Hearing Impaired folks (or parents of same): Need to talk to you, please

[BlueDaisy]

I have a daughter who is hearing impaired; she is essentially deaf in her left ear and impaired in her right ear. She was born with cleft lip and palate (actually, she has what is called "Goldenhar Syndrome"; her clefting and hearing impairment are all a part of it. She is 17 now).

Her left ear is incompletely formed...there is no canal at all. The "inner workings" are there and function, there is just no way for sound to get to them other than via conduction.

She lost her hearing aid almost a year ago, and our insurance won't pay for another. We haven't replaced it because she is in a school with very small classes and the teachers are good about making sure she sits so that she can have her "good" ear facing them, etc. She was managing pretty well without the aid.

Until now. She recently got a job at an inbound call center (they take catalog orders for clothing, etc). She is having a very hard time hearing in the training room and is falling behind. She cried all the way home from work tonight, saying that she is quitting tomorrow. I don't want her to do this, obviously, but she is so upset.

I'm going to call the audiologist tomorrow to see if there are any options for getting a hearing aid without having to pay for the whole thing upfront. The school districts' Teacher for the Auditorially Impaired said that we ought to be able to get a reconditioned aid to use until we can afford a new one, or that the audiology company might do a payment plan.

Have any of you had similar problems, with yourself or your children? If so, how did you handle it?

Sorry for unloading, but thanks for reading this far.

 

[BlueDaisy]

Wow! This got pushed back fast. No one out there who can offer ideas, commisserate, etc?

 

[FinnMacCool]

Tis amazing in this world today,most insurances will pick up on anything to do with the eyes,but like you I found out,most nothing with the ears,outside of paying for ear doctors and audio test.My best advice is actualy what you are doing,go to audiologists and see what they can come up with,and depending on how finicial you are,I had a equity loan to pay for my aid.Hope this comfort you and help maybe.Good luck

 

[tigerjen]

Keep pushing the issue w/ the audiologist and also the
insurance company.......At the group home that I work
in, I work with 2 residents that are hearing impaired
and I know how vital their hear aids are to them in
communication.

I have my BS in Speech Pathology-Audiology and learned
quite a bit about hearing aids in one of the Audiology
classes......so this thread jumped out at me.

I am very surprised that insurance will cover stuff like
walkers, wheelchairs, but not getting replacement
hearing aids? Sheesh!

I say keep up this fight......for your daughter's sake
especially.........the world is tough when one can't
hear.


tigerjen

 

[Native Alien]

A bump for you my friend in hopes that someone can help. Have you tried the March of Dimes or the hearing association? Maybe also call your local Masonic lodge and see if they can put you in touch with the nearest Shriners. They might be able to help as well.

 

[tigerjen]

Speaking of organizations......contact ASHA (American
Speech & Hearing Association). I believe that they have
a website.............


tigerjen

 

[serijules]

Someone from another board asked that I take a look at this thread and see if I had any suggestions, as I am deaf/hearing-impaired.

Check with your local Vocational Rehabilitation or Community Action offices. They will all know how to put you in touch with programs that can and will help you get your daughter a hearing aide. There are also many organizations that help deaf and hearing impaired people get and stay employed, which often means buying them the equipment they need to be employable. I suggest you start local rather than jumping to world-wide organizations...you will get the help you need quicker and avoid the shuffling around.

I will try and dig out the names of the organizations and get them to you, but I thought I would post and give you somewhere to start looking if you haven't already. I am young, a woman, and deaf and all of these things were things I used to my advantage to get the help I needed to become the college-educated self employed person I am now. Those programs are there for a reason, and your daughter definately qualifies!

I'll get back to you once I find the info.

Seri

 

[BlueDaisy]

Thanks for your replies, folks (and to you, NA, for bumping it for me! How are things with you these days, by the way? *grin*

Let me first update you on what we have done thus far. I talked to the lady at the hearing aid place; she isn't Lizzy's audiologist, just where we get the aid. I just didn't know how to refer to her other than "the hearing aid lady"...lol

Anyway...I explained the situation to her and she said that since we are military, our particular "insurance" that covers us exempts us from programs that civilians would qualify for. She doesn't know why, it is just that way. However, I hadn't thought of the Shriners. I'll look into that venue.

But what we have worked out with the "hearing aid lady" is a hearing aid of not quite the state-of-the-art quality that Lizzy had before, but she said will work fine for what she needs. It will cost around $600. Her other one was around $2000 or so, I think, give or take a few hundred (but insurance covered about 95% of that). We will just take a loan out for this one, or put it on the credit card.

