Category: Hearing Loss

I have been deaf since 1988, and was hearing impaired 15 years before that. This category is about all the lessons learned during that period.

Hearing Loss, RetComLife, Topics2 Comments

RetComLife #14 – You Have Got To Get Used To The Dying…

RJ Walters

If you live in a retirement community, especially if it is also a Lifecare community, you have got to get used to the frequent presence of ambulances. Especially, if you are like me, and happen to face the delivery/pick-up entrance of the facility. I have heard many comments from future retirees about not wanting to live with only old people. There are a few alternatives available around the country, but retirement communities are pretty much the primary option now. I am currently gathering some info about alternative places, but that will be a future post. Being childless, I don’t have … Continue reading RetComLife #14 – You Have Got To Get Used To The Dying…

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I Am A Rock, I Am An Island, I Am An Altruist

RJ Walters

Because of my Aspie traits I have lived a good portion of my life feeling I am alone in this world. No one else seemed to see the world as I did. So, when in college in the 1960s I came across the words

I am a rock
I am an island
...
And a rock feels no pain
An island doesn't cry.
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*, Hearing Loss, My Life & Times2 Comments

There Is Only One Thing Worse Than Being An Aspie…

RJ Walters

From my “Introduction to Journalism” class I took in college I learned that the headline is the primary reason most stop and read an article. I learned that lesson well it seems. 😏 I’m not saying that having Aspie traits is awful, in fact I think they have enriched my life in more ways than they have hurt. But I am saying that another condition combined with Aspie traits makes life almost impossible at times. That is what this post is all about.

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Myth – Deaf People Have No Intellectual Capacity

RJ Walters

The myth in the title above is surprisingly not that uncommon among our population. I have come across it many times in my life. But this particular myth is not limited to just those who can’t hear. That is what this post is all about.

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Hearing Loss2 Comments

Coping With Deafness And My 10 Pillars

RJ Walters

I want to continue on from my 10 Pillars post of last week with a personal story about the second pillar which is “You are not alone”.  As I have mentioned before I want deaf in 1988 at the age of forty-two, but I had been hearing impaired for years before that. I lost hearing in one ear during my early college years in the 1960s.  Since I had no insurance and I couldn’t afford to pay doctor bills and college tuition at the same time, it would be a few years later when I discovered the cause of my … Continue reading Coping With Deafness And My 10 Pillars

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Listening To Your Favourite Music…

RJ Walters

I know I have been more stressed out in the last 22 months than I probably have any time in my life. It is stressful to see the possible annihilation of our democracy unfold before your eyes.  It is pitiful to see the Oval Office occupied by a compulsive liar, cyberbullier, and narcissist. I couldn’t have imagined that possibility just a few years ago. I just can’t seem to be able to do much about my stress except to boycott every new source.  I have for the past couple months limited my contact to the political world to ten minutes … Continue reading Listening To Your Favourite Music…

Aspergers, Having My Say, Hearing Loss, My Life & Times1 Comment

The Cutting Room Floor

RJ Walters

“You are not alone” is one of my Ten Pillars of life. The thought is that no matter what adversities you face, there is always someone who has had them before you and they can help you learn how to cope. Asking for help is a hard thing to do for many of us. We just don’t want to admit to ourselves that we sometimes struggle through life, let alone broadcast that fact to the world! It takes a brave person to do that. One of those brave people is Michelle over at the Green Study. She recently came out … Continue reading The Cutting Room Floor

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Turning Back the Odometer…

RJ Walters

I like old cars and I am kinda proud of passing on some of my experiences in life here on RJsCorner. Yeah, there are things, actually quite a few, that I would like to have been different but even the undesired things are an important part of my life’s experiences, that looking back have made me who I am. If I hadn’t been deaf I wouldn’t have the level of empathy that I do. If I had not grown up in a single very stoic parent household I wouldn’t have the understanding of such things as I do. As another … Continue reading Turning Back the Odometer…

*, Having My Say, Hearing Loss9 Comments

Breaking Down The Myths About Deafness

RJ Walters

On my post a while ago entitled “Life’s Lesson” I said there were ten things that I have learned in my life that I aim to put forward for your consumption here on RJsCorner. It is important to me and I kinda think it should be important to each of us that when we come across myths about living, we should do what we can to dispel the ones that are false. The three primary myths I have encountered that demand my personal attention are related to are deafness, autism, and old age. Of course, I am intimately familiar with … Continue reading Breaking Down The Myths About Deafness

