Difference between HARD of HEARING and DEAF

[shel90]

I assume they do consider me Deaf with a capital D.

But, guess what?

I don't care if they do or don't.

What's important is what *I* identify myself as. Not what others may label me as. That goes for everybody. We've all said so many times here on AD for each person to identify themselves as they are comfortable doing so.

Sounds like your "Deaf Community", wherever you live, isn't nice to you. Where I live, we respect others, regardless of hearing loss. I live in a LARGE Deaf community -- others who are here on AD that know where I live (because they live in the same area or have in the past) can testify to that. I don't think I have ever run across a situation here where I live where somebody was laughed at or judged for wearing HAs or wanting to. Nobody even looks. Everybody comes to the Deaf club as they are. Period.

I have the feeling that we live among more educated people who are more accepting of diversity. :shrug:

 

[shel90]

Allycat, I'm sorry, I hate be the one to break this to you and this is not sarcasm, but, people who don't feel deafness is a problem, don't wear hearing aids or CI's. I can't make it any plainer than that and I don't mean it in a bad way. It's just a fact. You wear the aid because you feel there is a problem. Hey, it's OK, I do too.

It's like being gay. You can act it and you can hang around people who are, but it's really not the same thing.

If you demonstrated that thinking to your local Deaf community, I think I can understand why they didn't accept you fully. Telling people why they do this or that after they have expressed their own reasons really wont be taken well by others. Just saying.

 

[caz12]

That would be a bigger problem than whom may be deaf, HOH, or hearing. How do you divide catnips? That is more important than labels.

catnip example good one...can only say HofH and you relying on lip reading
and sign then you deaf..but how do you devide.....me thinks pity party.

i wish cat nip do same for me as do for cat might get goodnights sleep

 

[sonocativo]

catnip example good one...can only say HofH and you relying on lip reading
and sign then you deaf..but how do you devide.....me thinks pity party.

i wish cat nip do same for me as do for cat might get goodnights sleep

Yep Derick, its gonna get classified as an illegal drug now....lol

 

[dereksbicycles]

Yep Derick, its gonna get classified as an illegal drug now....lol

Then cats will be on equal footing with humans.

 

[CrazyPaul]

As I said before, it is a philosophical difference not a physical one. Both HoH and Deaf people are deaf(meaning they both do not have 20/20 hearing).

SDH stands for Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. So if you said HOH is deaf, then why does SDH include HOH?

In plain English: Deaf(with a capitol D) don't want to hear based on the belief that there is nothing wrong with not hearing.

What? Deaf CAN'T hear.

 

[Eleni]

I dont know where i stand anywhere. Im deaf in my left ear and have good hearing in my right. I sit here reading your comments to each other about what makes a person deaf/Deaf/HOH. I never thought anything was wrong about me. Found out I was deaf when i was 10. I did pretty good in my life, but mostly relying on my friends to hear for me on stuff i didn't hear, take notes for me and just repeat a lot for me. I stopped going to school two years ago because i kept getting ear infections and missing school. I finally thought about making a change when i got hit by car because I didn't hear the car coming. I am getting my Baha on tuesday and am very nervous. Not because i am going to be surrounded by sound, nervous that Ill let myself down. Ive been very dependent on everyone else to hear for me. My parents, friends, coworkers, and my boyfriend. I am not Deaf. I have a vague understanding of why I am the way I am. I just need someone who feels like how i do. My friends, family, and everyone I know is a normal hearing person. No one i know understands how it feels to miss 20 percent of a conversation or to lip read when im in a noisy place. All I want is someone to understand and give me some advice. I dont want a label because i dont fit any of them.

 

[Grummer]

I don't know why many here get ridiculed from Deaf people for wearing hearing aids in their local Deaf communities. Here in the MD/VA/DC/PA Deaf communities, I have never encountered anyone ridiculing or rejecting people for wearing hearing aids or CIs. Maybe it is because they live in smaller towns and the Deaf people there are more ignorant?

