Is being deaf a disability or not?

If deafness is a disability then how come we can do everything a hearing persons can? Deaf can have sex, walk, read, write, ride bikes, fly planes, watch tv, listen to music, etc.
 
jasin said:
If deafness is a disability then how come we can do everything a hearing persons can? Deaf can have sex, walk, read, write, ride bikes, fly planes, watch tv, listen to music, etc.
Click to expand...

:repost: yes ok no need to repeat it.
 
Being deaf/HOH in itself is a rather limited disability, for the most part only forcing you to choose other means to the same end. We have ASL/flashing alarm clocks/thumpers/etc to do everything a hearie could, and there are few things that we can't do/jobs we can't take safely.

The real problem is living in a hearing focused society with a very stereotypical view of disabilities/the deaf/HOH. A surpising amount of people are very intolerant and rude about it to me while I'm making a great effort to communicate with them and explain it to them, with comments such as

"Oh, you're only part-deaf. You can still hear me so what's the problem? You should be grateful you aren't one of those deafmutes, I know I am"
"Uhhh <.< Why do I always get to work with the fucking cripple?"

all the time. The aforementioned is why many deaf people congregate together and try to block out the hearies. It's easier to live/work with people who won't shun them based on being deaf/HOH.

BTW before you say anything like

“Deaf often say that they are not disabled, but still they accept the card for free use of the bus.”
Click to expand...

you should know that many of them have incredible difficulty finding an employer who will hire someone who can't hear. I'm having incredible difficulty with this myself now.
 
Wrong questions based on grammar and logic which totally ignore reality.

Your questions also contain presuppositions that are unexamined and should be eliminated if you wish to have an unbiased result.

Better questions based on linguistic and semantic principles:

When is being deaf an advantage, a disadvantage, or a non issue?

Why is the term disability used in regards to deafness?

Who applies the term disability to D/deaf people?

What are the legal issues?
 
Yes, deafness is a disability in the sense that a deaf person does not have the ability to do things that people with intact hearing do: use the telephone, listen to music, etc.

It's my view that "disabilities" are measured against what a human being with the accepted natural abilities of sight, hearing, locomotion, etc. is able to do. A person who loses or is born without one or more of the natural abilities is considered "disabled" in the sense that they are lacking one or more of these abilities. It's just a label, and I've never been offended by or felt humiliated by being labeled "disabled" or "handicapped". It's a term, like "white", "black", "Asian", etc.

As far as accepting freebies from governments, keep in mind that many of the assistive devices that any disabled person relies upon to allow them to function in the "normal" world can be very expensive, and most insurance does not cover these devices, so the person pays for them out of pocket. If governments paid 100% for hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive signaling devices, seeing-eye/hearing ear/seizure/etc. dogs, state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs, etc., then I'm sure a lot of disabled people would decline free bus passes or whatever "normal" people see as handouts to what they see as lazy people. :roll:
 
flyingace said:
Yes, deafness is a disability in the sense that a deaf person does not have the ability to do things that people with intact hearing do: use the telephone, listen to music, etc. It's my view that "disabilities" are measured against what a human being with the accepted natural abilities of sight, hearing, locomotion, etc. is able to do. A person who loses or is born without one or more of the natural abilities is considered "disabled" in the sense that they are lacking one or more of these abilities. It's just a label, and I've never been offended by or felt humiliated by being labeled "disabled" or "handicapped". It's a term, like "white", "black", "Asian", etc.

As far as accepting freebies from governments, keep in mind that many of the assistive devices that any disabled person relies upon to allow them to function in the "normal" world can be very expensive, and most insurance does not cover these devices, so the person pays for them out of pocket. If governments paid 100% for hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive signaling devices, seeing-eye/hearing ear/seizure/etc. dogs, state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs, etc., then I'm sure a lot of disabled people would decline free bus passes or whatever "normal" people see as handouts to what they see as lazy people. :roll:
Click to expand...

Just food for thought here: deaf can use the telephone or listen to music; they simply do it differently that an average hearing person would.
 
jillio said:
Just food for thought here: deaf can use the telephone or listen to music; they simply do it differently that an average hearing person would.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about the difference between "normal" and "disabled". "Normal" means using the telephone with the receiver to the ear and having a conversation with another person. "Normal" means having the stereo on a volume below "earth-shaking".
 
flyingace said:
I'm talking about the difference between "normal" and "disabled". "Normal" means using the telephone with the receiver to the ear and having a conversation with another person. "Normal" means having the stereo on a volume below "earth-shaking".
Click to expand...

Ohhhh...crossing a line there with the "normal" and "disabled" comment. You are implying that someone with a disability is "abnormal". Nothing could be further from the truth.

Hmmm....I know a lot of hearing people that turn their stereos up to "earth-shaking" volume. Are they abnormal?

Normal may mean having a spoken converation on the telephone to you, but to many, many deaf, normal is having conversation on a telephone using a TTY or texting.
 
You missed the point I was making.

