Quick question.. or two.

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jaylizabethh

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I just recently found out in november that I'm hard of hearing. I have a few questions.
(by the way, yes I'm learning ASL, and at this point can have a full conversation AND have an interpreter ...)

anyway. So I'm about to be 16 at the end of this week. Question one: would you consider this late deafened? even though my audi says I've had hearing loss my entire life and it's just getting worse to where it's noticeable by my family?

question 2: Where do I fall in Deaf Culture? Like, how do you differentiate between Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Deaf community?

Sorry if I sound dumb. I'm still learning about, and have intentions of being part of Deaf Culture. I'm already involved in my local Deaf Community. If that helps your answer. Thanks..:ty:
 
it does not matter, as long as you feel comfortable if you are around ASL users and comfortable to attend to the deaf events. If you enjoy to hang out with them and want to contintue going then it will answer your question to yourself. :)

dont worry about what you are or who you are, just focus on what you enjoy with whom you are hanging out with. And comfortable with the way you use communication method whatever you like. no sweat over it. :)
 
jaylizabethh said:
I just recently found out in november that I'm hard of hearing. I have a few questions.
(by the way, yes I'm learning ASL, and at this point can have a full conversation AND have an interpreter ...)

anyway. So I'm about to be 16 at the end of this week. Question one: would you consider this late deafened? even though my audi says I've had hearing loss my entire life and it's just getting worse to where it's noticeable by my family?

question 2: Where do I fall in Deaf Culture? Like, how do you differentiate between Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Deaf community?

Sorry if I sound dumb. I'm still learning about, and have intentions of being part of Deaf Culture. I'm already involved in my local Deaf Community. If that helps your answer. Thanks..:ty:
Click to expand...

In my town, I'm defined as HOH by the local deaf org - the reason for this is because they differentiate between those who were raised oral/mainstreamed and those who were raised deaf school/ASL by defining the former as HOH and the latter as Deaf. For them, it's a cultural classification, not a determination of one's actual hearing levels.

So, even though I consider myself very much as deaf, I'm classified as HOH because of my upbringing. Doesn't bother me at all.

It's my audiogram that's the ultimate definer of my actual hearing levels and no matter what label someone else uses for me, it doesn't change the fundamental truth which is that I'm profoundly deaf.
 
Thanks guys. I was just curious. So you're saying that, even though I am medically Hard of Hearing, I can still technically be culturally deaf? The thing is, when you tell someone "I'm hard of hearing" you get the old people treatment. Where the hearing person will sit there and mouth everything super big, and yell at you basically. But the word "hearing" in the phrase "hard of hearing" makes them think you can hear. Normally if they ask, or if I have to get them to repeat themselves a few times, I say "I'm deaf, and I lipread." instead of "I'm hard of hearing, and I lipread." is this okay to do? Last time I told someone I was hard of hearing, it was a teacher. they assumed I didn't need closed captioning and turned the volume up to where the rest of the class was covering their ears and I still couldn't hear the movie. O.o and it happens a lot when I say "Oh hey I'm HoH."
 
I have a student in one of my classes. She has a CI, and mostly watches the teacher and between what she hears and what she sees (gestures, lipreading, stuff on the board) pretty much gets the bulk of the class. But she has an ASL interpreter in there too, for extra comprehension support. She functions mostly orally/aurally, and typically doesn't sign, even with fluent signers. Is she deaf or HOH? It is a lot easier for teachers to grasp the accommodations if they are told they will have a deaf student next term. Then later they figure out she voices for herself and doesn't always watch the terp.

I can imagine that "hard of hearing" to most people conjures up mental images of their grandparents, who needed a louder voice or wanted you to talk on one side or the other. So that's where we start. There is a joking quote that asks "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" You need to decide if saying what is convenient (deaf, so they don't shout at you) or what is correct (HOH, which you said you are) is right for you. You need to identify yourself as you are comfortable. Your self image gets to be your choice. People will make assumptions about what that means either way. You just need to go with what feels right for YOU. And if it stops feeling right, you get to change it. Just make sure YOU define yourself, otherwise everyone else will try to, and they'll probably all get it wrong.
 
kellycat said:
I have a student in one of my classes. She has a CI, and mostly watches the teacher and between what she hears and what she sees (gestures, lipreading, stuff on the board) pretty much gets the bulk of the class. But she has an ASL interpreter in there too, for extra comprehension support. She functions mostly orally/aurally, and typically doesn't sign, even with fluent signers. Is she deaf or HOH? It is a lot easier for teachers to grasp the accommodations if they are told they will have a deaf student next term. Then later they figure out she voices for herself and doesn't always watch the terp.

