How does your speech sound normal if you're deaf? [OC]

Thank you for watching. Let me know if you have any questions, or feel free to share your experiences in the comments.
Link to Gofundme for a second cochlear implant (please don't feel any obligation to donate):
gofund.me/6b07703b
My Instagram: / nellefindlay

[@franpost9800]

Very deep tone. With implant and hearing aid, much clearer and higher pitch.

[@nellefindlay]

Thanks for leaving a comment, it's interesting to hear what other people think about my voice. :)

[@echoyaknow1104]

Very informative! I'm writing a character who lost her hearing later in life and this have me a better understanding of what it's like and how it may affect her daily life. Thanks!

[@justmeonly986]

Thank you, Nelle. Again, incredibly upfront and sweet. It's important to have your perspective. To answer your inquiry, I have heard the slightest change in your speech since your first videos. Very slight.

[@nellefindlay]

Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Is there any particular way you'd describe the way my speech has changed or is it just 'different'?

[@justmeonly986]

@@nellefindlay What I detect is almost what you describe. The pitch is slightly lower and it seems some of the words are formed in the back of your mouth creating an insignificant garble of some sounds...not all sounds. You still speak clearly. It's really imperceptible to someone not listening closely. I think if you're tired, it would be more noticeable.

[@tudormiller887]

Great video, Nelle.❤

[@nelsangelin9667]

My comments are intended to be positive. I do see your voice as very articulate. Just for interest, I too am completely deaf and have cochlea implants on both sides. My voice changed with the help of the implants simply because I don't have to force myself to hear myself. two things with you are, one, the accent of your nationality is normal. The other is my observation that I have seen deaf people form words a little differently as a speech pattern. I thank you for exposing yourself in making your videos as you do. I find it helpful and interesting to hear your perspectives from your vantage. and you have shared who you are from the very beginning of your adventure with your cochlear. I am just an older American, so that is my perspective, and very grateful to have my world opened up to hear again and to be heard.

[@nellefindlay]

Hi, thank you for your positive comments. I have been told by my family that I no longer speak as loudly as before I got my cochlear implant. I'm glad you've found my videos helpful. I always enjoy hearing other people's perspectives on their experiences with hearing loss and cochlear implants. Nelle :)

[@SirFadelSalemOnlineMathAcademy]

Big like Nelle for your amazing contents, almost I've same problem, but I hear voices low and not clear hope you're doing well and have amazing future Support from Cairo - Egypt (Math Academy)

[@nellefindlay]

Hi thank you for your comment. I'm glad you found the video helpful. Nelle :)

[@IamElChapo]

Quite funny how deaf people develop an accent based on evironment too 😂

[@n3philim275]

I'm told other than being 1.95m, my voice is my only redeeming quality 😅..I guess with you I have no redeeming qualities then lol😂

[@barrytaylorprofoundlydeafi2479]

Hi Nelle💖this was one of your best videos,a lot of deaf people will relate to it & those who are close to deaf people,I know the 'you can't be deaf because you speak so well' but ask any attractive young deaf lady they will say the worse 'compliment' Is ' your too pretty to be deaf' so do they mean all deaf ladies are ugly? Your pretty end of story! When you first lost your hearing in April 2021 I could just about hear & understand what you were saying but now it's a struggle to hear a few words so I will leave it to those that have followed you from your first video to decide whether your speech changes when your tired or your CI/ hearing aid is out! Until you lose nearly all your hearing & stop hearing your own voice a hearing person won't know how hard it is to speak like you did before! I am sorry to say these past 6 to 9 months since I lost nearly all my hearing that when I talk one to one with people they think I have been deaf all my life! It's like I am holding my nose or missing letters off words! You said you struggle to speak how you did before losing your hearing especially when tired,hearing fatigue hits deaf people hard! But now you have gone to uni to get a degree in BSL & pass all the different stages! I know you said in another video your mum was learning BSL to communicate with you! But is being verbal getting harder for you? When you attend BSL lectures do you mostly sign as part of the course work? And when I expect you go home for Christmas will you & your mum sign as good practice? I expect your close to holding a conversation in a group of deaf friends? You even now sign at the start of your videos! What I am trying to say as a deaf person myself it gets harder by the day to speak like pre hearing loss! There are a few people here on you tube that once they learnt BSL they started to sign more than they spoke! Your video shows how hard you try to speak like pre hearing loss! I think once you get your degree you would make a good interpreter for the deaf! Your CI & hearing aid can only help you hear so much,that's why you need your other ear implanted..the electrodes in the new implant will be set at different frequencies to the one you got now to hopefully extend the range of sounds! That's why I & a lot of others contribute to your 2nd implant go fund me page,we all believe in you & you have proved that the NHS should have implanted both ears! It should not be down to age,when you hit 18 you only get one! It should be say give it 6 to 9months if you can prove it's helping you & you have done what the implant centre expects you should get the other ear implanted! And not have to find all this extra money! You have more than proved you deserve two! Sorry for rambling again but losing almost all my hearing now I know what you & others are going through daily! I am thankful to the NHS for powerful BTE hearing aids! I hope you & your family have a lovely Christmas & of course silent nights🤣and I hope this time next year you will be saying how good it is to have both ears implanted & it was money well spent unless we can get the NHS to change their rules & any money raised through go funding would pay your uni fees if you so wished! ☃️🌲💖💖💖💖

