with lovely narrow paths and cyclists and runners and walkers all compete for the space . The great thing is that even with the hearing aides I normally can only hear part of the comments shouting that the cyclist rang their bell or runners shouting that they were coming through .

There are days when I think the ability to not hear everything is a real blessing . Would love to be able to switch my hearing aides off by phone - that sounds very techy 

neale

Thanks @Naz18 and hello! It's been great spending the past week browsing through the various discussions. Hopefully I'll gather some courage to comment and engage more proactively soon!

Thanks for the pointers @Tori_Scope! I've been in touch with RNID for support in the past (they really are amazing for giving out advice), but never for seeking out the D/deaf community; what a great idea! My local community association is only available to me on Saturdays, which isn't great for flexible working, but I'm sure there's something else out there and I don't mind travelling. As for influencers, I've never thought of that! Another good shout.

That is true @Reg, there is a certain blessing in not always hearing the aggression and not letting it ruin your day. The canal is so peaceful and beautiful, although I must look very suspicious looking over my shoulder every minute anticipating a cyclist or runner when walking! At work I can go quickly from an office environment to one surrounded by electrical interference so the ability to switch settings by my phone has been an absolute blessing. It's amazing how far the technology has come! I have a photo somewhere of me wearing a power-pack strapped to my chest with a headset. Now they're much more discrete.

Tori_Scope

You might like to check out Liam O'Dell @neale, as he's quite active over on Twitter