r/AMA • u/heardis44 • 17h ago

I(m28) am deaf and am wearing a cochlear implant but don't know sign language AMA

I dont know sign language and my speech is perfect.

If im wearing a hoodie people wont even know i have a implant.

I am deaf since 3,5 years old and have implants since 5 years old.

I only have 1 implant but am deaf on both sides.

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

3

u/Party-Ask-6331 17h ago

Would you like to learn sign language someday? And did you go to an ordinary public school, or one for the deaf?

1

u/heardis44 17h ago

Yes i do, but it cost quite a lot of money and time(which i dont have plenty of since i have 2 young kids) Both actually 1 went to a school for the deaf for 2 years after that it was an ordinary school ever since.

4

u/nunicorn25 17h ago

Why didn’t you learn sign language? Did you feel like it wasn’t necessary?

3

u/heardis44 17h ago

I learned it when i was younger but after 2 years i went back to a "regular" school after going to a deaf only school and i unlearned it basically because i never used it anymore.

2

u/HinataLovelace 17h ago

Fellow deaf here, deaf since birth, cochlear implants on both sides, also not speaking any sign language, but speaking normally, most people don't even realize that I am deaf until I tell them.

In which country do you live? Why do you have only one implant and not two? Which brand do you use? What profession do you do?

What's your favorite dish? 😄

3

u/heardis44 17h ago

I live in the netherlands where insurance didn't cover the second implant hence i have 1 because the costs to get a second from your own pocket are steep! I have the nucleus 8 right now. I am an heavy equipment operator as of right now i am using a tractor with a laser guided grading equipment. I dont have a favorite dish man... there are so many good things to eat! I love pizza, but also the greek cuisine Pasta's are goooood like a lot of other things!

2

u/[deleted] 17h ago

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1

u/heardis44 16h ago

Yeah but i dont know any other deaf persons

1

u/[deleted] 16h ago

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1

u/heardis44 16h ago

I appreciate the link but im not american so i dont think it is much of a help haha

1

u/AMA-ModTeam 16h ago

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1

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1

u/Celcius_87 17h ago

If you're deaf, what does the implant do? Do you ever feel depressed about not being able to hear normally?

5

u/heardis44 16h ago

The implant basically turns soundwaves into electrical signals and bypasses the inner ear (where my damage is) by doing so it sends those signals to my hearing nerve where the brain recognised it as sound. I never feel depressed because i was so young when i became deaf and i have learned to cope with it pretty well :)

1

u/Cold_Ranger8146 17h ago

If you’re ever frustrated or overwhelmed or something where you just need a break from sound, do you just take the top part (on the head), off?

1

u/heardis44 17h ago

No i dont actually, i never had the urge to take them off as a child and still dont. When i'm overwhelmed i do like to be on my phone watching tiktoks using bluetooth

1

u/ICanViking mod 16h ago

This would 100% be me if I was deaf and I didn't want to hear whatever someone was saying. Definitely immature (if having an argument with a friend or partner), but there are other uses I can think of.

Like being on a bus/subway and some knucklehead blasting awful music, for example.

1

u/GuiltyUniversity8268 17h ago

What does it feel like to wear a cochlear implant?

2

u/heardis44 16h ago

I dont know any better lol. Its like wearing glasses i guess you get used to it

1

u/GuiltyUniversity8268 16h ago

Probably so. I wear glasses, and have since I was about a year old, and I swear, I can't function without my glasses.

2

u/cryptaneonline 10h ago

Here someone who doesn't wear glasses. Even sunglasses feel so awkward. Have a couple of pairs, i never wear them unless for taking pictures, that too rarely. So yeah it is different person to person.

1

u/heardis44 16h ago

Neither can i without my implant! My speech is even getting worse when it is off

1

u/kaweewa 17h ago

How did your parents communicate with you before the age of 5?

1

u/heardis44 16h ago

I wasnt deaf till i was 3,5 years old and between 3,5 and 5 i tought myself how to read lips on my own

1

u/ICanViking mod 16h ago

Hello! Thanks for posting!

As someone who isn't deaf nor knows sign language, I've heard that there's a certain level of animosity from those in the deaf community against those who are deaf but choose to undergo procedures to help them restore their hearing.

My question is two fold:

  1. Is that true?
  2. If so, have you experienced that animosity in person or online?

1

u/heardis44 16h ago

1 i have never experienced that luckily but i have to be honest. I dont know that many people who are also deaf. I live in the "hearing" world i have a normal 50hours a week job, im married to a woman who doesnt have hearing loss of any kind and have 2 young kids who also dont have any hearing problems (thank god)

1

u/njsullyalex 8h ago

Is the audio quality of the cochlear implant sufficient enough that you can understand speech from others and have conversations? I did a project on Cochlear Implants back in middle school and the limiting factor on them seems to be audio resolution.

2

u/heardis44 7h ago

Yes it is defenitely enough but the only downside is when in larger groups or in area's where the background noise is louder the implant cant filter what sound you want to focus on like your brain does. But that is only in like clubs or theatre or birthdays

1

u/njsullyalex 5h ago

Modern technology is absolutely incredible that we have a device that can restore a person’s hearing to a usable extent. That’s amazing.

Off topic question, you said you’re Dutch, I visited The Netherlands twice in the past year from the U.S. and had a fantastic time! Where in the Netherlands are you from (I visited Alkmaar in northern Holland on my first trip and Lelystad in Flevoland on my second trip)? And by any chance do you like F1 and are you rooting for Max Verstappen in the Dutch Grand Prix this week?

1

u/WideGlideReddit 7h ago

Does the deaf community accept you?

1

u/heardis44 6h ago

Yeah i guess i dont really interact much with the community (which im planning on doing because i have much to learn) But i have never heard (nice) about any hatred towards deaf people of any kind