Intro
What is going on with me
360 - broken
computer problems
work problems
hearing shutting down
Hearing aids
my family and my hearing
this is something that i had to fill out to get free hearing aids.
Figured I would share it with you all
JUSTIFICATION FOR ASSIGNMENT OF OOS PRIORITY CATEGORY
FOR CONSUMERS WHO ARE HARD OF HEARING
1. Mobility:
a. When was your last vision test? (It is a federal regulation that persons with hearing loss must also be assessed for vision deficits (suggested guideline: within past two years) My last vision test was in the summer of 2005
b. Do you experience vertigo/dizziness? Sometimes but not often.
c. Do you have any difficulty with your balance? Sometimes but not often.
2. Self-Care:
a. Do you have any difficulty hearing emergency/environmental signals, such as fire alarms, smoke detectors, and/or truck back-up signals? I have the most difficulty with back-up signals and also trying to determine exactly where the noise is coming from.
b. Are you or have you experienced feelings of depression or anxiety related to your hearing loss or hearing situations? Yes I have at times.
c. Do you feel you should be able to understand more of what is said to you? (i.e. become frustrated or embarrassed or angry with yourself) I become quite frustrated mostly because I am too embarrassed to ask the other person to say something again and so I try to figure out what it is that was said with the few words I did hear.
3. Self-Direction:
a. Do you have a current job/job goal? I already have a job.
b. How did you arrive at your job goal? (i.e. has the individual had enough access to life knowledge to know about options or has (s)he picked a job because “people who can’t hear can do only this kind of work”) It is something that I knew I could do well and so I went for it. I did make sure I was located at a place where I would not have to have too many distractions during the day. Basically I am the only person in the office each given day.
c. Would you like assistance in identifying jobs that you can do with your hearing loss? I just want to know how to make sure I can keep this one.
4. Work tolerance:
a. Do you experience headaches at the end of the workday? Sometimes but not often.
b. Does your job require you to attend one situation for a long period of time (one hour or longer) without breaks, such as long meetings, lectures, and/or interviews? Once a month I have to take notes at a Board meeting. I have found this extremely difficult but have managed so far to date. This is when I tend to come home with a really strong headache.
c. Do you feel extremely fatigued at the end of the day when not at work? Sometimes but I think it is only because I am in relax mode.
d. Do you find it difficult to balance multiple responsibilities? (work tasks, home, Personal, medical etc) Balancing multi tasks is a major part of my job. I do tend to lax a bit when it comes to personal needs (i.e. forgetting to take medicine)
5. Work Skills
a. Do your coworkers/boss know you have a hearing problem? I have opened up to some because I felt I had to.
b. Do you feel your coworkers/boss understand your hearing problem? Are they willing to take the time to communicate clearly with you? Most of the people I deal with are elderly and some do and some are totally annoyed by it.
c. Do you have difficulty performing your job? Meeting deadlines? Performing more then one task at the same time? Balancing multi tasks is a major part of my job.
d. Do you have any difficulty communicating on the telephone? (misunderstand information or certain words, have to be in a quiet room to hear anything well, etc) If there is someone in the office then to talk on the phone is extremely difficult.
e. Is it difficult for you to follow information in staff meetings or other group settings? Sometimes it’s a strain for me to make sure I have the instructions correct.
f. Can you understand announcements on public address systems or loudspeakers? I don’t have that sort of thing at work so its not an issue but honestly I would have problems yes.
g. Have you made mistakes at work and found out later that you misunderstood the instructions? All the time.
h. Do you work in a dart or poorly lighted environment? No
i. Do you work in a very humid or wet environment? No
j. What kind of assistance would help you to perform you job functions more effectively? Which job responsibilities are most difficult for you? I think that being able to hear when someone gives me a task would help me greatly. It would not feel like such a struggle.
k. Do you sometimes feel that you have been passed over for promotions or not given certain duties because of your hearing loss? I make sure that I don’t put myself in that sort of situation. I don’t apply myself as well as I would if I knew that I could understand everything correctly.
l. Do you feel “left out” of office information loops? I can’t think in the realm of work but often when I was a kid in school I always felt that way and found it easier to just go off on my own and do my own thing.
m. Have you changed your job because of your hearing loss? I once was a waitress and could not hear the customers properly and found that I was unable to fully perform that job.
