Good evening or morning out there! This is part two of my HOH blog; welcome to my world. I am not deaf and I am not nor have I ever been a part of the deaf or HOH community. Sort of like a stranger in a strange land; I don't belong in the world of the hearing and I don't belong in the world of the deaf and HOH. Not that I am complaining; I am my own unique individual like everyone else in this crazy mixed up universe.
   However, that being said there are a few things I would like to address such as helpful pointers for everyday life and for the workplace.

When dealing with an HOH in everyday life here are some helpful hints:

1) Make sure the HOH knows you want to talk to them before you start; get their attention or you may be wasting your breath. Most of us don't mind a tap or a wave.
2) Make sure your lips/mouth are in clear view so that if lip reading is needed to clarify what you say they can read your lips.
3) If you have repeated something twice don't give up instead rephrase. Most HOH have letters, numbers, words, etc that they can not differentiate from others; so rephrasing allows them the opportunity to hear different words that may be easier to understand. Not all HOH have the same types of hearing loss so what one can hear may be a problem for another HOH.
4) Be patient, the HOH is just as frustrated as you; as well as being embarrassed at making you repeat.

Here are some helpful hints for dealing with HOH in the workplace, school, etc:
1) Include the HOH in the decision making process for issues that affect them; don't decide for them and don't assume they don't mind hearing about it after the fact instead of being included in a group.
2) Make sure only one person speaks at a time in a group; it is hard to keep up when more than one person talks for a hearing person even worse for HOH.
3) Do not exclude HOH people from group discussions just because it takes more effort; it is rude and in some cases it is discriminatory to exclude the HOH.

Wow, this blog went way longer than I intended...so there may be a part 3 which will be way more fun...Unless I move on to something else. It is my blog and I can change my mind if I want to! ;p

**Remember, in many cases if an HOH appears standoffish or hard to approach it is a protective barrier from being hurt or from the paranoia that comes with being HOH or deaf and everyone around you is grouping for social or work reasons. Being HOH or deaf can feel like being in a fish bowl; you see a lot of interesting movement around you; however, you don't quite know what is going on since you can't hear the normal everyday sounds hearing people can.

Well, I hope your ears are not bleeding..too much........Again, if you have questions concerns or complaints please feel free to post a comment and I will be happy to respond.
Live long and prosper & please know that you are loved.

Well do you know what H.O.H. stands for???

Good evening one and all! Where is my broom?? The Chicago Cubs swept the San Diego Padres who didn't have a prayer! JK, don't shoot.....So did anyone figure out what HOH stands for??? Well, if you guessed Head of Household.....wrong! That would be my hubby (in my household anyway) or a good contestant on Big Brother..It is not his or her or head over heels...In this case it stands for Hard of Hearing..... Which is what I am or as hubby likes to say deaf especially without my hearing aid. I don't wear your normal in the ear hearing aid, I wear a bone conduction hearing aid built into a headband...I guess you could call it a non-permanent version of the BAHA hearing aid which is surgically implanted into your skull (don't freak,  just the post the aid connects to is implanted) I was offered the option but the healing time I was told is 3 months without my hearing aide and I am a little old at this point for it to be cost effective and no guarantee it will be an improvement over what I currently use. And last time I checked way too much money and not covered by my insurance. For the record most hearing aids are not covered by insurance although an exception may be made for a child. Why isn't there hearing aide insurance? Hmm.
   I have been HOH since I was a youngling. I don't know if it was from birth or caused by chicken pox, etc. When I was a youngling it was not as bad as it is now but it was bad enough that I missed a lot of what was going on around me; basic social skills kind of got lost in translation for me. I went to an ear doctor who didn't believe in aids (or so I was told). Unfortunately, if you aren't going to provide the needed aid for whatever reason survival skills of a sort need to be provided to the youngling to compensate. That didn't happen either. So here I was a gawky, too skinny girl who had to keep asking what to the point other younglings were annoyed and when I explained that I could not hear well was asked "then why don't you have a hearing aid?" See younglings are smart. I had no answer to that especially since I was aware of another youngling who wore an aid and I would have liked one too.
  For whatever reason I was given a hearing aid as a freshman in high school. I heard birds singing and Muzak for the first time. Classes were easier.
   Flash forward to 18 and surgery to remove a cholesteatoma in my left ear that had been giving me headaches and slowly destroying my mastoid bone, et al. More hearing loss.
  Flash forward to my 40's and surgery to remove a cholesteatoma from my right ear after having balance issues for months and slowly destroying the mastoid bone, et al in that ear. Now without my hearing aid I am officially deaf. If I concentrate I can hear muffled sounds. My hearing aid is very powerful (in my opinion) since it does the work of both my ears now; however it can not replace normal hearing.
I can no longer do phone work even with extreme amplification because I can not guarantee I will hear the person on the other end. At home if I use the phone it is on speaker, no TTY yet although I qualify. I use a cell phone in text mode only.
Well this has been realllly long winded but I needed to get it out. Stayed tuned for part 2 of my pet peeves about being HOH and other peoples' pet peeves having to deal with it. And maybe some helpful hints for both....... Remember you are loved. Be kind to whomever you see tonight or tomorrow...You never know when you might be someones last hope or first ray of hope....Love ya! And sorry for the long winded post.Please leave comments, I won't take offense..a gate maybe ;p. Just keep it G rated. See you tomorrow!

