Youth and Counseling

I was 16 years-old at the time. It was unusual for both of my parents to accompany me to a hearing test. After completing the test, I was seated in the waiting room, while my parents met in conference with the audiologist. 20 minutes later, I was called into the meeting with all three.

The audiologist informed me that instead of one hearing-aid, I now needed two. Bursting into tears, I shouted, “No way, I’m freaky enough with one. I’ll not wear two!”

And I got my way.

This outburst clearly signaled all was not well with me. If ever there was a time for counseling, this was it.  But there was no attempt to address my frustrations and attitude; not from the audiologist, nor from my parents.

As a teenager who was hearing-impaired most all of my life,  my mind would automatically substitute words for the ones I didn’t hear. It was very confusing whenever I realized my information was wrong. I hated everything about who I was, what I had become. And I would not let on how much it bothered me. Thus, the frustration festered to the point... I wanted out.

I can’t imagine how different life could have been with counseling help as a teenager.

In summation, all you Mom's and Dad's out there, with hearing-loss, the stress weighs heavily. No matter what age one loses hearing, we all can benefit from counseling.