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Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds

lifestyle

My (deaf) perspectives on face masks & how you can help to reduce barriers

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Since face masks is currently part of the everyday norm and it’s common to see it in our daily routines now, this has raised the issue of how it can make it difficult for deaf people to lip read and to communicate.

Even there are so many different types of face masks out there, I have yet to see those wearing the see-through clear face masks where you can see the other person’s lips. This makes it easier to lip read, see their emotions and facial expressions, and generally make it easier to communicate.

And this applies, not just to deaf people, but to everyone too.

Learn about the issues with face masks for deaf people here

My personal viewpoint on the definition of deaf*

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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”.

Learn about my definition of “deaf” here

Hearing privilege: What is it and why it’s important to acknowledge them?

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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.

Learn more about hearing privilege here

What are my deaf privileges?

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Is there such a thing as a ‘deaf privilege’?

The word ‘privilege’ has some kind of stigma attaches to it. But it doesn’t and should’t have to be.

But even for someone like me, I would say that I have “deaf privilege”; where even though I am deaf/hard of hearing, I still have some privileges linked to it so that I can acknowledge what I have, appreciate what I have and be aware of what I have, despite my deafness.

Learn about my deaf privileges here

How come I can & can’t speak clearly as a deaf person?

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I still get surprised on how I get asked both of these questions that are related to each other but completely contrasting at the same time by different people.

Most people assume that deaf people can’t speak (yes we can). If we do, we “speak well for a deaf person (yeah, don’t say that) or you don’t speak very well (yeah, don’t say that either).

So I share my own experiences of how come for one group of people, I do speak clearly, and for others, I don’t speak clearly.

Find out why I can/can’t speak clearly here

Deaf awareness is a bigger challenge during a global pandemic

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It’s hard enough to make the world around us more deaf aware during a normal day-to-day life. It’s a bigger challenge when it’s during a global pandemic.

Even though there have been calls for interpreters and captions when important information are shared, it seems that these are somewhat neglected when attempting to relay the message to as many people as possible.

Only, for those who are d/Deaf, they are ignored.

Learn how the global pandemic is affecting d/Deaf people

How to video call a deaf person?

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We are living in a time where more and more people are making video calls. But how do you video call someone who is deaf/hard of hearing? Is that even possible? There are so many tools and platforms out there you can use for video calls. But for all their fancy gadgets and quirky features, […]

‘Why I started #WhereIsTheInterpreter’ – an interview with Lynn-Stewart Taylor

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In an interview with Deaf consultant and BSL user Lynn-Stewart Taylor, I had the opportunity to talk to her about the campaign #WhereIsTheInterpreter and why she felt the need to start it.

I’ve talked about it in the previous episode but I felt it was important to learn straight from the source on why this is necessary and to understand better about the benefits of this campaign BSL users.

Learn more about why Lynn started #WhereIsTheInterpreter here