Question: I recently lost a lot of my hearing. Now I feel so alone. My family and friends just don’t understand what I am going through. I don’t know any one else who is hard of hearing. Where can I go to receive the understanding, support and friendship I crave so badly?
Answer: Excellent question. You are not alone in your feelings. There are millions of people who feel just like you. I used to be one of them, but no longer. Now I have hundreds and hundreds of hard of hearing friends all over the world that I chat with daily. You can too! Let me explain.
Hearing loss generally throws us off balance. We become lopsided people in a strange world we didn’t ask for. Like all people, we need love, care and support for our emotional wellbeing. People with normal hearing get most of this from their day-to-day interactions between family, friends and co-workers.
Our problem is that hearing loss often puts an end to this. Without good hearing, we no longer hear or participate in these important interactions. Our once-balanced world is shattered. When we cannot communicate freely and easily, we are generally ignored and end up isolated and alone. We feel emotionally bereft. Without emotional support we cannot function effectively. As a result, we withdraw from society. Very often, we become bitter and cloaked in deep, dark depression.
This is the way it is for untold numbers of hard of hearing people. It does not have to be this way. I have good news for you. We can find love, acceptance and support again even though we are hard of hearing.
One of the greatest blessings for hard of hearing folk was the development of the Internet and associated technology. This paved the way for on-line caring communities of hard of hearing people in the past few years. The most caring and supportive on-line group for hard of hearing people is without a doubt the SayWhat Club.
What makes the SayWhat Club so effective? It is nothing esoteric. Rather, it is simply that we meet together daily as one big family to laugh together, to cry together, to support each other, to love each other, and to have fun with each other.
People join the SayWhat Club depressed, “bummed out” and desperately hurting. Then, with the gentle loving support they receive daily, they begin to change. This change comes slowly at first, then faster and faster. Finally, they blossom into the beautiful people that they once were.
One of the secrets of the SayWhat Club is that we genuinely support each other. This support is not cold, clinical and theoretical, but rather, it is warm, caring and practical. We chat like we are brothers and sisters, and indeed soon we become just that, an on-line warm, loving, supportive family.
It is here that we do not miss a single word. We read the chats instead of straining to hear (and ending up missing most of it). It is here that we are built up and made to feel important again. It is here that we learn we are useful people after all in spite of our hearing losses. It is here that we form deep and lasting friendships. Make no mistake about it, these friendships are very real. Our friends are not just cyber-friends, but real flesh and blood friends whom we travel great distances to meet so we can be together.
You may even find true romance in the SayWhat Club. I know I did. I met my wife there. Our SayWhat Club family was at our wedding. This is the kind of group it is. You may find your true love here too.
One of the hardest things to do is to get hard of hearing people to quit secluding themselves and re-enter the hearing world. Without loving care and support this does not happen.
Those fortunate few hard of hearing people that join the SayWhat Club often become shining examples of the power of such care and support. Not only does their depression lift, but their attitudes change as they learn to live successful lives in the hearing world.
How does this happen? Each day we get battered by a society that expects us to hear whether our ears work or not. We arrive home emotionally drained. As a result, each day we look forward to the rejuvenating on-line chats with our hard of hearing family in the SayWhat Club. We take courage and strength from each other. This daily recharge lets us carry on and continue to be productive members in our families and in society.
The SayWhat Club is our lifeline. It helps rejuvenate our emotional system. It returns us to an even keel. In short, it helps put the balance back in our lopsided world.
If you would like more information about the SayWhat Club, visit our web site at http://www.saywhatclub.com or email us atinfo@saywhatclub.com. We’d be glad to have you join us! I think you will be glad too.
Leave a Reply