Right now the only problem is, we take her in on Monday to be fitted for the earmold, and it will take about a week for the mold to come in. The hearing aid they have in stock, so that is good. I thought I still had an old ear mold of hers, but can't find it (kept it as a spare when her last new one was made for her lost aid). I just hope she can hold out for a week. She went to work (training) on Thursday and Friday nights, and seemed to be ok with it. Maybe knowing that we've got an aid in the works for her helped.

I'll have to check into the ins and outs of things since she will be 18 in January. Not sure, but I think that if she isn't in school after age 18, she won't be covered as my husband's dependent for military medical care, so she would probably qualify for some kind of aid on her own basis. She wants to get her GED instead of finishing school (long, long story), and since she still doesn't have enough credits to be even a sophmore, and her twin sister will be a junior, we might let her, even though it really isn't what we want for her.

I'll check into the sources mentioned by you folks; I really appreciate your assistance and concern. Hugs to you all.

 

[Native Alien]

You are most welcome for the bump, and it went very well. He left yesterday for Illinois and he leaves for home on Tuesday he said. I will keep ya updated on it as it progresses. *grins back at ya*

Thank you serijules for your help on this one. I thought that you might have some ideas on where to look.

 

[Native Alien]

Just one more bump so the late nighters can see this too.

 

[Native Alien]

Bump for the Daisy.

 

[BlueDaisy]

Bump for the Daisy.

Thanks, NA. I appreciate the bumps. I guess we've worn this one out. lol Actually, I'm taking her today to be fitted for an ear mold for the new hearing aid, so I guess this topic is moot now.

Hope everyone has a good day and thanks to those who replied here and in PMs.

 

[Curious_Fem]

I have real interest in this thread because my mother is hearing impaired. Her insurance won't cover her hearing aids, and she needs one in each ear. I'm with everyone else, hearing is one of the 5 senses just as eyesight is. They will pay for glasses, but not hearing aids. It's really ridiculous. I'm going to pass on this information to her, thank you all so much.

Thank God for the internet and instant messenger, they give me a way to talk to her since I can't pick up the phone and call.

Have a wonderful day everyone, and thank you again.

 

[BlueDaisy]

I have real interest in this thread because my mother is hearing impaired. Her insurance won't cover her hearing aids, and she needs one in each ear. I'm with everyone else, hearing is one of the 5 senses just as eyesight is. They will pay for glasses, but not hearing aids. It's really ridiculous. I'm going to pass on this information to her, thank you all so much.

Thank God for the internet and instant messenger, they give me a way to talk to her since I can't pick up the phone and call.

Have a wonderful day everyone, and thank you again.

Hi Fem, I hope this can be helpful for your mom. Yes, it really is sad that glasses are covered under many plans but not hearing aids. So stupid, IMHO.

I'm glad you've got the IMs to chat with her. Have you checked into the TTY, or whatever it is called? The "teletype" phones for the deaf....? I wonder if some agency would cover that for her.
Ok....experts....who knows about that and can help CF?

 

[Curious_Fem]

Hi Fem, I hope this can be helpful for your mom. Yes, it really is sad that glasses are covered under many plans but not hearing aids. So stupid, IMHO.

I'm glad you've got the IMs to chat with her. Have you checked into the TTY, or whatever it is called? The "teletype" phones for the deaf....? I wonder if some agency would cover that for her.
Ok....experts....who knows about that and can help CF?

Good idea BD, I never thought about that. I'm not sure if it's something she would use or not, but it's a thought....my step-dad answers the phone for her, and if any calls need to be made he's the one that makes them. She's so damn stubborn...LOL.

It's gonna be a struggle just to get her to ask for help from any agency, so wish me luck.

 

[Bug Eyed Monster]

Hi Fem, I hope this can be helpful for your mom. Yes, it really is sad that glasses are covered under many plans but not hearing aids. So stupid, IMHO.

I'm glad you've got the IMs to chat with her. Have you checked into the TTY, or whatever it is called? The "teletype" phones for the deaf....? I wonder if some agency would cover that for her.
Ok....experts....who knows about that and can help CF?

Hi there, one avenue that might be available is social security. They frequently provide money for people with disabilities. (Please pardon the lack of political correctness, I hope no one is offended) I would think there might be some possibility of receiving assistance there.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

I went to school at Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology which also had the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (see above link). You might be able to get some information from them especially since your daughter is of the right age to attend.

