My youngest daughter will begin school this year, and hopefully I will then be able to go to college. I'm pretty worried about whether I will be able to keep up with my classes. I understand conversations by lip reading, and this can be really hard to do in group settings or while listening to a speaker.

In fact, my family and I just joined a church at the beginning of this year, and I could not understand hardly anything my preacher said until two weeks ago when the church was kind enough to purchase an FM system. Now I am able to hear the sermon directly through the ear piece/FM receiver, and I can understand everything! It's made a huge difference. A lot of the elderly people even admitted that they were having trouble hearing, and they too enjoy using the receivers.

So anyway..Senthil, I know you've been to college, how did you cope? Were there certain things you did to ensure that you wouldn't miss anything important?

Hey Mandy, what college you plan on attending?

I taken many lecture classes at UW-Milwaukee, and it was somewhat difficult at times to hear the speakers. The school has a hearing loss and learning disability program. One of the services I found very useful was having someone take notes for me during class. The program would pay these students to give their copies of the notes. I usually have hard time listening and writing at the same time. I’ve also seen students bring small cassette player to class and record the lectures. That may be helpful, but you'll have to sit more towards the front in class.

Anyway, I was also worried about going to college at the very beginning, but I made it through and did well in my classes. You should find out if the college offers any services for people like us.

If you have any questions or need help on anything down the road, let me know...

Hi, my name is Tunisa, I have severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. I too attended college as an undergraduate with no assistance and did fairly well with no assistance. It required that I prep on the subject matter to be discussed in class in advance so that the information that is presented in classes basically reiterated what I had already read or clarified things that I may not have understood. I never took notes in class unless a professor wrote something down or occassionally I partnered with the person sitting beside me and copied key points from their notes.

However, during my graduate program I was able to get a notetaker through Student Support Services. My notetaker sat beside me with a laptop and typed out all dialogue by professor and my classmates so that I was able to fully participate in classroom discussions and at the same time it provided me with good notes. Academically I performed and felt better with the notetaker (3.2 gpa undergrad and 3.8 gpa masters program)

Key to being successful is to 1) identify Student Support Services or other programs that are available at the school you will be attending that provide support to students with disabilities. 2)Speak with your professors before hand to let them know you will be in their class. I usually ask professor which side of the room did they tend to favor so that I would show up to class early enough to get the best possible seat located near professor. I even had a few professor who were kind enough to provide me with outlines of the lecture to make it easier to follow lectures.
3)Read material prior to class and finally 4) Always remember you are your greatest advocate so Speak up for your needs.

Good Luck!!

The military college that I am currently enroll in has programs to help me with out. But i was stubborn the first year, and paid a hefty price for it, so my advice get all the help you can, because a lot people want to see others succeed.

These previous post are absolutely correct!!! Be proactive with your program and most professors are usually more than welcome to help you in anyway possible. Tunisa hit the nail on the head. It is essential that you have an idea of the material before entering a classroom. This entails reading and looking over the chapters or class content before the day's lecture (everytime.) This will ensure a better listening environment for you and help you corral questions for the professor or teacher during or at the end of class. Most professors utilized office hours to help students. This will allow you to have great communication with your professors and pick their brains for success. In my personal opinion, this is the key to success in college. Get to know your professors by visiting their office hours every week and ask those questions. Without their offerings of suggestions in private, I would not be as far as I am today. The way we learn is so diverse from the normal hearing individual and you have to recognize this. If you do, you will be well on your way to success. I finished with a 3.8 GPA as an undergraduate and was very desirable for graduate colleges I applied to only because I was proactive with "My Program." I always say be prepared with the material beforehand and ask those questions. It will make a difference, but you must be consistent with it for it to work and be successful with your studies. At this stage of the game of hearing loss, we should be professionals at asking questions. Take that skill to the classroom and office hours with professors. Others will appreciate it, as I have found out, and you will gain from it by utilizing these skills before, during, and after classes in order to excel on exams and finally your degree. I am now working on a doctorate of audiology to help those like us and teach them the skills they need to be successful, as well as, assist them with their hearing needs.

Fred - bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss since age five.