"Hearie" vs. "Deafie"

Hear Again

Hear Again

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Today I was communicating with someone in the Deaf community about the terms "hearie" and "deafie." He said that "hearie" describes a deaf person who once had hearing and does not participate in the Deaf community. Conversely, a "deafie" is a deaf person who is a member of the Deaf community.

My prior understanding of these terms was that a "hearie" described those with normal hearing or those who are hard of hearing. I've also heard the term "deafie" describe anyone with a hearing loss.

Can any of you enlighten me as to the true definitions of these words -- or are they used loosely depending on who uses them?

Also, are any of you who once had hearing and are now deaf (or are HoH and sign) offended by the use of the sign "thinks hearing" against the forehead? Some deaf people I've spoken to say this sign offends them while others say they don't care one way or the other.

Any thoughts? :)
 
This is one of those usual mis-interpretations that vary on the location, community, group, etc.

Some people refer to "hearies" as hearing people, while others refer them to something else.

There's hearies and deafies. There's deaf and Deaf. There's hard-of-hearing and deaf.

It could be anything.
 
I've seen the term "hearie" used to describe a hearing person who has frequent contact with Deaf and participates in Deaf culture because of deaf realtives, close friends, spouse, etc. Likewise, the term "deafie" I've seen used in relation to those deaf who use sign as their basic mode of communication and also who have ties to Deaf culture. The sign "hearing think" is a derogatory term used to describe a deaf individual who has does not participate in Deaf culture, is strictly oral, and basically lives as a hearing person with an auditory impairment. This individual also usually portrays an attitude of superiority toward culturally Deaf.
 
I have always seen it refered to as "hearie" being hearing such as myself and "deafie" as D/HOH. Just niknames for the two groups, or as some have put it to me, "deaf slang". A person i have met recently from NYC who is Deaf said that in NY they sign hearing on the forhead rather than off the chin below the lip as I have always seen it. I don't know that it is
derogatory as it seems from what you are saying above. Like "that person thinks like a hearing person instead of a deaf person". I may be wrong in how i am reading that from you though. She also said they sign "hospital" in the same place, rather than just below the sholder.
 
Are there different signs for "hearie" and "Deafie" in addition to "Deaf" and "hearing"? or is the only time it is really used is written?
 
If a Deaf person who does NOT
fit into the Deaf World with something like a
"snotty attitude toward Deafies",
then this appropriate sign "Hearie"
on your forehead.

BUT, if you mean a Hearing person then
you sign as "Hearie" front of your lips.
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for your responses! Wow, I had no idea there was such a wide variance when it came to these terms.

In regards to the sign for "hearing think," I wonder if this sign is considered offensive because it closely resembles the sign for stupid? I also wonder if some deaf people might be offended by this sign because of the "us vs. them" mentality that it creates? (To be fair, "us vs. them" can also apply to a hearing person who feels superior to a Deaf person.)
 
Y said:
If a Deaf person who does NOT
fit into the Deaf World with something like a
"snotty attitude toward Deafies",
then this appropriate sign "Hearie"
on your forehead.

BUT, if you mean a Hearing person then
you sign as "Hearie" front of your lips.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say, but you did it better!
 
I was born deaf and have a deaf family, but I can hear and speak. I cannot tell you how much it pisses me off when someone calls me hearing!
 
RaeRae,

To some extent, I can emphasize. When I had severe-profound hearing loss, I had people tell me that I couldn't be deafblind because I "spoke too well," I "didn't sound deaf" and "deafblind people can't speak." Talk about insulting! :(
 
RaeRae said:
I was born deaf and have a deaf family, but I can hear and speak. I cannot tell you how much it pisses me off when someone calls me hearing!
Click to expand...

Er...do you mean when the deaf call you that? It is somewhat insulting to me if they do that. For all I can do in the hearing world, I still can't escape totally the reality of being deaf (I'm reminded of it every night or when the batteries go out :D ). On the other hand, if it is from the hearing, then I take it as a compliment. I guess it depends one's viewpoint... :whistle:
 
I hate it when people slam on me because I'm HoH. They're always like, "You should've heard that. You can hear fine," or, "You deal with this every day. Suck it up." :(
 
morbid-mongoose said:
I hate it when people slam on me because I'm HoH. They're always like, "You should've heard that. You can hear fine," or, "You deal with this every day. Suck it up." :(
Click to expand...

I hate that too! :pissed: Some people think just because I have cochlear implants, I will understand everything they say forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that I do not hear perfectly. :(

A very good friend of mine has mild hearing loss and gets frustrated when people tell her she only hears what she wants to hear. She also hates it when people think she shouldn't have any difficulty hearing just because she wears HAs.

Something else I can't stand is when the general public thinks I'm obligated to answer their questions about deafblindness, Braille, guide dogs, etc. and regards me as being rude if I don't.

I'm sorry, but on some days, I don't feel like educating the public. I have places to be and don't always have time to stop and chat. Don't get me wrong...I'm always happy to educate the public whenever I can, but sometimes the general public tends to forget that we're just as human as they are. We have our days where we're cranky, tired, sad, etc. and don't feel like answering questions.