The only rejection or ridicule I have seen if the person demonstrate audism thinking. Saying that Deaf people should learn to function in the hearing world, are isolating themselves, or that Deaf people who have no speech skills aren't as smart. Things like that.

i have an idea to offer to twist this in bold, but before Id continue, lets take a closer look at this, HAVE they (hearing teachers/educators) have actually DONE anything to TEACH what is the hearing world? a big flat NOPE is the answer, but you CAn say is, they EXPECTED us to 'know it'...
well..to twist the idea and in effect to shove THEIR (hearings expectant louts foot into THEIR own mouths) would be so say...

in order for d/Deaf people to learn to function in the hearing world should be rephrased to, "to participate" in the hearing world...
but how? ok , so to do this, we must develop a new curriculum "Hearing world" what is it? what is hearing culture, why hearing people behave like that (not the ignoring things which annoys/upset d/Deaf people - I mean more whys the hearings are obsessed with things like music, fashion attitudes, cults, business success, what IS the hard world out there that FACES hearing people, and how can we d/Deaf are going to be better at competitive rather than better at surviving , surely hearings have to 'survive' but THEIR instincts and THEIR ideas of surviving is not ours, its being IN the In-world ready....theirs being taking seriously as careers not as freaks of nature who's has a 'miracle talents' to do the same as the hearies yuck...
see??

so..
im saying twist is around, WE CAN EXPECT to to have FULL rights to LEARN and Know what is going to equip us to MAKE it in the hearing world, not 'to function' duh , fuck that.

 

[Grummer]

SDH stands for Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. So if you said HOH is deaf, then why does SDH include HOH?

What? Deaf CAN'T hear.

no vacationguy, the thing is Deaf people and deaf so hence its a both, a d/Deaf...have realised we dont need to 'struggle' to hold up 'brave faces' to Blend in the hearinge community, its tiring, its demeaning, its 'accepting that we're lesser and hasve to play catch-up all the time, its not right. We have Feelings too, and we have reached to a realistic expectation that it IS impossible to BE hearing, not just in audiologically sense, but culturally, intellectually, fluently, and in personality-tistical sense (made up word but hope you all might grasp this play on words/contextual sense-making)... we Dont have a hearing personality, it doesnt resonate (and no, this is not a pun here) between and doesn chain-link with the hearing individuals...one is always a bit left out, that is, even just a BIT, its quite ALOT...

so ..Crazypaul is Right, 'but Deaf CAN'T hear' its so simple so true, its too crude ot too simple, no!, its just real like it's ontologicalistically correct.
(yes play on word and its a real word with correct spellings here)..
so
its just makes me laugh, its true Crazypaul's blab is hilirious , its real and its darkly funny. but he's is making sense.

Literally.

 

[VacationGuy234]

If you demonstrated that thinking to your local Deaf community, I think I can understand why they didn't accept you fully. Telling people why they do this or that after they have expressed their own reasons really wont be taken well by others. Just saying.

The only people I would be offending are the people who think they are Deaf, but really are only playing the part.

And, there is no such thing as acceptance. There is no governing body which lets you in or out, no membership card, it is a state of belief that you do not need to hear at all. A belief which I do not possess so it was never my intention to be, "accepted" as someone who uses a capital D.

Anybody can call themselves whatever they want, but that doesn't mean it is true.

What I don't understand: Why people who wear aids and have CI's feel that have to use the capital D when they don't have those beliefs.

 

[VacationGuy234]

SDH stands for Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. So if you said HOH is deaf, then why does SDH include HOH?

Because it is a generic name accepted as a label which readily tells people the type of subtitles. It is no different than using the label "Aspirin" which is now a generic name, but is used to describe many brands. It is the meaning which is generally accepted.

What? Deaf CAN'T hear.

That is also not true. There are Deaf who could benefit from hearing devices who refuse to use them and refuse to have their children use them. It is part of what being Deaf with a capital D means.

 

[VacationGuy234]

To put a point on it: There is no difference between HoH and deaf(we all have hearing loss), but there is a difference between Deaf and deaf.

HoH is a generally accepted label by both Deaf and hearing community. However, while all people who can't hear are deaf not all people who are deaf are culturally Deaf.