Yes, deafness is a disability in the sense that a deaf person does not have the ability to do things that people with intact hearing do: use the telephone, listen to music, etc.

I'm talking about what a "normal" person perceives as a disability.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
Of course I work for military but not for war... :mrgreen:
Click to expand...
The purpose of the military is war. What do you think the military do? The military for whom you work are warriors. Their mission is war. If there were no wars or threats of war, then you wouldn't have a job.
 
Reba said:
The purpose of the military is war. What do you think the military do? The military for whom you work are warriors. Their mission is war. If there were no wars or threats of war, then you wouldn't have a job.
Click to expand...

You said it right there. All the manual labour jobs in the military would be out first thing.
 
flyingace said:
You missed the point I was making.

Yes, deafness is a disability in the sense that a deaf person does not have the ability to do things that people with intact hearing do: use the telephone, listen to music, etc.

I'm talking about what a "normal" person perceives as a disability.
Click to expand...

I didn't miss your point at all, but I do believe you are missing mine. Exatly what is "normal" and "abnormal". Hearing may be normal to you, but abnormal to a deaf person.

Deafness is a disability because of the social barriers and social construction that have deemed it a disabiity, not because of anything inherent in deafness.
 
jillio said:
I didn't miss your point at all, but I do believe you are missing mine. Exatly what is "normal" and "abnormal". Hearing may be normal to you, but abnormal to a deaf person.

Deafness is a disability because of the social barriers and social construction that have deemed it a disabiity, not because of anything inherent in deafness.
Click to expand...

I was going by how I interpreted the original question-"is being deaf a disability or not?". I think that the answer is yes, to "normal" people, deafness is a biological disability, and some people choose to make it into a social disability.

I believe that how deaf people perceive themselves affects how other people treat them: if you act totally helpless, then people will treat you that way. If you act like you can do anything they do, just differently, then they'll respect that. I hope I'm making myself clear. :)
 
flyingace said:
I was going by how I interpreted the original question-"is being deaf a disability or not?". I think that the answer is yes, to "normal" people, deafness is a biological disability, and some people choose to make it into a social disability.

I believe that how deaf people perceive themselves affects how other people treat them: if you act totally helpless, then people will treat you that way. If you act like you can do anything they do, just differently, then they'll respect that. I hope I'm making myself clear. :)
Click to expand...

Yes, you are making yourself clear. To a degree, how deaf people, or anyone for that matter, perceives themselves affects how others treat them. But to someone with any kind of difference, self perception does not have as much to do with the way they are perceived by the wider society as does preconceived stereotypes. You are perpetuating one of those stereotypes here, in your insistence on referring to hearing people as "normal", rather than simply as hearing people. :cool2:
 
jillio said:
I didn't miss your point at all, but I do believe you are missing mine. Exatly what is "normal" and "abnormal". Hearing may be normal to you, but abnormal to a deaf person.

Deafness is a disability because of the social barriers and social construction that have deemed it a disabiity, not because of anything inherent in deafness.
Click to expand...

Goes back to what I said earlier.

The function of language is to communicate ideas and or describe reality.

It is not a perfect tool but it is the best one we have.

When people try to make reality conform to language everything gets screwed up.

When people ask questions that are based on language, logic, cultural bias, definitions, or presuppositions, they set up situations that cannot be answered correctly or honestly.

To put it another way: The question is out of context and cannot be answered until it is put in context with a real situation.

Example:

Being under 5' and weighing 90 lbs is a disadvantage to a man wishing to play football, but is not if he wants to be a jockey.

And if he wants to throw clay pots it matters not at all.
 
Berry said:
Goes back to what I said earlier.

The function of language is to communicate ideas and or describe reality.

It is not a perfect tool but it is the best one we have.

When people try to make reality conform to language everything gets screwed up.

When people ask questions that are based on language, logic, cultural bias, definitions, or presuppositions, they set up situations that cannot be answered correctly or honestly.

To put it another way: The question is out of context and cannot be answered until it is put in context with a real situation.

Example:

Being under 5' and weighing 90 lbs is a disadvantage to a man wishing to play football, but is not if he wants to be a jockey.
Click to expand...

Exactly!
 
My perception is this, deafness to one person is a disability when I believe ignorance has to be the worst disability.

Nothing more disabling than blindness, deafness or losing a limb than ignorance.
 
i do not consider deafness, blindness, deafblindness, physical impairments or mental illness to be a disability. as i like to tell people, "i don't do amazing things. i do normal things differently." just because i cannot see or hear (without my ci's) does not mean that i am incapable of love, friendship, going to school, being employed or doing anything else that i want to do. as my 10th grade biology teacher told me, "the only limitations you have are those you place on yourself."
 
Mrs Bucket said:
My perception is this, deafness to one person is a disability when I believe ignorance has to be the worst disability.

Nothing more disabling than blindness, deafness or losing a limb than ignorance.
Click to expand...

As always, well said, Mrs. B.
 
This thread is an old one (2005). Don't bother sending the OP your answers as Fem must have finished the school.
 
Back
Top