Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
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
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.
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
Did you know that tiredness and fatigue is a common issue for deaf people, regardless of how mild or serious their hearing loss is?
The issue surrounding concentration fatigue is not something that is immediately obvious to anyone and it’s certainly not a topic that you’d normally associate with deaf people.
Yet, it’s a very common situation and most people don’t know it.
Due to how I was brought up and the fact that my hearing loss is not as severe as others, I haven’t surrounded myself with those who are going through the same thing.
And as for being part of the Deaf community, well I’m working on it.
Because of that, it means that most of the people I interact with are of perfect or near-perfect hearing.
So I have put together a view on 16 things I would like my hearing friends to know.
