Better Days Ahead: Alex ChiewFriday, 21 February 2014 | 06:25 | 0 comments
Being a deaf individual comes with facing a lot of
adversities. How do they cope with it?
Alex Chiew, a 22 year old, avid sports player, shares his challenges
as he goes through life.
Alex was not discovered to be deaf until he was four years
old when he did not respond to his parents’ words. Since then, he has been dealing with the
conflicts of being deaf.
Firstly, deaf individuals are advised not to wear hearing
aids when playing sports as they are not waterproof. After long exposure to the
perspiration, the hearing aid would become rusty.
Alex loves playing badminton, soccer and cycling, but his hearing aid has caused him a lot of problems.
Thus, Alex had to get adapt to his circumstances. He would look around instead
of listening to any calls from his team. This was troublesome, therefore, all
he did was try not to let his perspiration touch his hearing aid.
Secondly, like all deaf individuals, he has faced a lot of difficulties growing up.
Due to his hearing problems, Alex also has trouble with his
pronunciation. His classmates have made fun of him for it, and he would defend himself, but this would usually end with them fighting. Despite help from his principal, they
still did not stop.
“I was so tired and felt like quitting school,” Alex confides.
“I was so tired and felt like quitting school,” Alex confides.
After going through so much, Alex tells us that the Jack Neo
movie, “Home Run” was his inspiration. Although it is not deaf-related, it made
him not want to give up.
We hope that through Alex’s stories, we can find inspiration
to not give up on our life.
What are the things that inspire you not to give up? Share
with us in a comment in the tagboard located in the sidebar!
(297 words)
Hear to Stay: Tinnitus-Be-GoneWednesday, 19 February 2014 | 12:26 | 0 comments
Things that help may also hinder.
At least, that's the case for Yuki's cochlear implants. Though they have helped her to hear better, they have also limited her from doing any dangerous activities like high diving, where there is great pressure on the ears.
Furthermore, there are some side-effects from having cochlear implants, like Tinnitus.
Tinnitus is the perception of a echoing, high-pitched 'ringing' noise within the human ear, when no such sound is actually present.
A sample of what Tinnitus may sound like
Sounds annoying? For Yuki, she goes through Tinnitus once or twice a year, and it stays from a matter of a few days to one or two months. Worse still, Yuki is allergic to the painkillers, so she simply has to bear with the pain. This is where music comes in.
Yuki says that she uses classical music to help her soothe the pain, especially when she's sleeping.
"It was really really so hard to sleep with Tinnitus," Yuki says. "Everytime I had this Tinnitus, it has made me lose my appetite and I didn't like to do anything or go out. I felt like I wanted to kill myself because I didn't like that pain."
Doctors and specialists have told her that the cause of Tinnitus is due to very high levels of stress that Yuki may not have even realised she underwent.
What makes you feel stressed? Let us know in the comments in the tagboard in the sidebar!
(232 words)
Better Days Ahead: Lee Qi Jian | 03:15 | 0 comments
Losing your sense of hearing at a young age can be a very traumatising experience.
Lee Qi Jian, a 21 year old, Year Two student in
Singapore Polytechnic’s Diploma in Computer Engineering tells us his story.
When Qi Jian was three, he had a high fever that
caused him to lose his hearing in both ears. He wore hearing aids for two
years, before damaging his left eardrum and undergoing a surgery for cochlear
implants.
As he entered secondary school, Qi Jian had to
adjust to the difficulty of not being able to listen in class. He did not
understand what the teachers were saying, having come from a special school --
Canossian School for the Hearing Impaired, where teachers accommodated students
and taught at a slower pace.
Besides having trouble understanding the teachers,
Qi Jian was also scared to ask them for help. His fear made it difficult for
him to make friends.
To get through these challenges, Qi Jian sought
help from the school counsellor, who encouraged and motivated him.
Slowly, Qi Jian saw that his friends were very
patient, and his teachers were friendly and supportive; they helped him feel
more comfortable in an unfamiliar environment.
In spite of being deaf, Qi Jian feels that he is
leading a normal life. "I can say that I'm really fortunate as deafness is
the 'best' handicap," he says.
Even though he can't pronounce or hear well, he can
still work, play and have fun in life.
Qi Jian hopes that people would be friendlier and
more patient with the deaf, but is thankful his friends from the deaf
community have helped to make his life a better one.
