The challenge of being a deaf person.

[Weshoulddo]

The biggest challenge is overcoming the day-to-day, default assumption by most people that everyone can hear. There have been cases of deaf people being assaulted by police officers for not responding to their verbal commands, there have been others hit by cars and yelled at because the drivers assumed everyone can hear just like them and they honked for crying out loud! Most people don’t try to learn sign language in order to communicate, they leave the burden on the deaf person to compensate and keep up. Designers of systems rarely consider the deaf person by providing visual indicators just like other systems that depend on visual cues that don’t provide audio cues as well. There are enough people that are either deaf or blind (or in some cases both) that designers should consider visual, tactile, and audio cues for all their system designs. How about you, what are your personal challenges as a deaf person?

 

[deerheart12]

The biggest challenge is overcoming the day-to-day, default assumption by most people that everyone can hear. There have been cases of deaf people being assaulted by police officers for not responding to their verbal commands, there have been others hit by cars and yelled at because the drivers assumed everyone can hear just like them and they honked for crying out loud! Most people don’t try to learn sign language in order to communicate, they leave the burden on the deaf person to compensate and keep up. Designers of systems rarely consider the deaf person by providing visual indicators just like other systems that depend on visual cues that don’t provide audio cues as well. There are enough people that are either deaf or blind (or in some cases both) that designers should consider visual, tactile, and audio cues for all their system designs. How about you, what are your personal challenges as a deaf person?

So true! For products the smoke alarms are definitely a challenge unless you go on a specific assistive product website. I feel that smoke alarms in the general public stores should have lights and deeper tones for us deaf folks. I do have a full smoke alarm with strobe lights installed but even that is not perfect the batteries chirps and I cannot hear that at all.

Most of the time, I do pretty well dealing with the public when communicating. However with the pandemic it's a little harder to randomly have a conversation without the ability to freely lipread people's lips due to its hidden behind masks. I'm all "I'm deaf! " and thumbs up and signing thank you!! That's it

I do remember being my own advocate when as a college art student. This teacher was doing an old fashioned slide show and had the curtains drawn and it was so dark that I could not see my interpreter so I had to request for some little light so they corrected it just fine. But yes, it's like "oh, wait a min, this person needs light to see in order to hear what's going on" It's a lot of reminding and speaking up for yourself. If I didn't know ASL I probably would not be as assertive student and would try to blend in and probably not get any information from that day at all.

And getting old videos to be captioned so I could take notes in order to take a test. All those things that are part of being a college students requires a lot of patience, creative thinking and communicating with the teacher and your support team in order to get all the resources that you need so you don't miss out.

Or how the teacher will ask the class to gather around at the table but I get kind of left out so I have to crawl my way in and the interpreter has to stand near the teacher in full view without her hands hurting other students heads! That was a major pet peeve of mind I suppose I needed to tell the teacher not to do that but I am sure they will forget.

That's all I can think of right now.

 

[Old Analog]

The cashier once asked me" you can speak right?" I said yes but when, if I do, people think I can hear I don't think I have a deaf accent, least haven't been told, how would I know?

 

[x1heavy]

There isnt a deaf accent usually. Some deaf know not to use voices. The Hearing cannot or will not deal with THAT SOUND WTH? WHAT IS THAT!>>?

One time I was in a orientation for a company in Maryland that was nothing but suits and hoity toity. Blather on about their own individual self importance and on. Boring. Tell me something I need to know. So I kept mouth shut. And grimly sat there on that hard classroom metal chair for the next two hours. The Suit I-Love_me blathered on.

FINALLY they noticed (They being the staff behind Mr Blather) that I was not really participating. I was busy working on how many squares can be drawn into a loose leaf 8x 11 paper. They asked me what I thought of the two hour spiel.

BS.

Silence in heaven 30 minutes as they assessed my single two syllable response. They then asked the rest of the place that is the same way they feel too?

Yes.