As far as your daughter getting a GED in stead of a diploma, I can say that my son-in-law took several years to get his diploma at 21 or 22. In the end it didn't really help him. Employment wise, companies do not care. Social skills wise by the end it was not worth it. In case your wondering his problem was more the school setting and moving far too often to complete years. Since then he did do some college, but ended up teaching himself C++ and now makes 80+ K a year, so he is smart, but he is better at teaching himself.

One other item to consider is the Americans with Disabilities act. One of the provisions is that empolyers must accomodate employees who have the skills but have a disability, e.g. provide a TTY, or interpretor for meetings. If you have had much exposure to using this to your advantage, I recommend checking it out to prevent discrimination.

Good luck to you all.
Buggy

 

[serijules]

In the age of the internet and IMs, TTY's pale in comparison. The only advantage they have, is a much wider range of use.

I have a TTY, but I hate the thing with a passion. I've used it once, and I doubt I'll ever touch it again. You have to call a relay line, where an operator translates everything the speaking/hearing person says, into type for the deaf person. If the person you are calling has never used a relay line before, there is a long pause where the operator explains to them how the call works. You have to say "go ahead" or type "GA" after every sentance, so the operator knows to switch to the other person. It is very clumsy and not private at all. If both parties have a TTY and want to purely type to one another, it is more private without the relay line, but if you are going to do that, why not just IM on a computer, where you are not limited to a tiny screen where only 3-4 words show up at a time?

Overall, as a deaf individual, I wouldn't recommend a TTY to anyone except to have for emergencies. There are programs out there that will hook deaf individuals up with a TTY system for free, but mine sat in the closet for years, and still is sitting there

 

[Bug Eyed Monster]

Good idea BD, I never thought about that. I'm not sure if it's something she would use or not, but it's a thought....my step-dad answers the phone for her, and if any calls need to be made he's the one that makes them. She's so damn stubborn...LOL.

It's gonna be a struggle just to get her to ask for help from any agency, so wish me luck.

I do know teletypes (TTY's) exist and they should not be that expensive as the technology is ancient (pre fax). I also know that there are national 1 800 numbers that will connect a call either way. You call a number with TTY, they call whomever and relay in voice and vice versa. You might be able to get a software program to run on your PC and go out over a phone line and do the same thing, I don't know. I also know Amateur Radio operators use Radio Teletype and it is the exact same technology except it goes out over the radio.

I would say that you could look on-line for equipment, Radio shack might have some, and even check your phone book for more info.

Buggy.

 

[Curious_Fem]

I know this is BlueDaisy's thread, but I'm going to say thanks as well to BEM. You guys are great.

And seri, I see what you're saying. Especially since the woman types over 100 words a minute, and I don't do too bad myself. IM is definitely a God-send, and the kids can even use it.

 

[serijules]

I know this is BlueDaisy's thread, but I'm going to say thanks as well to BEM. You guys are great.

And seri, I see what you're saying. Especially since the woman types over 100 words a minute, and I don't do too bad myself. IM is definitely a God-send, and the kids can even use it.

IM is my saving grace, I wouldn't be complete without it. I talk to my mom nightly, all my friends and family...I love it

 

[Bug Eyed Monster]

I know this is BlueDaisy's thread, but I'm going to say thanks as well to BEM. You guys are great.

And seri, I see what you're saying. Especially since the woman types over 100 words a minute, and I don't do too bad myself. IM is definitely a God-send, and the kids can even use it.

You're welcome. Seri does make excellent points. With your father available for the phone, it appears to be a passable situation. One other idea would be a cell phone with Text messaging or e-mail capabilities for emergencies or so that you could let her know to go to the computer.

Good luck,
BEM

 

[Native Alien]

I knew that bumping this thread was a good idea. Glad that the conversation got started and I am serijules on this one. Using the relay system is not an option for me. I would rather use either the ham teletype, or IM. It is just more private and my friends that are hearing impaired say that there is nothing like the two of them.

 

[BlueDaisy]

I'm glad, as well, that this has been helpful to others. It isn't "my" thread really....go ahead and discuss all you want.

Thanks Seri for the info on the TTY. I can understand why you would prefer not to use it. But I can see times when Fem might not be near a computer and wanted to call her mom; if her mom had a TTY, and Fem was near one, she could call her. For instance, from an airport or something.

Took my daughter in today for her mold fitting. Fortunately they had a 'tip' that goes in the ear for her to use until the mold comes in (won't be for at least a week). So now she will be able to hear at work. She has a few more days of training then she starts the actual job.

I appreciate everyone who gave input.

*Hugs*