 

[Frisky Feline]

That is also not true. There are Deaf who could benefit from hearing devices who refuse to use them and refuse to have their children use them. It is part of what being Deaf with a capital D means.

Not always. I know several Deaf parents who have Deaf parents, and they have Deaf children. The Deaf parents allow their Deaf kids to have CI or HA and be in speech therapy but the Deaf kids continues to have ASL. THey all are still Deaf family, however the Deaf parents know that their Deaf kids may change their mind when the Deaf children becomes older and make their choice of Hearing world and Deaf world.

So it does not matter to be in a D DEAF community or Deaf culture as long as they are very involved with Deaf community such as activities or events or so while they all are using ASL. of course.

 

[VacationGuy234]

Not always. I know several Deaf parents who have Deaf parents, and they have Deaf children. The Deaf parents allow their Deaf kids to have CI or HA and be in speech therapy but the Deaf kids continues to have ASL. THey all are still Deaf family, however the Deaf parents know that their Deaf kids may change their mind when the Deaf children becomes older and make their choice of Hearing world and Deaf world.

So it does not matter to be in a D DEAF community or Deaf culture as long as they are very involved with Deaf community such as activities or events or so while they all are using ASL. of course.

Point taken. There are parents who are not so strict in their view and that should be noted.

I agree that it doesn't matter. I'm just stating that there is a difference and that some people believe there should be a difference. That is the topic of the thread.

As for myself, I consider us all deaf. But, you have to understand that there is a difference to understand where the disagreements come from on both sides.

 

[Frisky Feline]

Point taken. There are parents who are not so strict in their view and that should be noted.

I agree that it doesn't matter. I'm just stating that there is a difference and that some people believe there should be a difference. That is the topic of the thread.

As for myself, I consider us all deaf. But, you have to understand that there is a difference to understand where the disagreements come from on both sides.

I understand you purrfectly. Over the years, things do change but they all do cherish is ASL. I know Deaf community and Deaf culture do change but ASL needs to stay right there so we all can communicate conveniently without saying " WHAT?".

 

[NaidaUP]

Not always. I know several Deaf parents who have Deaf parents, and they have Deaf children. The Deaf parents allow their Deaf kids to have CI or HA and be in speech therapy but the Deaf kids continues to have ASL. THey all are still Deaf family, however the Deaf parents know that their Deaf kids may change their mind when the Deaf children becomes older and make their choice of Hearing world and Deaf world.

So it does not matter to be in a D DEAF community or Deaf culture as long as they are very involved with Deaf community such as activities or events or so while they all are using ASL. of course.

But where I'm from, using CIs or HAs is going against the Deaf culture so anyone with HAs or CIs would never be accepted in to the Deaf world even if they use sign. The Deaf culture would class anyone with CIs or HAs as deaf and never Deaf.

 

[drphil]

In a way it seems simple to describe the Hard of Hearing to the DEAF. One end of spectrum one hears fine( classified as "normal") Thus the other end is Deafness-hears NOTHING excluding jet planes- The Hard of hearing are between these end points in varying degrees.

If one uses the lens of Sociology where the "Main" point is the use of ASL et al then the discussion changes.

Thus the ongoing intermural debate re: who is part of the "Deaf community" continues.

 

[Frisky Feline]

But where I'm from, using CIs or HAs is going against the Deaf culture so anyone with HAs or CIs would never be accepted in to the Deaf world even if they use sign. The Deaf culture would class anyone with CIs or HAs as deaf and never Deaf.

I know but things do change over the year. I ve always wore my HA for many years and always be in the Deaf community. Its all about the attitude approach how you treat the Deaf community. Nothing else.

 

[jonnyghost]

I still don't get why wearing a hearing aid would make anyone think that you believe there is something wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with my legs but I drive a car to work. It's just technology that makes someones life easier.

 

[AlleyCat]

But where I'm from, using CIs or HAs is going against the Deaf culture so anyone with HAs or CIs would never be accepted in to the Deaf world even if they use sign. The Deaf culture would class anyone with CIs or HAs as deaf and never Deaf.

You are not from the U.S. In other countries, cultures and norms may be, and are, different. What is perceived as normal here may not be elsewhere. And vice versa.