Then the chief asked me to stand up and explain to the Staff why I thought to express the answer the way I did. I pulled out the company HR Handbook. I pulled out the hazmat handbook, I pulled out the Leave policy handbook, I pulled out the greiveances handbook and took the breif case which was not able to be closed by then (Almost lunch)

Quietly flipped the stuff onto the tables. Plop. I told them I need a few pencils, a few pens, passport for Canada, Permits for tractor trailer, a few important peoples name on one card for phone calls and a camera for accidents. Plus a few empty forms for whats in the trailer and where did I pick it up and where its going.

I took my forearm and swept the entire pile of company issued booklets and other materials to the floor. And told them all I need is the key to the tractor trailer, load going from A to B and soon. Everything that they blathered for the last three hours is decorated corporate boilerplate. It has no meaning to me moving the load of steaks from Fort Collins Co to Atlanta Safeway Distribution in Georiga due in 5 days. We are already late get going. Wasting our time sitting on our numb behinds waiting for the I love me blather suit to stop talking so we can all get going now.

More silence.

Mr Blater turned purple and got loud. I told him to save it, Im deaf anyway and all that profanity and volume has no meaning to me. Save it.

HE exploded and advanced on me.

The really big boss later that day asked me a few questions. Paid for my ticket home with full first class meals and so on all the way. I did not get the job.

Why? Because when I am not talking they are not sure if I can hear anything important.

Then they realized there was nothing really important for me to hear as a employee.

Being deaf has it's advantages. But sometimes its unnecessarily a problem when many hearing is trying to tell each other how important they are.

As a deaf person I get to have some fun with that now and then.

 

[Weshoulddo]

So true! For products the smoke alarms are definitely a challenge unless you go on a specific assistive product website. I feel that smoke alarms in the general public stores should have lights and deeper tones for us deaf folks. I do have a full smoke alarm with strobe lights installed but even that is not perfect the batteries chirps and I cannot hear that at all.

Most of the time, I do pretty well dealing with the public when communicating. However with the pandemic it's a little harder to randomly have a conversation without the ability to freely lipread people's lips due to its hidden behind masks. I'm all "I'm deaf! " and thumbs up and signing thank you!! That's it

I do remember being my own advocate when as a college art student. This teacher was doing an old fashioned slide show and had the curtains drawn and it was so dark that I could not see my interpreter so I had to request for some little light so they corrected it just fine. But yes, it's like "oh, wait a min, this person needs light to see in order to hear what's going on" It's a lot of reminding and speaking up for yourself. If I didn't know ASL I probably would not be as assertive student and would try to blend in and probably not get any information from that day at all.

And getting old videos to be captioned so I could take notes in order to take a test. All those things that are part of being a college students requires a lot of patience, creative thinking and communicating with the teacher and your support team in order to get all the resources that you need so you don't miss out.

Or how the teacher will ask the class to gather around at the table but I get kind of left out so I have to crawl my way in and the interpreter has to stand near the teacher in full view without her hands hurting other students heads! That was a major pet peeve of mind I suppose I needed to tell the teacher not to do that but I am sure they will forget.

That's all I can think of right now.

This is too long, I like how you express your feeling as well, dearheart12. I got your point and yes it's hard to talk to people with a mask.

 

[x1heavy]

I cannot believe it has been a little bit more than a year since I watched unmarked vans fill up with bodies laying in the streets around Wuhan at all hours where they fell down. Once they fell down and quit moving, then the van came for them. No names no record no nothing.

 

[Mart]

I'm HOH with a good aid & have no real problems communicating with people, but I do get pissed off with some people who don't understand aid wearers sometimes treating us like we're dumb, I've been spoken to very slowly the person thinking I'm like dumb, till I tell them, "I'm deaf, not dumb you idiot!".

My favourite being asked why do I wear a hearing aid, so I tell them to keep my ear warm.

