About me

Born in Oslo, Norway in 72.

Got sick as baby, was given some ototoxic antibiotics which took most of my hearing (at least 80%). What was left was mostly in the deep frequencies and a little in the highest end.

That was enough for me to learn to speak and communicate. I recently took a test called the IOWA-test, which told me that I lipread about 50 % of normal speak. The lipreading is a crucial support to the little residue I have left of hearing capability. The hearing aids increase the sound, but that helps only if there’s something left to receive the sound…

The way my brain works to process verbal communication; is that without the lipreading I don’t get much from the sound, and without the sound I don’t get much from the lipreading. I need both, they supplement each other. The higher frequencies are completely gone. I guess it’s due to normal reduction in hearing, but because I had so little to go on, nothing useable is left.

I have been integrated in the hearing community all my life, thanks to my environment, selfdetermination and family.

In mid 2006 I had a breakdown and slowly discovered that I no longer can work as I used to.

Entering 2007 I just started “the long walk” towards getting two operations that can restore my hearing to higher levels than before. Instead of being a deaf man functioning poorly in the hearing world, being a burden for others, I want to be a resource.

In this blog I will attempt to write about issues that come up along the way. I realize that I have been through a lot in my life (related to the hearing), and that I have a lot more in store. In order to cope with this, I want and need to write about it.