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When I worked at IBM, there were 5 or 10 hearing impaired employees, out of 5000 engineers and programmers at that facility; it was huge! One was even a manager. The deaf programmers knew sign language. Occasionally, e.g. at training classes, IBM arranged for an interpreter. Do you know ASL (American Sign Language)? I think that is the standard. I'm suggesting that, on the off chance that your employer would accommodate that, AND that you wouldn't be embarrassed. The deaf programmers rarely wanted interpreters because it made them self-conscious, the extra attention it drew!

I attended meetings led by the deaf manager. He could barely hear himself speak, so he prefered to write, but he was really easy to understand when he did talk. He told us that

• we needed to maintain a direct line of sight when we spoke to him
• never to interrupt each other, as he could only hear one person at a time

We adapted quickly, it wasn't a hassle. Between lip reading and maybe 10% functional hearing, he was fine. It helps that the context is work. He led meetings by writing everything on whiteboards or with handouts, just for backup. He did well at IBM, managed over a dozen non-hearing impaired programmers because it was extra helpful to have things in writing. He used internal IM and email, rather than lots of meetings or audio conference calls, which everyone preferred anyway.

I wrote this in order to give you some suggestions, that I know worked for others. Please, please read panoptical's answer very carefully if you are in the USA! It is the company's responsibility to accommodate you, especially if you are in an EO (equal opportunity) workplace. Not all companies are, but nearly all must be ADA compliant.

For reference, see Q&A - Deafness and Hearing Impairments at Work and the ADA, Accommodating people with disabilities, sections 9 - 16.

When I worked at IBM, there were 5 or 10 hearing impaired employees, out of 5000 engineers and programmers at that facility; it was huge! One was even a manager. The deaf programmers knew sign language. Occasionally, e.g. at training classes, IBM arranged for an interpreter. Do you know ASL (American Sign Language)? I think that is the standard. I'm suggesting that, on the off chance that your employer would accommodate that, AND that you wouldn't be embarrassed. The deaf programmers rarely wanted interpreters because it made them self-conscious, the extra attention it drew!

I attended meetings led by the deaf manager. He could barely hear himself speak, so he prefered to write, but he was really easy to understand when he did talk. He told us that

• we needed to maintain a direct line of sight when we spoke to him
• never to interrupt each other, as he could only hear one person at a time

We adapted quickly, it wasn't a hassle. Between lip reading and maybe 10% functional hearing, he was fine. It helps that the context is work. He led meetings by writing everything on whiteboards or with handouts, just for backup. He did well at IBM, managed over a dozen non-hearing impaired programmers because it was extra helpful to have things in writing. He used internal IM and email, rather than lots of meetings or audio conference calls, which everyone preferred anyway.

I wrote this in order to give you some suggestions, that I know worked for others. Please, please read panoptical's answer very carefully if you are in the USA! It is the company's responsibility to accommodate you, especially if you are in an EO (equal opportunity) workplace. Not all companies are, but nearly all must be ADA compliant.

For reference, see Q&A - Deafness and Hearing Impairments at Work and the ADA, Accommodating people with disabilities, sections 9 - 16.

When I worked at IBM, there were 5 or 10 hearing impaired employees, out of 5000 engineers and programmers at that facility; it was huge! One was even a manager. They all knew sign language. Occasionally, e.g. at training classes, IBM arranged for an interpreter. Do you know ASL (American Sign Language)? I think that is the standard. I'm suggesting that, on the off chance that your employer would accommodate that, AND that you wouldn't be embarrassed. The deaf programmers rarely wanted interpreters because it made them self-conscious, the attention it drew!

I attended meetings led by the deaf manager. He could barely hear himself speak, so he prefered to write, but he was really easy to understand when he did talk. He told us that

• we needed to maintain a direct line of sight when we spoke to him
• never to interrupt each other, as he could only hear one person at a time

We adapted quickly, it wasn't a hassle. Between lip reading and maybe 10% functional hearing, he was fine. It helps that the context is work. He led meetings by writing everything on whiteboards or with handouts, just for backup. He did well at IBM, managed over a dozen non-hearing impaired programmers because it was extra helpful to have things in writing. He used internal IM and email, rather than lots of meetings or audio conference calls, which everyone preferred anyway.

I wrote this in order to give you some suggestions, that I know worked for others. Please, please read panoptical's answer very carefully if you are in the USA! It is the company's responsibility to accommodate you, especially if you are in an EO (equal opportunity) workplace. Not all companies are, but nearly all must be ADA compliant.

