An idea a friend gave me

Saavik

Saavik

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As some of you know, my biggest problem with work is people speaking quite and not being able to hear them and telling them I can't hear them only to have them continue speaking too quietly to hear. I told this to a friend who suggested I sign when I speak, because that would seemingly make is obvious that I have hearing issues.

I feel signing everything I say would be great practice, but overall entirely pointless since I doubt anybody will understand it. What are your thoughts on this or how I might manage to get people to understand that I can't hear them, because telling them right out has proven ineffective.
 
It never hurt to try!

I dont speak, so i always sign to ANYONE who dont understand me or understand me. But it helps them to be aware why I dont hear them so they have been friendly to me better than If i dont sign to them. weird.
 
I was at a pet store and was not able to hear the saleslady and told I her
I am HOH and pointed to my HA and said I could not hear her. The woman did not get this and kept whispering to me. Some people just will never get it
 
I sign when I speak out of habit. :dunno: I believe it does make those around me realize that they need to face me when speaking. Speaking louder doesn't really help much unless I wear my C.I. which never happens.... :P
 
I sign while speaking too. Always... Even if it's lazy words here and there. I find people who know even ABCs try their hardest to finger spell key words I can't catch or they write things down after a few patient tries if I can't catch them and sometimes I'm lucky to meet a stranger who signs. When I separated the two and only spoke I met people who told me 30 min in that they sign - so even if you're just learning if you can clear that up early in the conversation you've struck gold! And yea, pointing at your hearing aid works too (if you wear one).
 
Once in a blue moon I meet someone who signs. Usually it's very little or very broken, but I can appreciate the effort. :P
 
Mewtilation said:
Once in a blue moon I meet someone who signs. Usually it's very little or very broken, but I can appreciate the effort. :P
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I agree.... UNLESS the sign they know/learned is to train their deaf dog or cat. hahahaha well of COURSE they relate.
 
I've been dealing with this since I was born and I have concluded too that it doesn't help by being upfront saying, "Hey I'm deaf"

Unfortunately some people just are dense and it doesn't matter how well you explain your issue and you'd be doing yourself a favor just walking away. Do you really need to talk with those people? Sometimes I get strangers wanting to make small talk which I can do most of the time. For the rare times I don't understand small talk I just make up some excuse, "I'm late for my appointment later" Who cares about talking about the weather anyway? :D

What I've found works is to NOT even tell them UNTIL it becomes an issue and even so I don't make a huge deal about it. For example, if someones talking really fast and I miss a word, I'll repeat the phrase but ask what I missed. Like someone will say, "I ate a buttload of [garbled]!" and I'll say, "Wait, you ate a buttload of what.."? and make a questioning face.

It would be nice in a perfect world to wear some kind of shirt that says, "Hey I'm deaf, talk clearly!" but whatever. You just gotta roll with the punches!
 
A Nihilist said:
I've been dealing with this since I was born and I have concluded too that it doesn't help by being upfront saying, "Hey I'm deaf"

Unfortunately some people just are dense and it doesn't matter how well you explain your issue and you'd be doing yourself a favor just walking away. Do you really need to talk with those people? Sometimes I get strangers wanting to make small talk which I can do most of the time. For the rare times I don't understand small talk I just make up some excuse, "I'm late for my appointment later" Who cares about talking about the weather anyway? :D

What I've found works is to NOT even tell them UNTIL it becomes an issue and even so I don't make a huge deal about it. For example, if someones talking really fast and I miss a word, I'll repeat the phrase but ask what I missed. Like someone will say, "I ate a buttload of [garbled]!" and I'll say, "Wait, you ate a buttload of what.."? and make a questioning face.

It would be nice in a perfect world to wear some kind of shirt that says, "Hey I'm deaf, talk clearly!" but whatever. You just gotta roll with the punches!
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Believe me, I'd rather not associate with anyone, but I work the desk and I have to deal with patrons, so there is no avoiding that. I'm much newer to this as I have only been working this job since this summer and before that I spent 2 years unemployed and unable to find any employment. My hearing in just a few years had degraded so much, so I find things like this irritating, new and nigh impossible to find a solution to.

I agree, my upfront approach would work if my role and the patron's roles were reversed, but it has proven to be almost as bad as asking them over and over again to repeat, that just leads to them being annoyed and shouting excessively loud that draws attention to the desk; that made me feel like the Arnold Schwarzenegger quote "Stop shouting! I'm not deaf!"

I still feel silly signing when I speak, I guess it's harder than I thought overcoming habits developed over my entire life, especially since my ASL sucks. It's rudementary at best.
 
Hmmm... this might not be what you want to hear but you might want to talk with your manager about changing to a position that doesn't require so much talking. For example, you could be a janitor, data entry person, etc....

I currently have a job as a software programmer because it's one of the few jobs where my hearing is barely an issue. I do almost all of my communication with IMs and emails and it's even an advantage because I can concentrate in a busy cube environment.

I know that there's the old "you can do anything you set your mind to" belief but let's just be optimistically realistic. You wouldn't hire a blind person to be a photographer right?

At least by moving to a different position you can build up your communication skills on a baby-steps level and you won't have to get frustrated. I wish I had better advice to offer. Good luck!
 
I agree with Nihilist, you might have to seek a position that's open where your hearing won't be an issue. It's a pain sometimes yes, but there isn't much you can do and you can only work with what you have. :dunno:
 
Worth a shot and maybe you'll get the odd customer who can sign back that wouldn't have known to sign to you otherwise. I end up signing all day even to those who don't know it. Habit. Even if it is just a word or two per sentence. I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time.

A professor at the college I work at does the whispering thing all the time. Or people get too close for me to see their face and body...or there's people like my boss who call my name then start talking to me from the other room and don't wait for me to get there so I jump up and run across the place like a nutcase only to catch the second half of what was said. -_- (Whoops! That turned into a mini-rant! Sorry!)
 
It's the only position they have there, but DARS has vocational training, so I might take next semester off to do that. Bad thing is, the vocational training leaves me in a financially bad spot with a negative income, but can gain me a documented skill and potentially gain a decent paying job which would substantially increase my income.

I think I'll start with just a few signs here and there when I speak and see how it goes.
 
Saavik,

Actually, I think you're on to something good, it's polite, it totally cuts to the chase as it were. Yes, it will keep you in practice, and just think how cool it will be when one of them signs right back to you.

Secondary effect, also to be highly prized is that you will have increased awareness of HoH and deaf people in work situations to those who were previously oblivious in a very positive way. in any event, you'll make them THINK when next they speak.
 
There are more people that know sign language than you may realize. I wouldn't mind if you signed and used your voice at the same time. Maybe you'll end up meeting a nice person who would tell you stories of how they learned ASL. Go for it.
 
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