[@nellefindlay]

Hi, thank you for your comment. It is quite weird some of the things people think it's appropriate to say to me because I'm deaf. I get people saying 'at least you're still pretty' on a surprisingly regular basis because I guess being pretty is the most important trait for women or something. I do find speaking clearly to be more of a conscious effort now, but it's not really difficult or anything for me. I do speak most of the time as my main way of communicating so I'm not worried too much about losing my speech. My mum is trying to learn BSL, but she's not great at learning languages so she is really struggling to pick it up. She still pretty much only knows the alphabet and will always choose to speak first and will only try and sign if I don't have my Cochlear implant on and haven't understood after several attempts. The rest of my family haven't learned any sign really (my little brother learned the swear words, but I'm not counting that). In my BSL classes I mostly sign, but I'm also taking a lot of modules in Spanish and about Spanish and Latin American Culture and History which are all spoken and involve a lot of group work with people who don't sign so I'm using my speech and lipreading a lot. Nelle :)

[@barrytaylorprofoundlydeafi2479]

@@nellefindlay thank you for explaining about your courses at uni & how much you sign etc,you have come along way in 18mths,and learning those extra languages is awesome & not because your deaf,even hearing people would struggle,hope you & your family have a lovely Christmas 🎄☃️❤️

[@vandalg282]

Honestly, even with it off, I'd have to be looking for it. As a Latino, and more so dealing with a tons of accents and tones in NYC, its something I would just attribute to region more so a deaf person. You sound clear to me, but again, I've had experience with tons of languages. I would literally think "she must be from England/UK" deeper tones there to begin with, no way I'd ever think you were deaf. Trust me when I say this, there are non deaf people who speak gibberish (North Ireland) and I've been literally confused/deciphering conversation. Don't be nervous, people want to communicate, they'll learn to understand you without making it seem like a problem. I notice a lot of the time and in different countries, people are legitimately curious on how to figure out what you're saying, and are extremely accepting.

[@nellefindlay]

That's kind of why I made this video, because a lot of people don't realise that a lot of deaf people speak pretty normally so people often ask me how it's possible. Basically as long as your speech is clear, any slight differences from the norm are just put down to accent or individual voice/ speech pattern. If you spend a lot of time around deaf/hard of hearing people you might be able to tell a bit because you know what you're listening for, but for most people I sound completely normal.

[@shellyfoster7477]

This one drive's me insane,i can speak but I'm completely deaf so when i use my voice i think ppl think I'm lying smh thinking we'll if you can speak you can't be deaf.. like really so you want me to be mute. Anyway yes this one omg i don't get why some people think the way they do.

