Good thing I’m deaf

I was born deaf. I have a disability called sensorineural hearing loss in both ears.

When I was four years old, I had surgery to have a cochlear implant in my right ear, which I have had ever since.

There is a reason why I wanted to write this article.

I have had some difficulties with my hearing, of course, but there have also been many good things.

But there are also many good things about being deaf, and I feel that I have never had the opportunity to actually put them into words or in writing.

Good thing I’m deaf

Cannot hear noise, etc

When I have my cochlear implant removed, I will not be able to hear any sound at all.

So, for example, I will be able to sleep better because I will not hear any thunder or wind noises in the middle of the night.

（Because my cochlear implant is removed when I sleep and take a bath）

When I was living with my family, there was a typhoon in the middle of the night and my parents told me that it was so windy and scary that they couldn’t sleep very well, so I often thought it was that windy.

Of course, there are times in the middle of the night when it’s dangerous, even if I can’t hear emergency alerts or broadcasts…

I can concentrate

This overlaps a little with the above, but when I want to concentrate, I don’t need my earplugs.

For this reason, when I was a student, I often turned off my cochlear implant once and switched it to concentration mode.

For example, in the library, I’m basically alone, so there’s no one else I can talk to.

I felt at ease turning off my cochlear implant.

Also, when I was a student, I used to study in the living room with my parents rather than in my room.

When I was a student, I often studied in the living room with my parents rather than in my room, so I would tell them in advance when I was going to turn off the cochlear implant.

I met good teachers and friends with disabilities, including deaf people

As I mentioned in my last article, “What has changed since I discovered sign language“.

 I realized that meeting friends who are also deaf, people with other disabilities, and good teachers would be a lifelong asset.

If I had been able to hear, I might not have thought about hearing disabilities for the rest of my life.

If I had been able to hear, I might not have thought about hearing impairment for the rest of my life, and even if I had known about it, I might have thought of it as something else.

The Corona disaster has reduced my opportunities to meet people.

But now we live in an age where we can easily connect through social networking sites.

I hope to meet many more people in the future.

I got a chance to talk to people, including myself

If I had been able to hear myself, it would have been easier to finish introducing myself to someone else.

I’ve always been bad at introducing myself because I’ve never had many hobbies or things I was good at.

But now that I have the opportunity to talk about my deafness, I can have something to introduce myself with.

I have come to think that I am lucky to be able to talk about myself.

I found sign language

This is also similar to my previous article, “What has changed since I discovered sign language”.

If I had been able to hear, I would have only known about sign language.

If I had been able to hear, I would have only known about the existence of “sign language” and would not have learned it unless I met a deaf person.

I could get married

Last year, I got married. To be honest, I thought it would be difficult to get married even if I could find love because I am deaf.

However, I first met my current husband at a social event where people with hearing loss gather.

That’s how we met, and that’s where we are now.

Although it may not be directly related to the reason for my deafness, I am very grateful that I was able to get married thanks to a good encounter at a place for people with the same disability.

Conclusion

This is a summary of the good things I’m deaf.

Some of you may have been surprised by the title of this article.

There have been many difficult times when I was deaf, and of course there have been many times when I wished I could hear.

I hope this article has given you some food for thought as well.