For reference, see Q&A - Deafness and Hearing Impairments at Work and the ADA, Accommodating people with disabilities, sections 9 - 16.

When I worked at IBM, there were 5 or 10 hearing impaired employees, out of 5000 engineers and programmers at that facility; it was huge! One was even a manager. The deaf programmers knew sign language. Occasionally, e.g. at training classes, IBM arranged for an interpreter. Do you know ASL (American Sign Language)? I think that is the standard. I'm suggesting that, on the off chance that your employer would accommodate that, AND that you wouldn't be embarrassed. The deaf programmers rarely wanted interpreters because it made them self-conscious, the extra attention it drew!

I attended meetings led by the deaf manager. He could barely hear himself speak, so he prefered to write, but he was really easy to understand when he did talk. He told us that

• we needed to maintain a direct line of sight when we spoke to him
• never to interrupt each other, as he could only hear one person at a time

We adapted quickly, it wasn't a hassle. Between lip reading and maybe 10% functional hearing, he was fine. It helps that the context is work. He led meetings by writing everything on whiteboards or with handouts, just for backup. He did well at IBM, managed over a dozen non-hearing impaired programmers because it was extra helpful to have things in writing. He used internal IM and email, rather than lots of meetings or audio conference calls, which everyone preferred anyway.

I wrote this in order to give you some suggestions, that I know worked for others. Please, please read panoptical's answer very carefully if you are in the USA! It is the company's responsibility to accommodate you, especially if you are in an EO (equal opportunity) workplace. Not all companies are, but nearly all must be ADA compliant.

For reference, see Q&A - Deafness and Hearing Impairments at Work and the ADA, Accommodating people with disabilities, sections 9 - 16.

When I worked at IBM, there were 5 or 10 hearing impaired employees, out of 5000 engineers and programmers at that facility; it was huge! One was even a manager. They all knew sign language. Occasionally, e.g. at training classes, IBM arranged for an interpreter. Do you know American Sign Language? I think that is the standard. I'm suggesting that, on the off chance that your employer would accommodate that, AND that you wouldn't be embarrassed. The deaf programmers rarely wanted interpreters because it made them self-conscious, the attention it drew!

I attended meetings led by the deaf manager. He could barely hear himself speak, so he prefered to write, but he was really easy to understand when he did talk. He told us that we needed to maintain a direct line of sight when we spoke to him. He told us not to interrupt each other, as he could only hear one person at a time. We adapted quickly, it wasn't a hassle. Between lip reading and maybe 10% functional hearing, it was fine. It helps that the context is work. He led meetings by writing everything on whiteboards or with handouts.

I wrote this in order to give you some suggestions, that I know worked for others. Please, please read panoptical's answer very carefully if you are in the USA! It is the company's responsibility to accommodate you, especially if you are in an EO (equal opportunity) workplace. Not all companies are, but nearly all must be ADA compliant.

When I worked at IBM, there were 5 or 10 hearing impaired employees, out of 5000 engineers and programmers at that facility; it was huge! One was even a manager. They all knew sign language. Occasionally, e.g. at training classes, IBM arranged for an interpreter. Do you know ASL (American Sign Language)? I think that is the standard. I'm suggesting that, on the off chance that your employer would accommodate that, AND that you wouldn't be embarrassed. The deaf programmers rarely wanted interpreters because it made them self-conscious, the attention it drew!

I attended meetings led by the deaf manager. He could barely hear himself speak, so he prefered to write, but he was really easy to understand when he did talk. He told us that

• we needed to maintain a direct line of sight when we spoke to him
• never to interrupt each other, as he could only hear one person at a time

We adapted quickly, it wasn't a hassle. Between lip reading and maybe 10% functional hearing, he was fine. It helps that the context is work. He led meetings by writing everything on whiteboards or with handouts, just for backup. He did well at IBM, managed over a dozen non-hearing impaired programmers because it was extra helpful to have things in writing. He used internal IM and email, rather than lots of meetings or audio conference calls, which everyone preferred anyway.

I wrote this in order to give you some suggestions, that I know worked for others. Please, please read panoptical's answer very carefully if you are in the USA! It is the company's responsibility to accommodate you, especially if you are in an EO (equal opportunity) workplace. Not all companies are, but nearly all must be ADA compliant.

For reference, see Q&A - Deafness and Hearing Impairments at Work and the ADA, Accommodating people with disabilities, sections 9 - 16.