I've been HOH since I was born - it was a genetic problem.
With that aside it definitely affected me greatly while growing up. When I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to fit in, and didn't consider it a problem. So what did I do? I acted like it was nonexistent and when I didn't hear people I pretended I was daydreaming, would nod along as they were talking or something along those lines. It really didn't bother me that much until I got to highschool.
The beginning of highschool wasn't bad but as time went on I felt more isolated than ever. I have a group of best friends that accept me for who I am but my dating life and meeting new people is pretty much nonexistent.
Once I graduated highschool I moved to a different state for 3 years and became increasingly more isolated. It is so much easier to just enjoy my own company than try to socialize. I moved back to my home state, and I go out and hang out with my childhood best friends enough to not go crazy - but 90% of the time I'm content with being by myself and rather save the trouble and pains of socialization. I know it sounds bad, but when every second you have to be focusing 150% just to get by it tends to not even be worth it.
Honestly the worst part is being denied opportunities; dating is hard as it is, and my childhood experiences with hearing loss definitely caused anxiety issues. There is nothing worse than being thrust in to the spotlight and not being able to hear something properly. It just makes the tension 10x worse.
Sometimes it makes me sad, sometimes I try to be positive about it, sometimes it's disheartening - I feel it all. I know other people have it worse but my hearing loss is pretty much at the perfect medium where it's not bad enough to the point where I can get by w/o hearing aids or mentioning it to people, but it still causes to miss out on numerous things (by chance and choice).
The actions some people have exhibited towards me are pretty much etched in to my memory and I can remember details so minute, even from 15 years ago. Even while trying to change and adapt with the disability things that have happened in the past take their toll and have the potential to hinder me.
The last and worst part imo is telling people. Some people understand, some don't, some take advantage and it just overall causes anxiety for me. People that know sometimes talk as if I'm not there, whisper in front of me because they know I can't hear and it can lead to paranoia and just makes me avoid them.
TL;DR: Hearing loss made me miss out on very important things throughout life and caused anxiety problems. Socialization will never be the same and in most cases it's easier to just be alone. A good amount of jobs, relationships and activities are missed out on.