Comments for Maine Center on Deafness http://mcdmaine.org Serving the people of Maine who are D/deaf, Hard of Hearing or Late-Deafened Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:16:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on Wearing My Hearing Loss on my Sleeve by Edward http://mcdmaine.org/director/wearing-my-hearing-loss-on-my-sleeve/#comment-7 Edward Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:16:16 +0000 http://mcdmaine.org/?p=163#comment-7 Hello, After reading your story I was choked up because I am going through exactly the same thing that you are going through. Tinnitus in both ears makes it very difficult for me to decipher speech, and I feel the “stigma” that you had mentioned. People who do not understand or are impatient with someone with a hearing deficiency, are either impatient, angry, or amused by my difficulty in communicating with them. I tend to isolate because it is so difficult to interact with people. Especially in noisy environments such as restaurants and other public places. I have been tested and fitted for hearing devices but the cost at $6000 is beyond my means. I sold my house recently and was hoping that I would have some money left over to purchase the hearing devices. Unfortunately, due to an IRS tax lien on the property, the US govt took all of the profit from the sale. I appealed with a letter asking for the funding for the hearing devices, but was denied. The IRS received a check for $114,000, and I got nothing. I found this rather ironic given that deafness is considered a handicap in government hiring. So my problem continues. I hope to be able to find some sort of assistance in getting some help with my hearing problem. Meanwhile I just smile and nod and walk away when I cant hear what someone says to me. I wonder sometimes what they are saying. Hello, After reading your story I was choked up because I am going through exactly the same thing that you are going through. Tinnitus in both ears makes it very difficult for me to decipher speech, and I feel the “stigma” that you had mentioned. People who do not understand or are impatient with someone with a hearing deficiency, are either impatient, angry, or amused by my difficulty in communicating with them.

I tend to isolate because it is so difficult to interact with people. Especially in noisy environments such as restaurants and other public places. I have been tested and fitted for hearing devices but the cost at $6000 is beyond my means. I sold my house recently and was hoping that I would have some money left over to purchase the hearing devices. Unfortunately, due to an IRS tax lien on the property, the US govt took all of the profit from the sale. I appealed with a letter asking for the funding for the hearing devices, but was denied. The IRS received a check for $114,000, and I got nothing. I found this rather ironic given that deafness is considered a handicap in government hiring. So my problem continues. I hope to be able to find some sort of assistance in getting some help with my hearing problem. Meanwhile I just smile and nod and walk away when I cant hear what someone says to me. I wonder sometimes what they are saying.

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