Yo, it is another day & whadya know the Chicago Cubs have won two in a row!!!!! Apparently they are still in first place.....for last place in their division....Gotta love an under dog...If companies had as big a turnover as the Chicago Cubs did they would go out of business......... I miss Lee but I am glad Zambrano is gone....
    The windy city seems to be expanding as there is nothing but wind out here and sunshine.....Never thought I would wish for rain..but..rain, rain please come back again!!!
  Again, have patience I am still new at this... I had lots of cool rants to write last week..Probably with being 50 I can't remember what I was gonna say ;p
Here is a thought for the day....if you work with or have to associate with someone who is occasionally cranky for no reason...smile it may make a difference...You don't know what they are going through....Not all people have it as together as you do :)......
Most important of all remember you are loved...I am here so if you have anything to say let me know...Just keep it clean..And have a marvelous day!  Oh and "Go Cubs!!!"

Stick around tomorrow and I will talk randomly about being H.O.H. see if you can figure that one out!

Celiac rant, et al 5/28/12

Well, here it is day one of my blog. It will be a little of everything; just my random thoughts on life, etc. Today I want to start with a personal issue I have. I have Celiac disease which means I have to maintain a gluten free diet. My issue? with people who are opting to go on a gluten free diet to lose weight. I love you guys if you can lower the cost of gluten free items such as bread, however, you make it hard on those of use who are on the diet for our health and for life. Everybody now thinks it is a fad with no health benefits for those who need to be on it. I was diagnosed a few years ago after going for years with stomach issues and pain my Mom called growing pains. As I got older the stomach issues and the pain got worse. When I am true to my diet the pain stays away and the stomach issues die down. I can tell when I have been "contaminated" when the pain comes back; a deep muscle pain that allows me to move but causes a lot of pain whether I move or not. My stomach isn't my best indicator unless you talk to my husband who says my sh** stinks enough to peel wall paper when I have eaten gluten. I used to cheat and eat gluten on my birthday until I realized I was getting really sick with whatever cold, etc that was going around. Now I don't mind as much. Not sure how going gluten free aids in weight loss since most baked products made gluten free require a lot of butter, etc to make them tasty. A meat and vegetable diet might help but that isn't necessarily a gluten free diet; that is a healthy diet.
   Oh, another thing, did you know a lot of people are not aware that bread is made out of flour that is made out of wheat?...Smack my head!! That could explain why I get offered baked good even after I say I can't eat anything with wheat, barley or rye in it.

Well, enough of that rant.....it has been a scorcher for the past few weeks with little rain in sight. We have been luckier than most weather wise here in my part of Illinois. And for the moment or second the Cubs are actually in the lead....Hmmmmm Spoke to soon Padres just tied the score. Dang!
If you have issues with my blog please be kind as I am just starting and come back since ya never know what I might say next. I have a tendency to stick my foot in my mouth and wiggle my toes a bit......That is it for now. You all have a great day and remember you are loved. And dang the Padres just scored another run :(