Besides, I have all kinds of interests. Every now and then I'd like to talk about something *other* than my disabilities. :)
 
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Hear Again said:
I hate that too! :pissed: Some people think just because I have cochlear implants, I will understand everything they say forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that I do not hear perfectly. :(

A very good friend of mine has mild hearing loss and gets frustrated when people tell her she only hears what she wants to hear. She also hates it when people think she shouldn't have any difficulty hearing just because she wears HAs.

Someone else I can't stand is when the general public thinks I'm obligated to answer their questions about deafblindness, Braille, guide dogs, etc and regards me as being rude if I don't.

I'm sorry, but on some days, I don't feel like educating the public. I have places to be and don't always have time to stop and chat. Don't get me wrong...I'm always happy to educate the public whenever I can, but sometimes the general public tends to forget that we're just as human as they are. We have our days where we're cranky, tired, sad, etc. and don't feel like answering questions.

Besides, I have all kinds of interests. Every now and then I'd like to talk about something *other* than my disabilities. :)
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I can relate to that. I have not forgotten my Spanish class when I was mainstreamed in middle school.

I had to wear the Phonic Ear and since this was one of those crash courses where you had to speak in the language or not at all, I had a terrible time in that class.

There was another deafie in that class. Unlike me, he didn't have to wear a Phonic Ear and his hearing loss wasn't as bad as mine.

The teacher told me that I had no excuse for not being able to learn Spanish since he was deaf like me and was able to learn Spanish faster than me. She said that since I was wearing the Phonic Ear, I should be able to hear just fine like him. My reply: he can hear better than me.

I can learn Spanish but I do have to use visual means rather than auditory means. This class was very auditory.
 
Hear Again said:
A very good friend of mine has mild hearing loss and gets frustrated when people tell her she only hears what she wants to hear.
Click to expand...

My wife gets frustrated when I keep asking her to repeat things and then I get frustrated because she says them snottily (did I just make a new word?) or says "never mind" or "it's not important".

I hear some quiet things exceptionally well (high frequency things) but voices I struggle with. I think it confuses her (it sure confuses me).:crazy:
 
Heafie, not Hearie

First of all, Hearie and Deafie are nice things to say. They're not derogatory. Heafie is derogatory. Hearies and Deafies are people who are Hearing and Deaf. A Heafie is a person with a hearing impairment that thinks/acts like a hearing person, suppose by refusing to learn sign language. For example, my father is a Heafie. He walks into my room, and his face turns to disgust when he sees me signing to my friends via videophone, but he always must have closed captions on, when watching TV. When I told him about the captioned telephone, he said, "That's what I need!" When I told him how he could get it, he said, "No, because if I get it, then it means I'm disabled." Just today, he told me, "I think you better call those people [about the hearing aid], because I can't understand anything from the TV anymore."
Y said:
If a Deaf person who does NOT
fit into the Deaf World with something like a
"snotty attitude toward Deafies",
then this appropriate sign "Hearie"
on your forehead.

BUT, if you mean a Hearing person then
you sign as "Hearie" front of your lips.
Click to expand...
That's a different sign.
HEARING on ASL Browser

Both HEARING and HEAFIE are signed with the 1-handshape, back of the palm facing up and index finger pointing towards the non–dominant side with the hand moving up and away from the signer and then down and back towards the signer in a circular motion, however, HEARING is signed in front of the lips, showing words coming out of the mouth, while HEAFIE is signed in front of the forehead, showing thinking like a Hearing person.

HEARIE is a completly different sign.
DEAF on ASL Browser

(ASL Browser shows this sign backwards, although acceptable.)
Both DEAF and HEARIE are signed with a 1-handshape, back of the palm facing the signer and inder finger pointing up, with the hand moving down, however, DEAF is signed by the ear and mouth, showing disability of hearing and speech, while HEARIE is signed over the heart, showing valuing like a Deaf person.
 
doh said:
I hear some quiet things exceptionally well (high frequency things) but voices I struggle with. I think it confuses her (it sure confuses me).:crazy:
Click to expand...

Same!

Does anyone know why this is?
 
As infrequently as I use these terms, I think "hearfie" is better cuz it rhymes better with "deafie".:fingersx:
 
morbid-mongoose said:
I hate it when people slam on me because I'm HoH. They're always like, "You should've heard that. You can hear fine," or, "You deal with this every day. Suck it up." :(
Click to expand...

Yea I can relate. I am profoundly severely deaf with a dB level of 120 in both ears but because I can speak so well ( according to hearing people) they think I should be able to hear better than I really do. I have been in many frustrating situations with hearing people telling me that because I speak too well, therefore I can hear well. :pissed:


Not only that, when I first got involved with the deaf community, I was called "hearie" with the sign on the forehead cuz I wasnt ASL enough. To this day, many deaf people think I am HOH or even hearing and I say no..I am profoundly deaf but I am not sure if they really believe me. I cant win can I? LOL
 
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