1. How did I lose my hearing?
I started losing my hearing during World War II, from gun fire but it didn't become apparent until I was sitting by a telephone in the Gardiner General Hospital's X-ray's waiting room. Gardiner General Hospital was an Army hospital on the south side of Chicago, IL. I was asked why I didn't answer the phone (I was sitting right next to it)??? I said, "I didn't hear the phone ring". Almost at the same time, the radiologist came into room & exclaimed, "What happened to you???" I acted surprised & he said I had a BIG black bruise behind my right ear. This started a change of reactions that took a bit of time to complete. At the time I was stationed at Gardiner General Hospital, it was preparing to close down. I was then transferred to Fort Custer, MI. Then to Percy Jones General Hospital at Battle Creek, MI. I was eventually hospitalized at Percy Jones Hospital. At both hospitals, I was employed as an X-ray Technician. After a bunch of testing & a wait for placement, I went to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. where I was eventually assigned to the Oral Rehabilitation Center at Forest Glen outside Silver Springs, MD. I was bunked in regular personnel barracks on the grounds of Walter Reed's & was bused daily to classes at Forest Glen. Forest Glen at one time was an exclusive girls school. At noon time we were entertained by orchestras playing all sorts of great orchestra music in the ballroom.
Over time, my hearing continued to do downhill until I became totally deaf in 1972.
2. How is the UbiDuo helping me in everyday face to face communication.
1st off, I don't have the normal day to day communications problems of a person with a daily work routine. Being retired, I'm not exposed to that sort of thing & instead I am somewhat sheltered. However, I usually find some time during lunch periods at home to carry on conversations with my wife Jean. I feel those sessions are great because we know exactly what each other is saying without any guess work. We used the UbiDuo whenever we go out to eat & most times we attract attention & Jean ends up explaining what we are doing.
Considering my age, we do not have an active social life where we are meeting friends on a constant basis. When we do, the UbiDuo plays an important part in making me aware of the conversations going on around me. It surely does keep me in the circle.
3. What are your thought & emotions as you are able to hold your own conversations on the UbiDuo with family, friends, or other hearing people.
I think my 1st reaction is that it certainly is great to actually understand what people are saying to me without guess work or a lot of questioning frowns. I think conversations are more enjoyable & I don't hesitate to talk to people like I did before the advent of the UbiDuo. It certainly simplifies the need for pads, pens, & a lot writing by use of them.
My thoughts are directed to the fact that this person is talking to me & not someone else.
4. What is my all time favorite UbiDuo experience?
In the short time that I have had the opportunity to use the UbiDuo, I would say that most all time are a great experience with just knowing what people are actually saying. I really enjoy when people are curious about what we are doing & stop to ask & Jean has an opportunity to tell them about the UbiDuo. I like the fact that younger people talk to me. I was overjoyed that my brother Louie finally broke down & started to talk to me on the UbiDuo. I'm really grateful to my wife Jean for finding the UbiDuo & for the fact that you have went to a lot of trouble to market it.
5. What thoughts or comments do you want to share with the public about the UbiDuo?
I think the deaf community is really fortunate that you came up with the UbiDuo. I certainly wish I had had it to use during my work day. I think it would have simplified a lot of things for me. I wouldn't have made so many mistakes. I would have had a better understanding on situations I was involved in like field inventories, as well as communications with "customers". Over the years, I've used up an awful lot of paper trying to carryon a conversation, the UbiDuo makes it a whole lot simpler without the mess. I don't have to worry about how bad the person writes, like with penmanship. Deaf people don't know how lucky they are to have this machine. They should flock to it. It certainly simplifies a conversation between a deaf person & a hearing person.
