My ex is legally deaf. When we met they still had their old hearing aids from the early nineties. As a bit of an electronics nerd I was appalled and wondered why the technology hadn't progressed in that field. Turns out it had and their audiologist just didn't think they'd benefit from a modern hearing aid. We fought tooth and nail until they got a modern one. They where extatic when they came home and told me of all the new sounds they'd heard just on the way home. Suddenly, they stopped and looked alarmed and asked;
-What was that noise!?
-What noise? I asked.
-There it is again!
-What, the cat?
They'd never heard their cat meow or purr before and spent hours cuddling our kitteh just to listen to him make noises. It was the best day ever.
Yep, coz they where legally deaf. It seems to be common that people with impaired hearing are just labelled "deaf" and just never gets to enter the rest of society. It sucks and it's bad for everyone.
On the flip side, my sister is fully deaf from birth. The first thing everyone asks upon meeting her: "What about implants/aids?" There's just no way to win in this area where people generally don't understand and don't care to try.
Part 2: https://m.funsubstance.com/fun/614077/hearing-aids-part-2/
Part 3: https://m.funsubstance.com/fun/614078/hearing-aids-part-3/
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Original comment:
I'll post the other part(s) to this later. Funsub is up to some shenanigans atm
-What was that noise!?
-What noise? I asked.
-There it is again!
-What, the cat?
They'd never heard their cat meow or purr before and spent hours cuddling our kitteh just to listen to him make noises. It was the best day ever.