Danielle Branciforte
Tallahassee, FL
I am now 61 and have had a severe hearing loss since the age of 12, requiring me to wear two hearing aids. Throughout the years it has been a constant struggle to fit in. I am not deaf, so have been regretted by that community; and because I look and sound “normal” the hearing community often forget that I am hearing impaired and rarely remember to adjust their speaking to accommodate me. As a teacher and presenter, I always begin with alerting my audience that I cannot hear and I regularly have people confide in me afterwards how shameful they feel because they also cannot fit in due to their hearing loss. The ‘baby boomers’ are getting older and starting to need hearing aids, my hope is that more awareness about about the hearing impaired culture will create a shift in our consciousness.
