Deaf/HH Infusion

Hard of Hearing Angels

By Bowen Tang, British Columbia H&V

Wherever we go and whatever we do, noise will always be around. Despite our best attempts to adapt as people who are hard of hearing, we will no doubt sometimes experience frustration when communicating with people. There will be ups and downs in our days and like anyone we want to share these with our close ones, particularly those who can relate to our unique experiences as hard of hearing individuals. Through my work as an educator and an advocate, I always emphasize the importance of connection between hard of hearing individuals, the impact it has on personal empowerment and being part of the HOH community. Some of us may feel like there is no need to have a HOH friend because the friends we have are enough. That is perfectly fine but I would like to share a personal perspective on how my HOH friends have become my guardian angels.

I have been privileged to meet many wonderful friends along my life journey and I wish they could all be acknowledged individually here. Among this spectacular group, my friends Joy, Tasha and Nicole (left to right) in particular serve as my “rock”. As a fellow colleague and partner in crime, Joy keeps me driven and motivated to pursue my passion. Tasha’s generosity and kindness remind me to appreciate what I have and inspire me to be a better person. Nicole taught me to accept who I am and be true to myself. Together we keep each other accountable when we find ourselves bluffing (even with each other) from listening fatigue. We gave each other the confidence to step out of our comfort zones and take risks.

These friends lift me up from self doubts and gave me the strength I needed to be who I am. One day we named our group chat “HOHliest Angels”. How fitting that is because they are indeed guardian angels. It is our shared experiences as hard of hearing individuals that we feel strongly connected and it was through the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association that we came together. It was also here that I met older adults various career fields, some of which I never thought was possible for a HOH person: being a pilot, a doctor, or an audiologist! Connecting with these individuals broke the internal barrier that I had set for myself in what I could do. It is clear the sky is the limit. From that point on, I embarked on a journey where I travelled around the world, meet more HOHs from different countries, and became the President of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People, an organization aimed to empower youth through connections and networking with each other.

For the past several years I have witnessed sparks flying when HOH individuals connect. My HOH friends and I really have become a second family to each other. It is my sincere wish that each hard of hearing person can find fellow kindred people who they can rely on in their journey through life. Hence, I feel that it is important for families to pursue opportunities for their deaf/hard of hearing children to connect and make friends who may eventually become their very own guardian angels.  ~

Editor’s note: Bowen was born in Hong Kong and moved to Canada, where he is a Teacher of the Deaf for Kindergarten through grade 12 students in mainstream schools.

H&V Communicator – Summer 2020