Share with us in the tagboard(in the sidebar) a time when you helped someone face an
obstacle and how they got through it!
(300 words)
Hear to Stay: Getting Cochlear ImplantsTuesday, 18 February 2014 | 06:37 | 0 comments
Think back to when you were a toddler, when your days were spent belting out your favourite nursery rhymes, making friends on the playground and playing around the house. Now imagine being that same child and being unable to hear London Bridge is Falling Down, the sound of other kids playing or even the sound of rain on a relaxing day indoors.
That was the case for Yuki when she four years old. Thankfully, her parents agreed to let her undergo an operation for cochlear implants. What are cochlear implants you ask?
Cochlear implants are surgically-implanted electronic devices that help to amplify sounds for those who are profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. According to Yuki, they allowed her to "hear even the softest sounds like rain, wind, waves".
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| Yuki's current cochlear implants |
"Initially, when I woke up from operation, I felt so dizzy and having headaches that I cried a lot in front of my parents and grandma and perhaps to myself," Yuki explained.
She also described that the side of her head had hurt really badly with the occasional itch. Initially feeling like the implants made everything too loud for her, she required some time to adapt to them.
Though she used to dislike particularly enjoy having the $2000+ cochlear implants on her, they do help to amplify sounds much better than her hearing aid.
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| Yuki now takes on the world with courage and determination |
What was your scariest childhood experience? And how do you feel about it now? Share with us your experience in the comments in the tagboard in the sidebar!
(287 words)
Better Days Ahead: Jazmine ChuaWednesday, 12 February 2014 | 00:12 | 0 comments
How would you feel if day by day, you hear less and less of the world around you?
What you just imagined was Jazmine Chua's experience growing up.
Jazmine first discovered she was deaf when she was nine years old.
At 32 years old, she's doing what any hearing person can do and working as a perfumery lab assistant doing what she loves -- creating new perfumes.
But years ago, she would not have believed that she would grow up to be who she is.
Despite her deafness, Jazmine studied in a mainstream school, where not everyone would understand why she had a hearing aid on, not even herself.
"I didn't understand why I had to wear hearing aid, when people my age don't need to."
She had to try her best to listen to the teachers, and wasn't exempted from taking oral exams or listening comprehensions. This caused her grades to be pulled down.
Furthermore, Jazmine had no support from her family. "My parents were unable to tolerate having adeaf child, and mostly I got blamed for being deaf," she says.
However, through hard work and the help of her teachers and kinder classmates, Jazmine managed to pass most of her exams. She overcame her internal struggle with not understanding why she was different from the world and also learnt to work better with the people around her.
Now that Jazmine is older and more exposed to people around the world, she has found others who are like her; being part of the deaf community allows deaf individuals to support one another.
Jazmine's story inspires us to hang in there and push on forward to better days ahead.
What are some encouraging words you would like to say to those going through a hard time? Comment in the tagboard (sidebar) and share with us!
(298 words)
How to sign 'I love you'Thursday, 6 February 2014 | 22:13 | 0 comments
So you want to tell someone you love them, but you can’t
seem to say it?
Well, why not sign it instead? We’ll teach you how!
How to sign ‘I’:
1.
Ball up your dominant hand into a fist, making
sure your thumb is bent over your fingers.
2.
Stick up your pinky.
3.
Turn your hand so that the palm faces the
opposite direction of the arm. (If you’re using your left hand, the palm should
face right. If you’re using your right hand, the palm should face left.)
4.
Place your hand above your chest.
How to sign ‘love’:
1.
Ball up both hands into fists, making sure your
thumb is bent over your fingers.
2.
Turn your hands so that your palms face you.
3.
Place your arms across your chest in an ‘X’
formation.
How to sign ‘you’:
Method 1
1.
Point to the person you’re directing your message
to with your index finger, making sure your thumb is bent over your fingers.
Method 2
1.
Point to the person you’re directing your message
to with your palm facing upwards.
How to sign ‘I love you’ (with just one sign):
1.
Stick up your palm and make it face outwards.
2.
Bend your middle and ring finger.
And there you have it! Now it's your turn! Sign this to your friends or loved ones today to show how much you care.
Take a photo by yourself or with a group of friends signing 'I love you' and post it on our Facebook page with a little message of encouragement to someone having a hard time. We welcome anyone of all ages to do so. Tag the people you love in the post to share the love! <3
