I can't imagine what it would be like not to be able to hear waves washing over the pebbled shore, birds celebrating the dawning of another day with their chorus, all my family and friends voices, or being able to listen to Paola Nutini and Ed Sheeran albums. However there are millions of us worldwide whose hearing is impaired in some way, or another.
Because I had a family member who suffered from prelingual deafness because of an accident as a young child, the progress being made in proshetic hearing, I find fascinating. With things such as ABI (Auditory Brainstem Implants), or cochlear implants, my uncles life would have been a whole lot different.Born in post war years his schooling was limited, due to financial restrictions at that time; even being able to communicate with other members of his family was on occasions rather frustrating for all involved and especially for him.
He was able to communicate happiness and sadness by facial expressions, but as this disability happened before he had developed any kind of vocabulary, he spent the whole of his 48 years unable to verbally communicate. Had ABI been available, learning sign language would have been at least within his reach.
What prompted me to write this post? A video I saw on Yahoo.com, https://uk.screen.yahoo.com/editor-picks/amazing-moment-deaf-teen-hears-090500370.html of a teenager hearing her fathers voice for the very first time after receiving ABI. A new world awaits her and certainly for others like her. For more information on deafness, or hearing impairment, hearinglink.org
My aunt caught diptheria as an early teen, and the fever ruined her hearing. Completely deaf. It's so hard to communicate, even with sign language. The majority of people have never learned it.
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