I can imagine that "hard of hearing" to most people conjures up mental images of their grandparents, who needed a louder voice or wanted you to talk on one side or the other. So that's where we start. There is a joking quote that asks "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" You need to decide if saying what is convenient (deaf, so they don't shout at you) or what is correct (HOH, which you said you are) is right for you. You need to identify yourself as you are comfortable. Your self image gets to be your choice. People will make assumptions about what that means either way. You just need to go with what feels right for YOU. And if it stops feeling right, you get to change it. Just make sure YOU define yourself, otherwise everyone else will try to, and they'll probably all get it wrong.
Click to expand...

If you approach the Deaf community and you are an oral communicator, you would be a lot better of identifying yourself as HOH. Somebody will let you know if you are Deaf later!
 
jaylizabethh said:
Thanks guys. I was just curious. So you're saying that, even though I am medically Hard of Hearing, I can still technically be culturally deaf? The thing is, when you tell someone "I'm hard of hearing" you get the old people treatment. Where the hearing person will sit there and mouth everything super big, and yell at you basically. But the word "hearing" in the phrase "hard of hearing" makes them think you can hear. Normally if they ask, or if I have to get them to repeat themselves a few times, I say "I'm deaf, and I lipread." instead of "I'm hard of hearing, and I lipread." is this okay to do? Last time I told someone I was hard of hearing, it was a teacher. they assumed I didn't need closed captioning and turned the volume up to where the rest of the class was covering their ears and I still couldn't hear the movie. O.o and it happens a lot when I say "Oh hey I'm HoH."
Click to expand...

Hell yes! The line isn't as straight as it used to be. The ONLY people who say that HOH cannot be "deaf" are hearing people or extreme radical deafies.
 
jaylizabethh said:
Thanks guys. I was just curious. So you're saying that, even though I am medically Hard of Hearing, I can still technically be culturally deaf? The thing is, when you tell someone "I'm hard of hearing" you get the old people treatment. Where the hearing person will sit there and mouth everything super big, and yell at you basically. But the word "hearing" in the phrase "hard of hearing" makes them think you can hear. Normally if they ask, or if I have to get them to repeat themselves a few times, I say "I'm deaf, and I lipread." instead of "I'm hard of hearing, and I lipread." is this okay to do? Last time I told someone I was hard of hearing, it was a teacher. they assumed I didn't need closed captioning and turned the volume up to where the rest of the class was covering their ears and I still couldn't hear the movie. O.o and it happens a lot when I say "Oh hey I'm HoH."
Click to expand...

OMG!! I can't stand when people over their pronounce words ! It really made it harder to read their lips when it a big O
 
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jaylizabethh said:
Thanks guys. I was just curious. So you're saying that, even though I am medically Hard of Hearing, I can still technically be culturally deaf? The thing is, when you tell someone "I'm hard of hearing" you get the old people treatment. Where the hearing person will sit there and mouth everything super big, and yell at you basically. But the word "hearing" in the phrase "hard of hearing" makes them think you can hear. Normally if they ask, or if I have to get them to repeat themselves a few times, I say "I'm deaf, and I lipread." instead of "I'm hard of hearing, and I lipread." is this okay to do? Last time I told someone I was hard of hearing, it was a teacher. they assumed I didn't need closed captioning and turned the volume up to where the rest of the class was covering their ears and I still couldn't hear the movie. O.o and it happens a lot when I say "Oh hey I'm HoH."
Click to expand...

In writing I almost always refer to myself as "Hoh/Deaf", part of that is because I'm totally deaf (+120db) on m right side & have Mild-Mod flux HL on my Left - I'm "half & half". But also it's because I'm medically Hoh (because of my left side), but at the same time Culturally Deaf.