[@nellefindlay]

I've found that people either think I'm exaggerating my level of hearing loss or that I've found some sort of secret technique to speak and that I must be some sort of genius

[@andreasfromswitzerland4096]

I always like your videos, thank you for sharing your experience's. I'm looking for a new alarm with vibration, any suggestions? Not sure should I buy the cheap one from Amazon 🤣 or the super expensive one from the Audiologist. Greetings from Switzerland

[@nellefindlay]

Hi, the alarm I got is the Geemarc wake 'n' shake star. It was around £40 (45 euros) so not super cheap. I did try a cheaper one from amazon, but it wasn't brilliantly reliable. I don't think there is any point spending more than £40 though, maybe just get one from a proper brand. I hope that's helpful. Nelle :)

[@andreasfromswitzerland4096]

@@nellefindlay thank you

[@betsyparsons3641]

Without your CI or hearing aid, your voice flattens, drops in pitch and becomes almost monotone. With both you have a more rhythmic speech pattern and a slightly higher pitch voice. I could understand you both ways though. I don’t have a CI (yet), I have 2 aids and my voice does the same apparently, I also get louder because I can’t hear myself speak that well, so can’t self-regulate my volume.

[@nellefindlay]

Thanks for letting me know. It's always interesting to hear other people's opinions on how my voice sounds because I don't really know.

[@betsyparsons3641]

@@nellefindlay Likewise, but honestly, your voice is perfectly fine either way x

[@ingoscholz2073]

I don‘t hear big differences. With CI an hearing aid in you seem to speek a little louder. That‘s all to me… I was told I speek less loud with my hearing aids in. You seem to pronounce words beginning with „w“ (what, where) in an american way. 😅 (with CI in…) But I can be wrong and it happened coincidentally. 🤷‍♂️ Still love to listen to your explanations. Careful, prudent, polite, empathic and still interesting. 🫶

[@nellefindlay]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I don't know about my pronunciation of the letter W in an American way. I did live in Bermuda until I was around 2 and had an American accent when I was really young, but after I moved to the UK, my accent completely changed. Maybe the way I pronounce W is leftover from when I used to have an American accent? Nelle :)

[@andreasfromswitzerland4096]

CI and hearing aid off, very clearly no problem but you did speak much faster comparing with aid's on. Got the impression you became nervous without aid's.

[@nellefindlay]

Yes, I feel a bit weird speaking without it because I don't do it that much and I've not filmed myself speaking without my CI since I got it.

[@JamesJones-zt2yx]

I couldn't hear a difference in your speech when you took off the cochlear implant. There is one thing I've always wondered about: how does music sound with a cochlear implant?

[@nellefindlay]

Hi, I might make a video about listening to music with a cochlear implant because there are some things you can do that makes it sound better or worse. If I know a piece of music, I can hear it pretty normally. It just sounds a bit like it's coming through a radio that's not quite tuned in right. Kind of tinny and crackly. If I don't know the piece of music. I need to listen to it a few times before I can hear it properly. I hope that makes sense. Nelle :)

[@JamesJones-zt2yx]

@@nellefindlay It makes sense. (As a former short wave listener, it makes very good sense to me.) Subscribed and looking forward to future videos.

[@Dylan-yv6ko]

if you werent born deaf how did you become deaf

[@nellefindlay]

The doctors are not entirely sure, but they think it's most likely either Meniere's disease or Autoimmune inner ear disease. Luckily, both of these conditions only affect the ears so they are not dangerous to my general health.

[@gotobassmsn]

Just video yourself talking when you're really tired.

[@gotobassmsn]

Tune only thing that happened you got quiter. And you are harder to hear when you're not wearing your hearing devices.

[@gotobassmsn]

How did you lose your hearing?

[@gotobassmsn]

I am also curious how many deaf/hoh people that watch your channel are from America? For in America we call our hand speak American Sign Language. And I thing it would be interesting if you do a video comparing bsl to asl, and what the simulatities and differences are.

[@nellefindlay]

Hi, thank you for your comment. I never usually film when I'm really tired because it is a lot of work to get everything set up so if I'm that tired, I can't be bothered. I lost my hearing around 2 years ago. The doctors aren't completely sure what caused it, but they think it was most likely a form of Meniere's disease. According to my analytics, 30% of my viewers are from America but I don't know how many of them are deaf/hoh. I don't know ASL so I couldn't really make a video about it unless I find someone to collaborate with who uses ASL. I hope this answers your questions. Nelle :)