SayWhatClub Online Voices July 2010
From the Editor's desk
Tim Stones
Copyright 2010
I was deeply moved by the warm welcome I received from many of the members of the SWC community when I assumed the position of Editor of SWC Online Voices earlier this year. It always is a challenge stepping into a role that others have fulfilled so admirably, and for many years. It is important to respect the hard work and significant contributions one's predecessors have made, and hence what I hope to achieve as Editor is to build on the foundations that have already been laid. I thank those who have walked this journey before me, and look forward to your support in the months and years to come.
I would like to talk briefly about the impact of hearing loss on one's personal life. As we all know, hearing loss is a multifaceted reality that cannot be explained in simple terms. Each person living with hearing loss experiences this reality in utterly unique ways. Some people choose to see hearing loss as a disability, while others prefer to see it as belonging to a cultural or linguistic minority. However one chooses to define hearing loss, the truth that unites all people experiencing hearing loss is that the paramount challenge we face is that of communication barriers. The effects of this ripple through every aspect of our lives, from the socio-cultural, familial, professional, and even one's sporting life.
How this affects our personal outlook and response to the challenges of living life with a hearing loss (and, in some cases, additional sensory, physical, or psychological impairments), differs between individuals. Many of us who are part of the SWC community have written extensively about our personal journey with hearing loss. For many of us, our stories express feelings of loss, and a fear of what the implications of living with hearing loss means, and will mean, for our lives. Many of us, also, have found humour in everyday situations, where miscommunications often lead to some rather interesting results! Some of us have found that, while some doors were inevitably closed, other doors sprung wide open -- they have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into this new world, a world that is full of exciting possibilities!
Living with hearing loss is a fact of life for every one of us who find our home with the SWC community. It is how we respond to it, and what we choose to do with our lives either despite, or even because of it, that will define both our character, and our future.
With love, always,
Tim