June 23, 2009
Help about deafness/hearing aids?
Kelly B asked:
I’m writing a short story in which the main character is deaf or hearing impaired. I haven’t decided yet, but because I know virtually nothing about the subject - though I would love to! - so, I was wondering if someone with experience, or who are deaf/hearing impaired would be able to help me? He is a 14 year old, who goes to regular school by the way!
I’m writing a short story in which the main character is deaf or hearing impaired. I haven’t decided yet, but because I know virtually nothing about the subject - though I would love to! - so, I was wondering if someone with experience, or who are deaf/hearing impaired would be able to help me? He is a 14 year old, who goes to regular school by the way!
In the story, the boy got meningitis when he was 4 and lost his hearing.
1) Would he become completely deaf or hearing impaired from this?
2) Would he use a hearing aid?
3) If you are completely deaf, do hearing aids work?
4)I would like to introduce lip reading into the story as I find it fascinating, so I was wondering does the hearing aid work for everything ir would he have to rely on reading lips sometimes?
5) In school, what support would he have - mainstreamed? How would he take down notes?
I am really interested in this topic! And it would be very much appreciated if you could answer! Thanks!
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Comments on Help about deafness/hearing aids? »
we.are.broken @ 10:25 pm
1. He could become either, although deaf is more likely. 6% of meningitis survivors end up deaf.
2/3. Hearing aids are for hearing impaired people…they’re sort of like microphones, they make the sounds heard louder. they don’t always work perfectly, they can malfunction, but they don’t really change HOW you hear sounds, just make them louder for you. For deaf people, you can get something called a cochlear implant. a cochlear implant is basically a surgery where doctors attach a little microphone on the outside of your ear (behind it) and then put a wire carrying this sound to your inner ear. the microphone picks up sounds and carries them to the auditory nerve, where they get sent to the brain. this lets deaf people ‘hear’ pretty well. the only thing is its not exactly like hearing ‘naturally’. cochlear implants work differently for everyone, but they’re a little weird. human voices are heard as sounding kind of scratchy and robotic, and hard to tell apart, and music is a problem. people with cochlear implants often have a hard time understanding music; they hear the sound but they can’t really decipher the melody and they most likely won’t be emotionally moved by the music. its very interesting.
4. yes, he would have to use lip reading sometimes. cochlear implants don’t give you perfect hearing and people sound weird through them. lip reading is really tough, though…especially if the people you’re trying to understand have accents or speech impediments. also, they have to be talking pretty slowly and facing directly toward you. lip reading can be frustrating.
5. if he was mainstreamed, the state would most likely provide a free interpreter for him if he was completely deaf. however, if he had a cochlear implant, they might not; he would have to figure things out on his own, although he could probably ask teachers for written copies of notes. if he doesn’t have a cochlear implant, he’ll have an interpreter. the interpreter will translate everything the teacher says into asl (american sign language) for him, and if he wants to answer a question in class they’ll translate his answer to the teacher for him. however, it can be tough; for example, what if the teacher is talking while gesturing to a map, like if she is tracing the route an explorer took? anything with a diagram would mean that the boy would have to be constantly looking back and forth from the diagram/map to the interpreter, and so he would miss a lot of information and most likely be very confused.
i hope this helps, and good luck with your story