Hear Me Out! [CC]

Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds

The Hear Me Out! [CC] Blog

Check out the blog posts and read various stories about the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing worlds, as well as some personal stories from Ahmed.

‘My BSL Journey’: Episode #1 – #10

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Even though I have been learning BSL (British Sign Language) for a few months now, I was thinking about ways to make myself accountable.

It’s so easy to trail off your latest interests, passions and hobbies after the initial excitements. It’s no surprise that many people give up their New Year resolutions in February every single year.

Thankfully for me, I have continued to keep learning BSL but in order to keep myself accountable and also document my progress, I have decided to start ‘My BSL Journey’, which will document my journey as I learn British Sign Language.

Watch ‘My BSL Journey’ videos here

‘The Silent Child’ Review – A moving & sweet story with a strong message

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One thing for sure about The Silent Child; it managed to deliver a strong message at the end of the short 20-minute clip, right before the credits, with several different sobering facts.

The whole essence of the film is to highlight the importance of sign language to allow d/Deaf children to have the same experience and opportunities in life that other children would also have.

Not only managed to do that well in just 20 minutes, but they also bagged themselves an Oscar for it too

Read the review of ‘The Silent Child’ here

What’s the difference between Deaf with capital ‘D’ & deaf with small ‘d’?

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If you have noticed from my writing, whether it’s here on this website or on social media, you may have noticed that I write “d/Deaf” in that format…and no, it’s not a typo.

  • deaf ❌
  • Deaf ❌
  • d/Deaf ✅

This allows me to incorporate both the small ‘d’ and capital ‘D’ at the same when talking about this particular topic. This is not necessarily for convenience but mainly for identity and inclusion purposes.

But what is the difference between deaf and Deaf?

What’s the Difference Between Deaf with Capital ‘D’ & deaf with Small ‘d’?

Open Captions vs Closed Captions: What’s the difference between these captions options?

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There is a very good chance that you’ve seen it on many differences places.

Online videos, films, TV programmes, video games…captions are gradually becoming a norm and many of us are expecting to have the option to check whether it’s available and to switch it on (whether it’s available or not is another debate).

But one thing that many of us have noticed is that there are 2 types of captions: open and closed captions.

However, it’s not very clear on what are the differences between the two and when to use them respectively.

What’s the Difference Between Open and Closed Captions?

What I can & can’t hear?

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If you are a hearing person, there is a chance that your hearing is different from another.

But for anyone who is d/Deaf or hard of hearing, it’s even more different as different people have their own level of capabilities of what they can and can’t.

In my own personal situation, it’s a bit complex as, even though I can hear many things, there are certain things and scenarios where I would struggle.

Learn more about what I can and can’t hear

Top 15 benefits of subtitles/captions & transcriptions (they’re not just for deaf people, y’know?)

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When watching any video-based content, I tend to automatically switch on subtitles/captions (if available) and make use of any transcription if listening to a podcast or watching a video online.

It’s just an easy way for me to consume the content with ease and enjoy the experience better.

But I have realised it’s not just d/Deaf people, as there are many benefits of subtitles that everyone can take advantage of.

Find out what are the benefits of subtitles/captions and transcriptions

Why I don’t like wearing hearing aids?

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There’s no doubt that hearing aids can be very useful and have come a long way since the days of wearing those which are, not only big, but also lacking quality.

But despite the advancement in design and technology, I can’t help but still have my moments of doubts when wearing them. So in this post, I have explained I don’t really like wearing hearing aids.

Learn more about why I don’t like wearing hearing aids here

What can hearing aids do & can’t do?

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For those who are not familiar with hearing aids, you may have your own assumptions on what you think it can and can’t do. However, you will be surprised about some of the myths out there but people assume, like it’s a “cure” (spoiler alert: it’s not).

So in this post, you will learn about what hearing aids can and can’t do so that you are aware of what to expect when meeting anyone who is wearing one or two.

Learn more about what can hearing aids do and can’t do