By Alex Mussomeli
I asked my friend, “Can you repeat what you said, please?”
He replied, “Sure, Alex,” with a smile on his face. I was sitting with a group of my friends on the lawn across from the library, enjoying a sunny afternoon. As we exchanged stories and laughed, at times, I missed some words. That was something that I learned to live with. I have a hearing loss, and despite the cochlear implant and hearing aid, participating in a conversation while hearing background noise has always been challenging.
I always had auditory training to focus and listen in a noisy environment. However, as I entered the high school years, I realized that I enjoy socializing and being among friends despite the background noise. At times, I can block out the background noise thanks to the program on my cochlear implant known as Scan. The program allows me to pick up on nearby conversations, such as the one at my lunch table, more easily than before.
I also found ways to enjoy still being with my friends with the background noise. They would choose less noisy places. We’d meet at the beach, at the library, at ice cream parlors, and in small gatherings at one another’s houses.
Alex can still enjoy being with his friends by meeting in less noisy places, like their nearby beach.
Although school is noisier than where we choose to hang out, especially during lunchtime, we still find ways to work around it and enjoy the day together. Instead of eating at the cafeteria, we would go to the hallway and eat lunch there instead, never missing the opportunity to crack a joke.
It’s true that while these situations have gotten easier with time, the problem hasn’t entirely gone away. Still, the more I progress throughout life, the easier it is to manage this problem and the more determined I am to continue onward, to continue laughing with my friends and hearing the jokes that we make and our endless conversations all the same.
I appreciate my friends for being so accommodating about this and clarifying what I didn’t hear at times. They see me for who I am and enjoy my company as a genuine friend. Thanks to our resourcefulness and friendship, not once has my hearing loss or the background noise around us gotten in between us.
Alex Mussomeli is a high school student in Connecticut who, with his family, has been a longtime supporter of HHF, including the sale of his paintings at a local gallery.
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I do feel like something is lost when older adults are put into what feels like isolation chambers due to our hearing ability. We have something unique to contribute from the perspective of our years, and I would like us to find a way as a society to allow us to do that.