Technology

I cant even begin to tell you how frustrating it is living in the "hearing world" with a profound hearing loss. Up until recently, my loss was only rated as "moderate", and that's essentially what I grew up with - I think I coped pretty darn well, for someone who can speak without noticeable speech impediments, and is happily 11 years into their chosen career!

Effective around 6-9 months ago, my loss shifted near the profound category, and then shifted clear into "profound" around January of this year. While I thought I "understood" a hearing loss then, boy...let me tell you...that's nothing compared to where I stand today. Now I fully understand why some folks would prefer to be blind than deaf, and while I'd still rather hike in silence than impale myself with a blind-cane as I stumble off a steep trail, living in the "deaf" category is no cake walk.

As with most folks, their livelihood depends on regular verbal communications. Before, this required some extra communication effort on my part that was tiring but manageable, but the now-greater effort exhausts me roughly half-way through the day; I just want to go home and shutdown in silence for a while, thank god for mass transit; at least I can turn it all off on my trip home.

Most verbal communications now require the person speaking to me to repeat themselves at least once; very rarely do I catch what was said the first time around anymore. This has got to be frustrating for some folks, though imagine being on my end! Argh! Take for example, the company party yesterday, it was only about 15 of us, and we're not that noisy, though I could barely understand what anyone said; usually just nodding my head and pretending. You can just see the frustration and irritation on most folks faces, and how often can you interrupt a group discussion before you get shut out...experience has taught me that most folks will give up and avoid talking to you; something I'm seeing more and more of lately.

Sigh... I think I've got a lot to write about. Hearing loss in particular, and how my recent onset of "recruitment" coupled with the "profound" shift is really doing a number on communications. While I'm quite frustrated with my communication issues, I'm still happy about many things - so at least I've got a few other things going for me

Lunch is over, so maybe tomorrow...

Think about the lengths I go to in regards to protecting my personal and credit information; shredding/burning discarded documents, the various unique passwords and such that I place on all my personal records, etc. Though I'm sometimes referred to as, maybe jokingly, paranoid, consider what occurred this morning, and then think about how you handle your personal information.

I received a phone call this morning informing me of over $1,300 worth of fraudulent charges approved on a credit card under my name, along with another approx $2,000 worth of pending charges. All occurring as-of yesterday afternoon. Though the creditcard company has reversed all charges, they noted there are two processes I can use to further protect my credit:
The least invasive is a "fraud or security alert." This is a statement added to your credit report asking issuers to check with you prior to issuing credit. Unfortunately, there is no law that requires issuers to honor this request, so it only works about 50-70% of the time. The placement of a fraud alert is free.

The process of filing an alert also serves to remove you the reporting agency mailing lists. No more junk credit offers! Yay!

This fraud alert is open for anyone to use, and unlike previous methods where you had to mail a letter, can be completed via telephone.
Contact information:
Experian: 888-397-3742
Equifax: 800-525-6285
TransUnion: 800-680-7289

Their second recommendation was to place a "Credit Freeze" with the three major credit reporting bureaus. For non-IDTheft victims there is an $8 charge with each agency, and I'm still trying to figure out how to actually proceed. To overview a credit freeze:
"...
Potential creditors, insurance companies, landlords and some employers doing financial background checks will be told that your report is unavailable for viewing. This does not stop you from getting credit but will slow down the process by several days. This is a trade-off and may be an inconvenience for some consumers. Security freezes are not for those who apply for credit or change jobs frequently.

If you want credit- you can ask the business which agency they use and just thaw that one agency's report. If they don't know, you will need to thaw all 3 reports. Reports can be thawed for a period of time or for a specific company to see. Neither of these processes will affect your credit score but both will prevent you from getting "instant" credit. That is the trade-off for higher levels of information security.

Each time you wish to qualify for a loan, credit card, tenancy or a job, you will need to "thaw" the report. This takes about 3 days. It may interfere with a rapid need for your report. This is an important consideration to keep in mind. However, it will also stop thieves from opening accounts.

In ITRC's opinion a freeze is the best form of identity theft protection currently available, but by no means is it a 100% guarantee of safety. Companies can, and will, issue credit without looking at a report. However, you have a very strong argument as to the fraudulent nature of that account. For many of us the freeze not only brings peace of mind but finally gives us some measure of control to our financial security.
..."

Further information.

I hope this information helps someone...

“Data Powers of Ten” in this version was written by Roy Williams of the California Institute of Technology in the mid-1990s. It is no longer available on his own site...

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