I love this post.
My main job is a Communications Assistant at CaptionCall. Basically I assist hearing impaired individuals communicate via telephone. They get a (freely provided) telephone with a screen on it. When someone calls them, I'm in the middle hearing what that person says, which I transcribe to the screen on the telephone for them to read.
Before I got this job I didn't realize how stunting hearing impairment can be. We rely on it for a huge portion of our social life, and when someone loses their ability to hear (even slightly) the damage is felt universally.
Once again, thank you. This post is appreciated.