6. Interpersonal Skills:
a. When did you find out you had a hearing loss? It was something I grew up with
b. Has your hearing loss become worse over time? I feel as though it has since I can’t remember a time I could not hear at all when I was quite small.
c. Does anyone else in your family have a hearing loss? If so, what has that person done to try to help cope with his/her loss? I am the only member of my family that had a hearing loss.
d. Does your family know about your hearing loss? Are they supportive/willing to take the time to communicate effectively with you? Are you having more arguments with your spouse/family/significant other recently? As far as my family yes they knew I had a hearing loss but it was treated like a burden. Something that just needed to go away. Often when I could tell as a kid that I was losing hearing again I would hide it from my parents and found ways to pass the school hearing test so no one would know. Now I live with a man that is very supportive but he tends to forget at times and becomes annoyed when I have to ask him more then two times to repeat himself.
e. Have you seen an Ear Specialist in the past year (NOTE: in order to provide hearing aids or assess for other adaptive equipment, an evaluation within the past six months is MANDATORY) Yes I have been to Dr.
f. Do you have any difficulty following conversation at the dinner table now or when growing up? When I was a kid it was very difficult and I tended to remain silent and not be part of the conversation. Now if I go to a restaurant with friends I mostly lip read.
g. Has your hearing loss caused and difficulties with social activities that you once enjoyed? Have you stopped any activities? I have always enjoyed books as a kid and still do. When computers came out I was beside myself because I have found a way to really be part of a conversation and not miss a thing.
h. Do you feel tired a lot of the time? Angry? Angry no. I figure its life and its mine and there is no reason to get angry over it. Tired yes often.
i. Do you have difficulty sleeping or wake up very early in the morning? Yes to both.
j. How do you feel you have adjusted to your hearing loss? I think I have. It is after all something that I have lived with. Only part I have a problem with at this point is knowing that surgery is not going to be the magic like it was before, but it is something that I have always known was gonna happen.
k. What do you do when communication breaks down? I retreat within myself. It’s a bad habit I know but it is what I do.
l. Has anyone in your family or friends become angry at you for “ignoring” them or “not listening” in the past year? Yes I have heard that I have selective hearing. That was one of my dad’s favorite sayings to me.
m. Have you changed your job because of difficulties connected with your hearing loss? I once was a waitress and could not hear the customers properly and found that I was unable to fully perform that job.
7. Communication:
a. Do you experience ringing in your ears/tinitus? Sometimes but not often.
b. Do you have any problems communication or understanding what is being said to you in: -one to one situations- depends on the back ground
-in noisy environments - totally
-in group situations - totally
-over the telephone - depends on the back ground
c. Do you or have you ever-used hearing aids? When I was a kid a doctor had me try them.
d. If you have hearing aids, do you wear them everyday? N/A
e. How old is your present aid (More then 5 years should be evaluated to determine if it is still functioning properly; more then 1 year if the person has a known progressive hearing loss) N/A
f. What, if any problems have you had with your hearing aids? N/A
g. Does your hearing aid have a “T” switch? N/A
h. Do you or have you ever used assertive listening device (i.e., CART, amplification system, signaling devices, TV caption decoder, telephone amplifier) TV caption I have used with DVD.
i. Have you ever had speech therapy or speech reading lessons? I spent years as a child in speech therapy after regular school. My family felt it was extremely important that I sounded normal.
j. Do you use or have you ever been interested in learning sigh language? While in speech therapy the first instructor taught me sign. My parents forbid me to use it.
k. Has your physician or anyone else ever suggested that you might have a hearing problem? It was always an issue
l. Do others sometimes have difficulty understanding your speech? I tend to have difficulty pronouncing words but most of the time I look in my mind for a general term rather then trying to say something. I have been told I have great speech along with those who say the opposite. My spelling is all through memory and I cannot just sound it out and find it extremely difficult at times. I have been corrected more on my spelling then my basic grammar. (I am totally grateful for spell check!)
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