Yes, i am hard of hearing. I was born deaf (only one in my entire family generation) but i wear hearing aids and speak perfectly fine, although i occasionally mispronounce words here and there and more often than not need to have someone repeat what they said but it isn't extreme.
I just hate when people automatically assume i can't speak or hear when they see my hearing aids. Or if they came into contact with a deaf person who uses sign language, they automatically assume everyone else who is deaf does too.
There are basically two different "deaf worlds". The first are those individuals who believe you should be proud of your deafness and that hearing devices (aids, microphones, implants, etc.) are a sign of weakness and embarrassment. They believe they're deaf for a reason and are proud of who they are. These people also tend to look down on those who wear hearing aids or are oral because it's "disrespecting" the deaf culture.
The other group are those who strive to use the best technology out there to help assist them in hearing and speech. These individuals tend to shy away from sign language and want to blend in the hearing world and be perceived as a person based on who they are, not as "the person with the hearing aids". From my experience, the majority of those who fit this category are more successful and open-minded because they are able to hear and speak which means they catch on and learn faster compared to deaf people who use ASL as their language and it is totally different from English. I won't get into detail but it's rather complicated.
Of course, most deaf/hard of hearing people use a combination of both. I was raised in a hearing world, attended mainstream public school (the only deaf student in my school), and excelled academically, in athletics and on a personal level.
Like most other deaf people, I've had my fair share of struggles growing up constantly being picked on, attending hours and hours of speech therapy learning how to speak, trying to fit in with other hearing friends, and proving everyone (and myself) that we're no different than anyone else. You guys wouldn't begin to understand what I have had to go through to get where i am today.
Now that i am much older and more mature, i don't encounter as many problems as i did when i was a young kid and a teenager because people obviously grow up and are more aware of these things. Also, i am more confident in my abilities and stick up for myself when people give me shit which i never did before because i was extremely shy. I learn more and more about myself everyday and i am about to graduate soon and start a new chapter in the real world so let's see how it goes.
