Writing a Novel About Hearing Loss
The Harsh, Deaf Truth
The Impact
Hearing loss has been part of my life for just over ten years. I was diagnosed when I was eight years old, in third grade, and now here I am, eighteen years old and about to graduate. Having moderate to severe hearing loss is not too bad, but it hasn't always been easy. You have to relearn how to function. You have to remember to speak even when you don't want to because it feels weird to talk when you can barely hear the words coming from your own mouth. You have to strain to listen to everything, pretend to hear the joke your friend told, and just deal with the little, every day things of not being able to hear the way most people do. You also have to deal with people. Growing up, I was mocked for my hearing, and most people didn't even know what hearing loss was or hadn't met anyone with hearing loss other than their grandmother. I felt like an outcast for a long time. As I got older, the more I decided to educate people instead.
Facts
About 2-3 of every 1,000 children are hard of hearing or deaf
Estimated that 30 school children per 1,000 have a hearing loss
Estimated that 30 school children per 1,000 have a hearing loss
-13% of the US population is hard of hearing -In movies and TV shows, hearing people ACT as deaf/hard of hearing people than actual deaf/hard of hearing people -Hollywood is slowly recognizing the possibility of powerful deaf/ HoH characters
Why I want to Do This
I am much more confident in my abilities, and I am aware of the issues with hearing loss outside of my own experiences, and now, I want to spread awareness. I want to create something that shows how incredible a world is for us without hearing. Young Adult novels are pivotal to encourage young teens to read more, so I want to put out something that's different than the typical vampire stalker romance.