What does deaf mean to you

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GreySaturn

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I want to see all different deaf's opinionation in their point of view :)
 
Being deaf is a huge part of who I am. It is my identity. I use American Sign Language 100% of time. I don't wear hearing aids. I am completely deaf. It doesn't really bother me that I do not have ability to speak with hearing people. I'm doing alright.
 
Deaf..i wouldnt have it any other way...im Deaf. Its a gift, sign will set you free!
 
Being Deaf means I communicate using my eyes and be involved with a wonderful community that communicates in ASL.
 
Deaf has its own subculture, histories, Deaf tales, and etc.

Hence "Deaf Gain" rather than "Hearing Loss".
 
A "variance" to some of the reactions/comments above on being DEAF- when my cochlear implant is disconnected- real quiet-silence!
 
It means a million lazy students wanting us to do their homework/reports/surveys or some other assignment cause they don't want to get off their lazy arse and do it themselves.
 
Or being an exciting exotic freak show to young hearing girls who fell in love with Switched At Birth.
 
Being Deaf is a gift, like somebody said above. My little sister is also, and I would not have it different. I know she doesn't feel alone, and I don't feel alone. I love making friends wherever I am. Deaf is all I know.
 
Being Deaf is who you are, God doesn't makes mistakes and I believe we are made in His image. I also believe people who think they need to "fix" deafness are wrong, my personal opinion. I am hard of hearing, I use this term because I grew up in a hearing school and was not in the Deaf Community. I am also not fluent in ASL, almost but not quite, and I am able to use the phone most of the time with hearing aids, otherwise P3. In the Deaf Community I'm known as HOH but I don't believe labels are what matter. You are who you are, why all the labels. I'm an adult student returning to college and we are learning about early intervention and a lot of my classmates are interested in that. I tell them if I was hearing I would absolutely not implant my child as an infant, or at all. If they chose that for themselves at a later time that would be their personal choice but if they were born into the Deaf world then that's how God intended them to live. Perfect in His eyes and not "damaged". I'd make sure they were fully immersed into their culture and I'd learn as much about it as I could, learn sign language, etc..... People disagree with me but it's my personal view that will not change. If I lost the rest of my hearing today I'd not resort to a CI but I am not saying those who chose that route are wrong in doing so as I don't know them personally. Cherish the person God made you to be, you are wonderfully made in His eyes! God Bless!
 
I'm HoH and wear hearing aids. I started gradually losing my hearing in 3rd grade but had no clue until after undergrad. I personally do not think of my HoH as a part of my identity (i guess since i spent the first 25 years of my life developing it without me knowing of my hearing loss). I have poor eyesight, too and wear glasses (or contacts) but when I think about who i am as a person and my identity and self-awareness, I don't think about my vision or hearing problem, it's just how my body works, not how my mind thinks or how my personality is perceived by others and myself.

Perhaps had I been born Deaf or HoH and knew my entire life, I may have a different view.
 
Although, I was born severely-deaf, I was raised oral as 'hearing' in a hearing family. I have always been 'culturally' deaf even though I had no exposure to sign language until my later years. How? My perspectve of world around me. I knew I was different - my actons, reactions, responses,, thought patterns etc; all centred around my need to have everything visual. I didn't fully understand why though until I started interacting with other Deafies, whom I found were the same as me in so many ways. I finally found my identity as a person. Not as someone who just survived from day to day in the big ocean of the world, but the real me inside. The one God created me as. I have always led a happy and purposeful life with my family and friends, and still am, but there was always something amiss. Also, finding out there was a language that fitted me like a glove (sign language) gave me such a sense of relief that I could finally communicate without being exhausted all the time. Modern technology has also become a very favourable option as well. I am still working on my fluency in Auslan, even though there have been some setbacks with my chronic illness, I have not given up the passion or fight to have access to what I have always needed and wanted - sign language, but had been ignorantly denied me in my younger years. Now a proud Deafie and fast becoming a strong advocate against Audism.
 
Besides the drawbacks previously mentioned, it also means a place to be where everyone instantly understands me.
 
I could have written almost exactly the same as BecLak and Botts in the last few hours in writing up something. I probably did :)

But my experience is very very similar to BecLack. Though I had the additional issue of low vision (and fat coke bottom glasses for years) I still learned better visually and felt right at home (after an initial "culture shock") when I went to Gallaudet. I actually wanted to go to MSSD the minute I saw the brochure and info my aunt had brought back to PA and given to my parents. Sadly they said "NO"... hmph... sucked.

Being deafblind (or low vision...) is a part of my identity. It's all I know. While growing up could have been better it wasn't a complete nightmare- maybe 75% nightmare :) but the nightmare lessened considerably once I discovered the deaf world and ASL. I have got to get out more to deaf events but it's a luxury I can't afford right now money wise...:(.
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It means a million lazy students wanting us to do their homework/reports/surveys or some other assignment cause they don't want to get off their lazy arse and do it themselves.
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A relative of mine (a close one) is doing an assignment to write about someone they know who has hearing loss (or other speech language disorders)- at least she won't go online and ask on forums. So you bet yer ass I'm going to help her- she had questions ready- I know damn well she will do the work herself in writing her assignment with the info she gets and is not a lazy arse. She also wanted to better understand who I am as a deaf person and my own experiences as a deaf person. She's a bright young lady- on the Dean's and President's List a number of times at her university.

TO be fair, in general I don't bother with 99.999999% of what I see on this forum and elsewhere for requests of any kind (deafness, coding/programming come to mind) anyway, many don't make a whole lot of sense.

Fire away. I'm sure someone will think I am being a dumbass (not the first time ;) ).
 
shel90 said:
Being Deaf means I communicate using my eyes and be involved with a wonderful community that communicates in ASL.
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I was born deaf with severe/profound hearing loss. Growing up I had difficult time with communication which I tried the best to understand what the hearing society and mainstream schools were trying to say. I was always frustrated trying to make head and tail as the hearing people expect us to understand them by lipreading and thought that hearing aids can make us pick up sounds which is not true at all.

So when I graduated from mainstream high school, I went straight to the Deaf church where the Deaf pastor taught me to sign Ameslan (similar to ASL). I was so happy to sign with the Deaf community and also going to Seattle Central Community College in Seattle, Washington. I had always been involved with the Deaf communities in different states for many years and I love them.

So for late deafened or hearing people who find themselves lose their hearing, there is nothing they could do to get their hearing back. They just need to accept their hearing loss and live with it. The late deafened will have to go on a long journey into their deafness and learned how to get some devices for the deaf whether they are in the house and/or for the hearing aids/CI. For the CI, it is not always for everybody and I don't want CI for early childhood like babies. They should wait until they understand what CI is all about and whether they can afford to buy batteries and devices like mold. CI is very expensive. If you are rich, fine. If you are poor, then that is impossible.
 
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