For Hearing People Only

While investigating this topic I will be trying to ask at least 30-50 people; Deaf and hearing, about what they think Deaf culture is. I am very curious as to how many understand Deaf culture and how many Deaf people actually know what Deaf culture is. Deaf culture has been suppressed for many years that even the Deaf people might not know what really makes up Deaf culture. I also what to get the Deaf people’s take on what they think are the major issues that are being dealt with today and also how they think ASL has impacted their communities (History). I know that everyone will have a different take on these two questions and it is always interesting to see the different answers. I

Throughout the article, "Seeing at the Speed of the Sound" the author Rachel Kolb takes the reader on a voyage to better understanding the struggles, the trials, and tribulations of a lipreader as well as the feeling of accomplishment that can be gained from successful lipreading. Rachel Kolb achieves this effect by using a variety of anecdotes mixed with facts about individuals who rely on lipreading. The author uses her personal experiences to help both inspire those with difficulty hearing as well as those who are not part of the deaf community and do not understand the day to day labors and triumphs.

To implant or not implant? Many parents’ who are hearing that have deaf children contemplate this question. Because they want to fix the “problem” of deafness. For they want the best for their son or daughters and the “best” is to hear. For those of the deaf culture, they believe a parent who implants their child is abusing the child. Deafness is not a “problem”, but a way of life. Who is right? Unfortunately, there is no right or wrong answer, there is no manual, or signs that say “this way will lead to a better future”; it’s a personal judgement call.

Cochlear Implants are an object that is very controversial in the deaf community. “A Cochlear Implants is a device that provdes direct electrical stimulation to the auditory (hearing) nerve in the inner ear.” (“Cochlear Implants”) Cochlear Implants bypass the damaged hair cells, and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Depending on when the Cochlear Implant is implanted it allows people to hear sounds, and sometimes even their own voice. While it does not cure hearing loss or deafness, it does allow people to hear. On more technical terms a Cochlear Implant includes parts like a microphone, speech processor, and a transmitter which each play a different part in the Cochlear Implant. The microphone picks up sounds, sends them to the speech processer, and then the speech processor analyzes and digitized the sound signal, thus sending them to a transmitter worn on the head. The debate of whether or not Cochlear Implants are right in the deaf community is one that has been going on for years. People believe having Cochlear Implants are a good thing, because they allow deaf people to communicate with hearing people, it allows people who are not helped by conventional hearing aids to be helped, and it creates new possibilities for deaf people. However there are also people that argue that having a Cochlear Implant is a bad thing, because it proposes the idea that deaf people need to be fixed, it can give deaf people false hope, and it proposes the idea that deaf people have a

All of these “issues” go back to the argument that people grow tired of a lack of representation. Logically, one would assume that a university for the deaf would mainly consist of either deaf or highly qualified hearing instructors. The Washington Post article also opened my eyes to how helpless deaf people felt during that time. The paternalistic viewpoint is so engrained into life that some deaf people complied with the view that because someone is hearing, they are better adapted to care for those who are hard of hearing. These ideals/views are horrible because they make people feel inferior for things that are often out of control. In my opinion, a hearing person that makes that argument for why hearing people need to “govern” the deaf are less than smart because even though the deaf cannot hear, they have other senses, like vison that are much stronger than ours as hearing individuals. Ultimately, I do not think it changed my perspective on deaf people, simply because I believe that you should respect people regardless of their differences. I can say that I relate to it in the way of

The advent of new technologies such as the cochlear implant will not ultimately eradicate Deaf culture. The Deaf community is too close-knit to become torn apart. Not everyone has access to these new technologies because they are not eligible for them or the price is not right for their low budgets. Similarly, not everyone will be successful with the cochlear implant and most will return to Deaf culture for the rest of their lives. However, for those who are successful, they can still be a part of Deaf culture if they are bilingual and have adequate access to the Deaf community and its members. Knowledge is power and ASL education is spreading throughout high schools and universities all over the United States. These are several factors that

Article one Deaf Culture Tip Sheet written by Professor Linda Siple (2003) provides a detailed description on the Deaf culture and highlights some suggestions for effectively communicating with people who are deaf. The author first explains the different terminology within the Deaf culture that are used to label

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHOH) are understudied population and disproportionately impacted by cardiovascular diseases (CVD) due communication barriers (Mckee, Mckee, Winters, Sutter, & Pearson, 2014; McKee & Paasche-Orlow, 2012; Strong & Prinz, 1997). In considering the link between communication barriers and CVD attribute to insufficient English proficiency, inability to comprehend physicians’ spoken and written instructions, and inability to access community-based health outreach education programs in which all these surface factors increases the chance of DHOH developing CVD (McKee et al., 2011; Margellos-Anast, Estarziau, & Kaufman, 2006). The barriers that restrict access to health information suggest that

Famous poet and activist Bryant H. McGill, once wrote, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” In a rather perverse case of irony, there is no culture that this speaks to more than the deaf community. The unsettling reality of oppression is that if you are not exposed or affected by it, you are not aware of its existence. This is the category that I have found myself a part of while learning ASL and by extension about the deaf community. In learning about the diverse and multi-sided culture that is the deaf community I can say with certainty that the prejudice they experience is not only horrifying but also unfounded.

A cochlear implant is an implanted medical device for the deaf or hard of hearing that do not benefit from the traditional hearing aid. It is composed of an internal device that is implanted in the recipient’s head and an external device that is the sound processor. The sound processor collects sound and then transmits it to the implanted device, which then sends it directly to the brain to be interpreted as language. During the time that I was choosing a hearing solution for my daughter I experienced a lot of negative opinions from the deaf culture (community of deaf people who share sign language among other things). They seem to be against parents choosing to have their small children implanted. The deaf culture presumes

Those that oppose cochlear implants argue mostly from a minority standpoint. The deaf community feels that as the minority, the hearing majority is threatening their way of life. “The deaf community is a culture. They’re much like the culture of the Hispanic community, for example, where parents who are Hispanics, or shall we say deaf, would naturally want to retain their family ties by their common language, their primary language, which is

These issues can affect the Deaf community on global economic level because there is no end to deafness. This creates low self-esteem, isolation and social

questions 10-16 cover cochlear implants. This topic will be explored in depth in a future lesson.

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group,

As a closing thought, please keep in mind the respect for “difference” that we all MUST have in this country. Deaf or hearing-impaired individuals are not necessarily “disabled”, but rather “different”. Although this difference may seem extremely complicated to the hearing world, it is one that is often embraced in the deaf world. Let us respect all people and their right to knowledge! Hopefully,