Having My Say, Hearing Loss2 Comments

Imagining Their Stories…

RJ Walters

Because I am deaf I have a game I play quite often when I am around people, especially those I don’t know.  In my early years of deafness before closed-captioned TV was widely available is when this thing started. Since there was no sound to what I was seeing I made up my own storyline. It would have been interesting to discover how closely my story matched up with the writer’s version but of course, I never was able to discover that. Getting slightly off the subject for just a little while, I never used to think that I was a … Continue reading Imagining Their Stories…

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Dispelling Myths vs Reimaging

RJ Walters

Yesterday’s post was all about spin and how we too often try to reimage something because makes us uncomfortable.  It was primarily about the fact that we need to dispell the myth instead of just re-naming the condition.  Today I want to talk about why this topic is so important to me. As I have often said, being deaf is a major part of my life but it is not what I am about.  I almost never say I am a deaf man but instead say I am a man who is deaf. There is a critical difference between the two. If … Continue reading Dispelling Myths vs Reimaging

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What’s It Feel Like For a White Man To Be A Minority??

RJ Walters

I know one of the reasons that we have the current incompetent in the White House is that too many white men are afraid of becoming a minority.  They are afraid of what will happen when their say is no longer the dominant one but instead one of many. For the most part white men have been dismissing minorities for decades and don’t want that to happen to them. They are afraid of many things but this is probably one of the major ones. If none of the clues on RJsCorner have given you a hint then I will bluntly … Continue reading What’s It Feel Like For a White Man To Be A Minority??

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About Deafness — Chapter 92

RJ Walters

I realized that it has been quite some time since I put out a post primarily about deafness. But the title of “chapter 92” is kind of made up.  🙂  This particular chapter is the result of an episode on the CBS News – Sunday Morning about being in an anechoic chamber. First off the program mentioned is not really about “news” but more of like On the Road with Charles Kuralt but with Indiana’s own Jane Pauley. Now I know I am dating myself with this reference but for those of you who don’t know about “On The Road..” check it out … Continue reading About Deafness — Chapter 92

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Stop Using Sign Language Interpreters…

RJ Walters

The title above may seem strange coming from a deaf man but I really do think we have to stop using sign language interpreters for public announcements.  Its time to move on to better ways. Way better ways… The facts show us that the ASL interpreters who are often behind a public official announcing something is understood by less that 20% of the people who are deaf and less than 2% of those who have hearing impairments.  But there is a technology that is understood by probably 90%+ of that population. That technology is captioning.  It is cheap, it is … Continue reading Stop Using Sign Language Interpreters…

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Caught Between Two Worlds….

RJ Walters

This post is part of my continuing study of the Autism spectrum and particularly Asperger’s Syndrome. I am stuck between two worlds in my life.  I am a deaf man who lives almost exclusively in the hearing world but neither the hearing world or the deaf world considers me a homeboy.  I am seldom around other deaf people so I can’t speak for them but since almost 80% of us deafies are like me in that they went deaf later in life ways maybe I do.  One of my goals via this blog and a few other forums, is to help the … Continue reading Caught Between Two Worlds….

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About Closed Captioning (CC)…

RJ Walters

I wanted to pen a post on a topic most of your are probably unfamiliar with and that is closed captioning. I’m pretty sure most of you have at least a basic idea of what that is but for those of us who are deaf it is a lifeblood of keeping up with keeping up with the world. Without CC our world would be a quite different place. If you want to get an idea of what that means I would suggest that for the next few days when you turn on your TV to hit the mute button and … Continue reading About Closed Captioning (CC)…

*, Hearing Loss, My Life & Times2 Comments

I Think I Would Be Better Off…

RJ Walters

I have freely admitted here that I suffer bouts of depression, especially in the winter months. I just can’t seem to shake that to any significant level anymore. It is just a part of me now.  I was a “thoughtful” kid who dreamed a lot but it was not until I went deaf almost 30 years ago now that depression on any level creeped in Not being able to hear is depressing on a  constant level but I have managed to deal with that for the most part. It was a good number of years ago that I discovered that … Continue reading I Think I Would Be Better Off…

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My Creative Side…

RJ Walters

I seem to be ignoring my creative side lately in favor of other things.  I promised myself I would not do that so I will make an effort in the coming days to bring it back.  I believe that variety is the spice of life, no I don’t mean that in a sexual sense, but I also believe that creativity is a big part of living a fulfilling life. I have recently taken on a project to put together a catalog of songs from my past that gave me insight into life or just gave me joy.  For some reason it struck … Continue reading My Creative Side…