Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
I’ve read a few tweets a while back where there is a common trend where the hearing person in question either walks away because they can’t be bothered, are scared or they stands still and ignores the d/Deaf individual.
You’d think that it can’t get worse or more ridiculous than that, but it can. If only they learnt some simple tips on how to get over that.
It seems that many people are confused on what deaf can do and can’t do. A simple Google search starting with “can deaf people…” will bring up a list of search suggestions that seems very…interesting (which you can see in the shownote).
So I thought this would be a good time to talk about what d/Deaf people can do and dispel any myths that anyone may have about us.
There are so many idioms like “fit as a fiddle”, “strong as an ox”, “cute as a button” and “cool as a cucumber”.
The same applies to anything that starts with “deaf as…” and I’ve encountered quite a few of the the common phrases below and their origins too.
I wanted to voice (or rant) the stories about how Deaf people, who are about to undergo surgery to have a cochlear implant, are apprehensive and nervous for 2 reasons.
The first is because it involves a surgery, which is a valid reason. The second is because of a potential backlash from the Deaf community, which is something that I struggle with.
In episode #17 of the Hear Me Out! [CC] Podcast, I wanted to answer the question that (mostly) hearing people have asked me before; is it rude to call someone d/Deaf?
Maybe it’s because of political correctness or perhaps they just want to learn. Either way, I thought of answering that question in this episode so that nobody can make their own assumptions, which is probably the worst thing to do regardless of the scenario.
In the UK, one week it was Deaf Awareness Week. The next, it was Mental Health Awareness Week (which was when this podcast was recorded).
Yet, not many people realise that deaf and mental health they are very closely linked together.
So in today’s podcast (with transcript included), I share my own thoughts about this link, the struggles that d/Deaf people, my own personal experience with mental health and raise awareness of both topics.
In episode 13, amidst the hype around the Avengers: Endgame movie, I open up with personal story about how The Avengers has played a part in triggering my emotions and unleashed my deaf advocacy.
Even though everyone is able to enjoy “the best movie ever”, I cannot experience the same joy, which was difficult to accept. But it did not mean that I just wanted to sit around and accept it.
In episode 11, I share my own experience when I’m going to the airport and fly out to a particular destination, whether it’s for business or pleasure.
And I go through the whole experience, from the moment I arrived and check-in, to going to the security, to communicating with the air steward/stewardess, to picking up my suitcase at the arrival destination.
Read or listen to my experience at the airport and airplane here
In episode 10, my own experience of visiting the dentist; from the process of arranging an appointment all the way to leaving the dentist after my check-up, I go through all the challenges that come along the way.
