This was in my local newspaper yesterday morning, about a deaf lady named Joan. 
Enjoy! 
Woman Host Polk County TV Show Despite Deafness
Enjoy! Woman Host Polk County TV Show Despite Deafness
Woman Host Polk County TV Show Despite Deafness
- Thread starter Nancy
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Nancy I copied and pasted the story from the link that you posted.
Woman Hosts Polk County TV Show Despite Deafness
By Rick Rousos
The Ledger
BARTOW
On the surface, there's nothing remarkable about Joan Davies, who hosts "Polk Place," an informative, Polk County government-access television show, chatting smoothly with a variety of guests.
But if you turn your head away from her while talking to her, she can't understand a thing.
Davies is deaf -- and a master lip-reader, who after exhaustive practice has almost completely rid herself of the monotone, high-pitched voice common to deaf people.
On TV, when her concentration is at its peak, you'd never guess she's deaf.
"If you want to do something bad enough, you learn to compensate," said Davies, 42, a program director and producer for Polk Government Television (PGTV). "You find ways to work around things."
Davies was born deaf. She has 10 percent hearing in one ear and 5 percent in the other and wears two hearing aids, which are invisible behind her dark hair.
"She can't be hearing much at all," said Melissa Riess, an audiologist at the University of Central Florida Communicative Disorders Clinic in Orlando.
"What she's doing is phenomenal," Riess said. "If you're able to hear until age 3 or 4, you've learned some speech and language skills. But to have never had that opportunity, what she's doing is an even greater feat."
Davies' father was deaf and reclusive. She said her father "hardly said a word to the neighbors" in Niceville, in the Florida Panhandle, where she grew up.
"I didn't want to be like my father," Davies said. "My biggest fear has always been not being able to communicate." She said the predictable teasing she got from other kids strengthened her resolve.
As she grew up, Davies learned to lip-read on her own. She got involved in speech and drama classes in middle school, which boosted her confidence.
Davies was born with severe inner-ear nerve problems and likens her hearing loss to "a piano missing most of the keys." She can hear some voices a little and some not at all, depending on the frequency, or pitch, of the voice.
While Davies may hear a little with her hearing aids, what she hears is likely little more than noise that helps her lip-reading, Riess said.
Riess said said lip-reading requires "constant concentration without relaxation."
"If I don't concentrate," Davies said, " `What do you think of that?' can become `How's your cat?' "
Davies might benefit from one or two cochlear implants, which are different from hearing aids. Hearing aids amplify sounds, while cochlear implants, which are surgically embedded behind the ear, compensate the for the damaged or nonworking parts of the inner ear.
Davies said she's "kind of afraid" to get a cochlear implant.
Riess said Davies isn't alone in her fear. She said many deaf people, particularly those who have learned to function well with their deafness, feel the same way.
While the implants usually produce good results, there's always the small chance that someone with even a little hearing will regress with the implants, Riess said. She said people who get the implants have to learn to process new and unfamiliar sounds.
Most people who meet Davies have no clue she's deaf. She chose not to learn to sign because "I thought it would box me in and label me."
Davies said she has trouble understanding people at long-table county meetings, "but I'm pretty good at faking it."
County Commissioner Sam Johnson, who is in some of the meetings with Davies, said she is too modest.
"If she's faking it, she's doing a great job of it," Johnson said.
"Joan Davies is one of the hardest-working people I know," Johnson said. "She's upbeat, she's positive and she's excited about her job and her future with PGTV. And I've never heard her one time say she has a disability. I'm truly proud to have her as a county employee."
Davies lives in Davenport with her husband, Mike, who is in charge of video imaging for Orange County Corrections. The couple are expecting their first child by the end of April.
Davies has a Master of Arts in communication from the University of Colorado-Denver. Among a variety of jobs, she served as operations manager for Orange TV in Orange County from 19932004. She is paid $60,694 per year by PGTV.
She said she's happy working for PGTV. "I wanted to be the next Katie Couric," Davies said. "But I'm happy to be right where I am."
The difference between Orange and Polk, Davies said, is that Polk County residents have a bit more pride in their roots.
Davies said she gets a lot of credit that belongs to the team of people she works with, who are all glad to help her with any obstacles, including acting as interpreters during Davies' phone conversations. One nice touch: When Davies can't understand a what a camera operator across the room is saying, the worker turns the camera onto himself or herself, so Davies can read lips.
"We all love Joan," said Darby Critendon, a PGTV worker. "We'd do anything for her."
Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7516
Woman Hosts Polk County TV Show Despite Deafness
By Rick Rousos
The Ledger
BARTOW
On the surface, there's nothing remarkable about Joan Davies, who hosts "Polk Place," an informative, Polk County government-access television show, chatting smoothly with a variety of guests.
But if you turn your head away from her while talking to her, she can't understand a thing.
Davies is deaf -- and a master lip-reader, who after exhaustive practice has almost completely rid herself of the monotone, high-pitched voice common to deaf people.
On TV, when her concentration is at its peak, you'd never guess she's deaf.
"If you want to do something bad enough, you learn to compensate," said Davies, 42, a program director and producer for Polk Government Television (PGTV). "You find ways to work around things."
Davies was born deaf. She has 10 percent hearing in one ear and 5 percent in the other and wears two hearing aids, which are invisible behind her dark hair.
"She can't be hearing much at all," said Melissa Riess, an audiologist at the University of Central Florida Communicative Disorders Clinic in Orlando.
"What she's doing is phenomenal," Riess said. "If you're able to hear until age 3 or 4, you've learned some speech and language skills. But to have never had that opportunity, what she's doing is an even greater feat."
Davies' father was deaf and reclusive. She said her father "hardly said a word to the neighbors" in Niceville, in the Florida Panhandle, where she grew up.
"I didn't want to be like my father," Davies said. "My biggest fear has always been not being able to communicate." She said the predictable teasing she got from other kids strengthened her resolve.
As she grew up, Davies learned to lip-read on her own. She got involved in speech and drama classes in middle school, which boosted her confidence.
Davies was born with severe inner-ear nerve problems and likens her hearing loss to "a piano missing most of the keys." She can hear some voices a little and some not at all, depending on the frequency, or pitch, of the voice.
While Davies may hear a little with her hearing aids, what she hears is likely little more than noise that helps her lip-reading, Riess said.
Riess said said lip-reading requires "constant concentration without relaxation."
"If I don't concentrate," Davies said, " `What do you think of that?' can become `How's your cat?' "
Davies might benefit from one or two cochlear implants, which are different from hearing aids. Hearing aids amplify sounds, while cochlear implants, which are surgically embedded behind the ear, compensate the for the damaged or nonworking parts of the inner ear.
Davies said she's "kind of afraid" to get a cochlear implant.
Riess said Davies isn't alone in her fear. She said many deaf people, particularly those who have learned to function well with their deafness, feel the same way.
While the implants usually produce good results, there's always the small chance that someone with even a little hearing will regress with the implants, Riess said. She said people who get the implants have to learn to process new and unfamiliar sounds.
Most people who meet Davies have no clue she's deaf. She chose not to learn to sign because "I thought it would box me in and label me."
Davies said she has trouble understanding people at long-table county meetings, "but I'm pretty good at faking it."
County Commissioner Sam Johnson, who is in some of the meetings with Davies, said she is too modest.
"If she's faking it, she's doing a great job of it," Johnson said.
"Joan Davies is one of the hardest-working people I know," Johnson said. "She's upbeat, she's positive and she's excited about her job and her future with PGTV. And I've never heard her one time say she has a disability. I'm truly proud to have her as a county employee."
Davies lives in Davenport with her husband, Mike, who is in charge of video imaging for Orange County Corrections. The couple are expecting their first child by the end of April.
Davies has a Master of Arts in communication from the University of Colorado-Denver. Among a variety of jobs, she served as operations manager for Orange TV in Orange County from 19932004. She is paid $60,694 per year by PGTV.
She said she's happy working for PGTV. "I wanted to be the next Katie Couric," Davies said. "But I'm happy to be right where I am."
The difference between Orange and Polk, Davies said, is that Polk County residents have a bit more pride in their roots.
Davies said she gets a lot of credit that belongs to the team of people she works with, who are all glad to help her with any obstacles, including acting as interpreters during Davies' phone conversations. One nice touch: When Davies can't understand a what a camera operator across the room is saying, the worker turns the camera onto himself or herself, so Davies can read lips.
"We all love Joan," said Darby Critendon, a PGTV worker. "We'd do anything for her."
Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7516
Yeah, but Butterfly Girl, you have to remember that until recently even dhh kids were taught to look down on ASL as something "speshal needs" This person is OLDER.....and thank god mentalities like that are slowly but surely changing!
Cousin Vinny
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Thanks for the link. Kudos on her being successful the way she is now. However, I wish she would expand her horizons as far as ASL is concerned.