Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
Check out the posts below where you can listen or read the transcripts of The Hear Me Out! [CC] Podcast.
Virtual events like group meetings, webinars and online conferences have been around for a long time. But now that they are becoming even more popular (thanks to the pandemic), it made me realise how frustrating it is that they are not deaf accessible.
If you are an event organiser or you know someone who is one, and you’ve been thinking or running online events, you might not be aware how you are excluding attendees who are deaf from taking part but would like to take part.
What if individuals and society looks at the concept of being deaf as a positive thing? What if it can actually be a valuable contribution to the world? In essence, this is what ‘Deaf Gain’ is all about.
The common perception of being deaf and the topic of deafness overall is that it is seen as something negative, something lacking, something void.
But by reframing that into ‘Deaf Gain’, it is possible for everyone to look at it in a more positive light, and it’s something the Deaf community proudly talks about…that being deaf is actually positive.
Since most of our communication is estimated to be non-verbal communication (body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.).
As someone who is deaf, I also depend on those clues and use it as part of the jigsaw when trying to understand what that person is saying.
But anyone can benefit from learning and being aware of the non-verbal communications that exist as it will make you a better overall communicator when you are conversing with anyone, not just those who are deaf.
I’ve been having such a hard time on working out the definition of “deaf” because of its complexity and the number of sub-categories or labels it has under it.
One of the biggest reason for my confusion is because of how it can (and has) caused rifts, segregation and even abuse within the communities, which is not something that I would ever encourage. So I wanted to share my personal thoughts on the definition of “deaf”.
What is hearing privilege, why it’s important for all hearing people to be aware of it and what are some of the examples that exists today?
The word ‘privilege’ has become somewhat of an uncomfortable word lately. It seems to have a stigma that you have an easy life if you have privileges or it’s fiercely denied that it gives you an advantage over others.
But parts of having privileges is about having a head start in your life (be it personal, career, business, etc.) over others who are in marginalised groups. There’s no shame in that, but it’s important to acknowledge that, appreciate what you have, be grateful for it and then understand how you can help others.
I have just finished watching an episode Casualty, a popular hospital soap drama based in the UK, where it is entirely focused on a deaf character. It also has a deep deaf representation behind-the-scenes to ensure accuracy to portrayed.
The character this episode is based is a deaf nurse called Jade, who is keen to confront her past by meeting her mother for first time.
I’ve talked about concentration fatigue and ‘Zoom fatigue’ in the past. But the topic of ‘listening fatigue’ is somewhat similar to it. If you are not familiar with it, at the time of recording, I have been going through a form of listening fatigue where I’m tired of listening.
Just to clarify, I don’t mean I am tired of listening to people talking to me because of what they are saying. It’s more a long the line of I’m tired of the physical action of listening.
Hence why ‘listening fatigue’ (aka ‘hearing fatigue’) is a term that is often used by some d/Deaf and hard of hearing people.
Why would a deaf person not wear hearing aids if the options are there for them and the technology are available to help them?
It’s easy assume that deaf and hard of hearing people should wear hearing aids (perhaps to help hearing people?).
But there are many things that you should consider, as I explain in this post.
Why would a deaf person wear hearing aids (or perhaps cochlear implants)? Surely if we can’t hear, then hearing aids are pointless, right?
Not so much.
This is amongst one of the most popular question I see online, and even though the question may seem obvious to some people, it’s unfair to assume that everyone will and should know the answer.
