Hear and Now by M.Lewis

      The world is immersed in sound. It is part of so many mediums
    that it has become a core symbol for each generation to the
    music of that era. Now as we are entering the 21st century, more
    than ever sound is relevant to the times.

      For the Deaf and the hard of hearing, are we to fall back in
    time while the music plays on? NO! For those of us hearing impaired
    who cannot enjoy the music of the times or the sounds of progress
    rolling on, there are still ways that we can be a part of
    our generation in building a presence, in making our mark and in
    creating a way to turn sound into a friend, instead of an
    adversary.

      With the innovation of assistive devices, we are now aware
    of our surroundings more than ever and are not left wandering
    a road of bewilderment as to what it was that everyone is so
    upset about when your home security system is set off accidently
    and the police arrive at your door because you didn't know it
    was going off! Or when your child cries for you in the night and
    your spouse is upset because you didn't go to him because
    you couldn't hear him. In light of alert systems, baby cry
    signalers, siren alerters, etc... there is no reason that we can't
    be a part of the society of "sound seekers". And with
    continued advancements in quality speaker systems, raised
    volumes, sound vibrations, etc. the deaf or hard of hearing can
    even sometimes enjoy music and dancing!

      Closed captioning has also come a long way in providing a way
    for all to enjoy the entertainment that television and movies
    have to offer. We can ALL keep abreast of whats going on with
    soap operas, who is seeing who on "Friends", and what is happening
    to Carter on "ER" LOL! On the serious side, tv is also a
    great learning tool for persons with hearing loss as any mother
    will attest to by watching her toddler learn his abc's from
    Sesame St.! There are many educational & entertaining programs
    and videos available for any specific interest and with use of
    a vcr and/or closed captioning, can be enjoyed and benefited
    by all.

      This is not to say that we are all created equal, of course.
    There will always be problems and the deaf/hard of hearing world
    is not immune to this. Minorities will always exist and will be
    descriminated against and this is not new. There are also
    times when we ourselves may be the stumbling blocks in our own path
    but given todays technology, opportunities and legal rights given
    us by the ADA, we do have a choice in the matter usually,
    despite legal red tape that is not news to anyone, hearing
    impaired or not.

      We can stand back in the crowd as a symbol of our disability or
    we can stand in front, head held high and proclaim our part in
    societies developement of the future. After all, the first
    telephone (which Alexander Graham Bell invented for the
    hearing impaired)is now a major form of communication and
    also the "link" most hearing and non-hearing people use to
    jump onto the information superhighway called the "World Wide Web".

    Beethoven composed many wonderful symphonies after he became
    profoundly deaf. While we are not many of us Graham Bells or
    Beethovens, we can still aspire to great heights and in the
    process we can join hands with the world of sound and dance to
    our own music at the same time.

       So "hear" we are at the end of this article and my summation
    on hearing impairments is to live each day with joy "hear and now"
    at your best, weather you can hear or not...
  
 

        Moms Room on this site has a poetry page with a poem or two I
   wrote about hearing loss but I can't help but add this here. I'm a
   nut for poetry, I can't stop!

                                      Listen with your heart

            The tune may be alittle different
            The lyrics remain the same
            to live and love and share the heart,
            to NOT is our only shame.
            Look at me, I'll look at you
            open your heart & mind,
            bring inside my heart to yours
            and understanding is what we'll find.
            When the door opens up
            between your world and mine
            if we walk through together,
            tomorrow greets us united
            with friendship our sign.

            mrl ©2000