 

[x1heavy]

I'm HOH with a good aid & have no real problems communicating with people, but I do get pissed off with some people who don't understand aid wearers sometimes treating us like we're dumb, I've been spoken to very slowly the person thinking I'm like dumb, till I tell them, "I'm deaf, not dumb you idiot!".

My favourite being asked why do I wear a hearing aid, so I tell them to keep my ear warm.

Fortunately for me all those people died off in due time.
Most of my family in particular.

Turn up your hearing aid boy listen to what I am telling you for once.... etc etc etc.
When I quit wearing them all together and they complain... we spent 2000 dollars on those put them on now.

They could have spent 2000 dollars sending me somewhere quiet with a nanny or something. /sarcasm.

I am so looking forward to being 90 and old as moses going after people that tell me to turn up my hearing aids. It will be fun. All those strangers constantly coming into my home to caregive telling me what I can do with my time every minute of such. Get a bath, get shaved, get breakfast, get the tv program in, get your nap in etc etc etc.

But woe onto you if you are caught non compliant with your aids off... he he.

What people don't understand is this. Yes I am deaf. But no I still retain some normal hearing at certain frequencies and power. If not hear better than they can. I once had a trainer who boasted about never having to deal with a deaf driver. Until I told him about that failing frame bolt screeching on the pavement joints while hes busy running his mouth about my deafness.

Once the company found out they started yelling. I told them save it. They are not parents. In that case it would be way better not to have the damn things on at all. I can do without such trouble, noise and drama. =)

Not too long ago I spent 3000 dollars some holy god so much money on a set of whiz bang digitals. Beautiful things. Popped them into the ears.

Two new problems came up with me and my wife after.

"Husband turn up the TV I cannot hear it."

"Wife, stop raiding that glass cookie jar at 2 am, its noisy and wakes me up."

=)

 

[Weshoulddo]

I cannot believe it has been a little bit more than a year since I watched unmarked vans fill up with bodies laying in the streets around Wuhan at all hours where they fell down. Once they fell down and quit moving, then the van came for them. No names no record no nothing.

Sad to hear but that is really what happening right now in Wuhan, China. Let's just hope that the casualties will get lesser and lesser until no death will be recorded.

 

[x1heavy]

Sad to hear but that is really what happening right now in Wuhan, China. Let's just hope that the casualties will get lesser and lesser until no death will be recorded.

I was seeing the vans in nov end to dec of 2019. Eventually anyone posting got disappeared in China. So that got stopped. NASA stepped in showing scans above Wuhan City's 7 Crematoriums creating a specific gas that only comes out from burning bodies generally of people. They were going 24/7 and its possible that they opened additional forest based adhoc pits to burn.

At the end of Gettysburg PA Civil War Battle in the first week of July they used pyres to burn dead horses and livestock as well as dispose of limbs etc. Took 6 months day and night.

I have not visited Wuhan yet this year online however if you were to believe China's Government they are having parties and celebrations over there as a approved narrative. Its quite possible that they all had been exposed and after all the sick died off whats left is immune people. I had spanish flu in 2018 and am immune. I would not want to repeat that because it matches the experiences of my family in the original one 100 years ago. Not all lived.

The bigger story is people refusing vaxes. Generally vaxes are good and has defeated old scourages like polio etc. However this particular round of vaxes are killing people, stroking them out, and destroying their health in increasing numbers. Many almost half are saying nope. No jab. And some have already had covid so they been there done that. No need for jab. The antibodies are there inside them, essentially immune.

Whats left must be attributed to a increasingly strong pressure from Government gone wild on the covid etc. Nations that has not locked down are doing great. The states including ours that did not lock down much or not at all are doing great. Texas has been wide open 6 weeks. Nothing to speak of. And so on.

The toruble is if we ever encounter again a true killer say the black death style or war time chemicals/Bio etc we will not be able to talk about it online. All of that will go away. Just like what China did in 2019-2020.