Dear metmom,
I am viet Vet, and my ‘hearing’ is my disability.
How many times have you heard, in your life:
“Why don’t you just get a pair of hearing aids so you can hear like the rest of us?”
Once again, the ‘hearing one’ has just enacted an act of unknown bigotry, in the supposition of ‘how THEY can be like US’.
For someone who has had a hearing loss for a long time, when ‘issued’ hearings aids, at the demand of someone with ‘good ears’, the introduction of every sound, to the clinking of change in the pocket, to the bus shutting off the preset noise limiters (no sound), is quite disturbing, disorienting, and then hearing all the conversations you don’t care to hear, quite annoying. Never mind having something shoved in your ear all day long, that may or may not, work with your cellphone.
I ‘earned’ my hearing disability, defending my country from Communists.
People frequently say hurtful things to those with disabilities. Usually it’s not intentional.
I am just like you. Lost my hearing in U S Air Force flying noisy
Air planes.
I share your problems with cochlear implant. It is a little better than regular
Hearing aid.
Civilian doctor did it after VA kept lying. Don’t let VA do implant.
Medicare paid for surgery and VA is in process of covering repairs and devices.
It is major surgery on out patient basis..
Got my surgery in Birmingham Al St Vincent’s Hospital