jdjd09,
I am in a very similar boat, wearing BTE hearing aids since age 24. I joined the forum specifically to reply to you, as I can relate to what you've written really well.
First: I was able to establish a relationship with a girl that did not mind my wearing hearing aids. So it is possible.
What I found problematic was the lack of understanding on her part. Not so she could accommodate me, but so she could simply understand where I was coming from in terms of life experience.
Also, I need captions to understand a movie. I wouldn't ask for captions for fear of feeling like a burden. So I wore my hearing aids while watching Netflix without captions. But of course hearing aids whistle and don't feel very comfortable when you're trying to cuddle with a girl. So you take them off and now you're missing 30-40% of the movie and might as well not be watching.
Little things like that caused me to break it off and not bother with dating any more.
Hearing people will never understand what it is like to be hard-of-hearing.
And the whole point of an intimate relationship - at least to me - is to "get" the other person. In my experience, that can never happen between one person who hears normally and another who's hearing is impaired.
I felt suicidal throughout much of my 20s. For me, the sugarcoating and political correctness was more depressing than the hearing loss itself.
Here is what has helped me to obtain what I would call a moderate level of happiness and contentment (I'm 30 now):
1) I learned how to code. This is in-demand, can be done from home, and doesn't require a lot of meetings or interaction with co-workers. I'm a web developer now and on track to make over 100k this year.
2) I have accepted that I will never have a girl friend or a family life. Instead, I travel multiple times per year to places where paid sex is legal.
I get sex from the kind of girl I want, and she gets a hefty fee in exchange. Thanks to the fee, they have no problem accommodating me (i.e. not whispering in my ear and expecting me to hear them) and I don't feel like a burden since i'm paying her so well.
I really recommend you Google "mgtow" and "the red pill" to get a reality-check when it comes to getting a girlfriend and the huge risks and costs involved in dating and starting a family.
3) I have joined Facebook groups that have other young adults with hearing loss. I now have a couple friends I communicate with regularly.
Even having one friend that you can speak the truth to about your experience can make all the difference.
4) I got hearing aids, even though I run into patronization and people who make negative assumptions about me because of it.
The patronization and negative assumptions are relatively rare, but they are a constant headache of mine. For some reason, a lot of people cannot see this or don't want to see it. Ignore them.
In spite of the negatives, the hearing aids make hearing other people so much easier that I'm willing to wear them at work. I don't think I could down my job long term without them.
5) I prioritized my own experience over the experiences of others.
Hearing loss is unique to each individual. So ultimately YOU need to decide what YOU want, what works for YOU, and what DOESN'T work for YOU.
You can email me at
anonx@fastmail.net if you ever want to correspond privately.
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