Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
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.
During my day job, I help to grow small business’ WordPress website and I talk about that on my other website.
But like many people, I have had my fair share of barriers when it comes to accessibility. I wanted to share a story about my recent one.
Read more about how I felt shot down because of my accessibility needs
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.
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’?
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Academy Award-winning Deaf actress, Marlee Matlin first book ‘Deaf Child Crossing’, is the first of the trilogy in the series and where she made her debut as a writer.
Even though it’s not a book that will standout from the crowd, there are a number of things that you can learn from it, whether you are hearing or d/Deaf, whether you are a child or an adult.
When going to the cinema (which is a huge challenge for any d/Deaf person), there is always a moment of trying to adjust and understand what the characters on-screen are saying.
But it’s a completely different situation when it comes to comic book characters.
And that was I lesson I learnt the hard way, as I realised that it’s very difficult what the comic-book characters are saying…especially those which are wearing masks.
Learn why listening to comic book characters is difficult here