When I'm explaining to someone I will use Hoh or Deaf depending on the situation. If it's meeting someone I'll have repeated contact with, I'll give a better & more accurate explanation, however if it's a "one time" situation, I'll use whichever better fits that moment. For example, in noisy situations with lots of background noise and lousy lighting I'm functionally deaf. In a quiet, well lit environment I'm functionally Hoh.

Within the Hoh/Deaf Community I DO make sure to explain differently and while introducing myself in a culturally appropriate way - I explain I'm "half deaf, half Hoh & consider myself Culturally Deaf".

The main difference between hoh and deaf isn't one's Audiogram, but rather how we "function" for lack of a better word.

Within most Deaf Communities, someone who is reasonably comfortable speaking and understanding spoken language in certain environments, usually is "hoh", while someone who prefers not to speak and isn't able to understand/comfortable communicating (expressively & receptively) using spoken language usually is "deaf".

If one is "hoh" or "deaf" only really comes up when doing introductions and doesn't make one more or less "Deaf" (capital D,culturally & linguistically). Of course this does vary a bit from Deaf Community to Deaf Community, but seems overall to be accurate.

For that reason, within the Deaf Community I sign that I'm Hoh, was raised orally etc but became involved in the Deaf Community when I was 18 and consider myself Culturally and Identity-wise Deaf.

It's up to each person to decide for themselves how they want to explain their medical and cultural identities to both the Hearing and Deaf Worlds - and often those are different depending on which World your in.

The most important things are that your comfortable with how you present yourself, and that the people you communicate with are able to have the most accurate idea of what your communication needs are/will be. Sometimes that may mean saying you're Hoh, other times it may mean saying your d/Deaf ... In time it will get easier and you'll find an identity and manner of explaining yourself that works best for you :)
 
Anij said:
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )



Within the Hoh/Deaf Community I DO make sure to explain differently and while introducing myself in a culturally appropriate way - I explain I'm "half deaf, half Hoh & consider myself Culturally Deaf".

The main difference between hoh and deaf isn't one's Audiogram, but rather how we "function" for lack of a better word.

Within most Deaf Communities, someone who is reasonably comfortable speaking and understanding spoken language in certain environments, usually is "hoh", while someone who prefers not to speak and isn't able to understand/comfortable communicating (expressively & receptively) using spoken language usually is "deaf".

If one is "hoh" or "deaf" only really comes up when doing introductions and doesn't make one more or less "Deaf" (capital D,culturally & linguistically). Of course this does vary a bit from Deaf Community to Deaf Community, but seems overall to be accurate.

For that reason, within the Deaf Community I sign that I'm Hoh, was raised orally etc but became involved in the Deaf Community when I was 18 and consider myself Culturally and Identity-wise Deaf.

It's up to each person to decide for themselves how they want to explain their medical and cultural identities to both the Hearing and Deaf Worlds - and often those are different depending on which World your in.

The most important things are that your comfortable with how you present yourself, and that the people you communicate with are able to have the most accurate idea of what your communication needs are/will be. Sometimes that may mean saying you're Hoh, other times it may mean saying your d/Deaf ... In time it will get easier and you'll find an identity and manner of explaining yourself that works best for you :)
Click to expand...

and it's not unsual for people to label switch. I consider myself deaf, even thou I have a HOH audiogram.
 
Hello, my name is Derek. I have a hearing loss. Who cares if I'm deaf or hoh?? Point I'm making is that "deaf" and "hoh" terms gets old and overrated sometimes.

Also, most people won't know whether I lost my hearing at 2 years old or 20 years old. Someone who buys bike from me hardly knows whether I lost my hearing early or later. He just wants a bike. Not everyone will care if you're deaf or hoh as long as transactions get done and point is made.
 
I've been HOH since early childhood, but since I was raised HOH in the hearing world, instead of in Deaf culture, when I'm with other Deafies, I identify as HOH.

I have had the same experiences as jaylizabethh in that, when in the hearing world, identifying myself as HOH gets me yelled at, over enunciated-to, and (very often) ignored when it comes to my actual needs. For this reason, I identify as Deaf (with speech reading) to hearies. Then, they put the CC on and face you to talk. :)
 
I'll keep it short and simple as per your original post -

Answer to question #1: No, your still quite young - now if this happened when you were say 60, then you could say late.

