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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 5 July 2019
A man with black hair and moustache and white tshirt

Ameet Bhadrapur, 30 from Bengaluru suffers from 70 per cent hearing loss. But despite his lack of confidence over interaction with people, he is a working professional.

I am partially hearing impaired with 70% hearing loss. I can hear some low frequency sounds. I am using behind the ear hearing aids for both the ears. With this I am able to hear most of the sounds. However my speech and pronunciation are not clear. Hence I lack confidence in interacting with others.

When were you diagnosed?

I was diagnosed at the age of two and a half. I was developing normal in all respects but was not responding to any sounds.

Please describe your experience of managing the condition?

At the age of 3 I started using pocket based hearing aids. They were not so comfortable as all the sounds were amplified which was irritating. I used to wear them only to school and would remove them at home. I attended normal school but was academically lagging behind.

I did try homeopathic and ayurvedic medicines. But the hearing scale remained the same.

What are some of the challenges you face in your workplace?

Right now I have no challenges as such since the work is computer-based with little interaction with colleagues. I am good with computer work and especially with repetitive work.

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Do you face problems in your social interactions and friendships?

Because of lack of confidence I do not interact even with my relatives. I feel they will not be able to understand my speech.

I am not confident in conversing with people. Hence I do not interact and keep to myself. At home though I am comfortable. The level of interaction is very low with my parents and my sister.

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How has your family supported you?

My family has fully supported me. Right from the beginning when they came to know that I have a hearing problem they got me a hearing aid. They arranged for special tutors. They encouraged me to take up sports activities like cricket, tennis and swimming. They encouraged me to socially interact with others in the neighbourhood by sending me to buy things from the shop.. They got me admission in another city (Mysore) to do a diploma in computer science. They made me stay there in a room and manage by myself so that I can become independent. They helped me get admission in an engineering college so I could complete my degree. They have put in all effort to make me as independent as possible.

Did you see a counselor for support? Were you offered counseling by doctor?

I have not been to any counselor for support. There was no counseling by any doctor.

What was the hardest part? 

The hardest part was wearing the hearing aids which were not so comfortable in the early years.
Now also I remove them at home though my parents insist that I wear them always..

Is there any personal anecdote that you would like to share with us?

I would like say that since there is a lot of awareness and development in treatment of persons with disabilities one should not lose hope or confidence. Parents should always try and include them in the mainstream. I got good encouragement from the engineering college faculty though I could not complete the course since it turned out pretty tough for me because of high standards of the college. Speaking for myself, I can say that academically I was not able to cope up. My comprehension was poor and hence I did not have confidence in conversing with others. Since I rarely interacted, I have no friends as such.