Answer to #2: HoH. Or you could call it 'in the crack between the deaf and the hearing worlds' as some like to refer to it.
 
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cmdrwhitewolf said:
I'll keep it short and simple as per your original post -

Answer to question #1: No, your still quite young - now if this happened when you were say 60, then you could say late.

Answer to #2: HoH. Or you could call it 'in the crack between the deaf and the hearing worlds' as some like to refer to it.
Click to expand...

Typically LD means "as an adult" (20+) , not someone who's near/post retirement ago (50-65)

For those who become hoh/deaf as children and teens it's often called "acquired HL" or "post-lingual HL".

If someone has increasing HL from infancy to adulthood it's commonly referred to as "progressive HL"
 
jaylizabethh said:
I just recently found out in november that I'm hard of hearing. I have a few questions.
(by the way, yes I'm learning ASL, and at this point can have a full conversation AND have an interpreter ...)

anyway. So I'm about to be 16 at the end of this week. Question one: would you consider this late deafened? even though my audi says I've had hearing loss my entire life and it's just getting worse to where it's noticeable by my family?

question 2: Where do I fall in Deaf Culture? Like, how do you differentiate between Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Deaf community?

Sorry if I sound dumb. I'm still learning about, and have intentions of being part of Deaf Culture. I'm already involved in my local Deaf Community. If that helps your answer. Thanks..:ty:
Click to expand...

Personally, I wouldn't consider you late deafened unless you were an adult when you lost your hearing, but that's just me.

Like me, you would be HOH.
 
Thanks everyone :)

I am starting to really get into the swing of things. I have my second ever Deaf community event on saturday! It will be amazing. haha. and I'm getting my hearing aids too! (I found that out today.)

Anyway, so back on subject.. my parents have problems culturally and medically identifying me too, and it's hilarious. My dad says "oh, my daughter is deaf." my mom says "jordan's hard of hearing, but she functions Deafly." XD

^ my parents are very, very, hearing. Actually they're both medically hard of hearing. but culturally, they have no clue. It took me forever to get my mom to stop saying "hearing impaired". >.<
 
My mom says, "Hearing impair-Hard of Hearing" Oh well, at least she tries. :-P
 
jaylizabethh said:
Thanks everyone :)

I am starting to really get into the swing of things. I have my second ever Deaf community event on saturday! It will be amazing. haha. and I'm getting my hearing aids too! (I found that out today.)

Anyway, so back on subject.. my parents have problems culturally and medically identifying me too, and it's hilarious. My dad says "oh, my daughter is deaf." my mom says "jordan's hard of hearing, but she functions Deafly." XD

^ my parents are very, very, hearing. Actually they're both medically hard of hearing. but culturally, they have no clue. It took me forever to get my mom to stop saying "hearing impaired". >.<
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What color hearing aids are you going to get? And I have noticed some youngHOH from HOH families gravitiating towards ASL and deaf culture, which I think is very cool......I mean when our parents were young you were HOH which meant you were assummed not to need the deaf world.
 
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Kellykat, your insight is amazing, on this. Its hard for me to make the transition between hearing, hard of hearing, and deaf. Especially when it has happened so quickly. Making a quick explaination to employers, coworkers, classmates and teachers can really make for a lot of grey area. Youve reminded me that the only person i need to answer to is myself. And really, when you think about it, how much of an explaination do the people around us deserve? My advice on this would be, that whatever you label yourself as, remember that labels should come on sticky notes, not stone. We are ever-changing and evolving, and our abilities can change too. But more than that, WHO i am is always much more important than WHAT i am. ...anyways... Thats my two cents. :)
 
Anij said:
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )



Typically LD means "as an adult" (20+) , not someone who's near/post retirement ago (50-65)

For those who become hoh/deaf as children and teens it's often called "acquired HL" or "post-lingual HL".

If someone has increasing HL from infancy to adulthood it's commonly referred to as "progressive HL"
Click to expand...

:hmm: Interesting, that's not how the Mayo clinic Doctors explained the terms to me. So their incorrect? :shock:
 
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