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diverse identities exist within the hearing loss community

One of the really troublesome issues facing hard of hearing, late deafened, and oral deaf persons is establishing their identity. Persons with hearing loss often feel that they are no aren't really connected to either the hearing world or the deaf world. Their isolation from the hearing world is generally due to their hearing loss, and their isolation from the deaf world is generally due to not being part of the Deaf Culture and it's heavy reliance on sign language.

The Awakening OHL Community - a real-time study of the efforts of members of the oral hearing loss (OHL) community to acquire services and support appropriate to their needs. 

Coping with hearing loss is a lot more than just getting hearing aids.

In 2006 the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees selected Jane Fernandes to be the next president of Gallaudet. This action sparked an outburst at the university. Here's some coverage of that event and its aftermath.

Baby Boomers! They've impacted every aspect of American life for the last fifty years. And now they're taking on hearing loss!

Who's Who provides a set of admittedly imperfect definitions of the groups of persons with hearing loss.

Examples provides current and historical real world examples of identity confusion.

October 2000 - You've probably seen the terms "disability", "handicap", and "impairment" used in almost interchangeable ways. In fact, they really have rather specific meanings. Here's an article I wrote and some interesting reader responses.

January 2002 - Just who comprises the hearing loss community? Here's an article with some of the demographics related to hearing loss.

May 2005 - At the 2005 Western Symposium on Deafness (WSD) Dr. John Schroedel and Dr. Douglas Watson of the University of Arkansas presented an excellent workshop entitled "Patterns in the Employment and Vocational Rehabilitation of Hard of Hearing Persons".

May 2005 - Another interesting WSD workshop by Drs. Schroedel and Watson examined hard of hearing college students.

December 2005 - Ever wonder what it might be like to be a wait person with hearing loss? Here's Erin Geld's compelling story about her experiences.

January 2006 - MarkeTrak VII Survey - The definitive survey of people with hearing loss

January 2006 - Connie Briscoe's Hearing Loss Story

February 2006 - Deaf Geoff

April 2006 - For the first time in history (as far as we know) a deaf student is elected president of a university student body comprised primarily of hearing folks!

May 2006 - Can You Repeat the Question?

June 2006 - Bach, falling upon deaf ears

June 2006 - Cochlear implants changing park district's 'camp sign'

June 2006 - Non-Hispanic blacks have best hearing in US, new study shows

July 2006 - Why People Delay Dealing with Hearing Loss

July 2006 - Have you ever wondered what life is like for kids raised by parents with hearing loss?  Here with one parent's reflections on the topic is Denise Portis.

August 2006 - Treat hearing loss like any other aging problem

August 2006 - Here are some interesting quotes about hearing loss from famous Americans.

August 2006 - Scots Reluctant to Wear Hearing Aids

September 2006 - Have you used some of these negative hearing loss coping strategies?

October 2006 - Here's our report on Dr. Sanjay Gulati's Keynote Speech entitled "Re-inventing Deafness" at ALDAcon 2006.

 

October 2006 - To Which World Do You Belong?

 

October 2006 - From ALDAcon 2006 - Dr. Lucy Miller's Poignant Story - Where Do I Fit In?

 

October 2006 - ALDAcon 2006 Presentation - Coaching and Late Onset Hearing Loss - A Partnership that Works

 

December 2006 - Maryland School for the Deaf Considers Accepting Hearing Students

 

December 2006 - The Night Before HOH Christmas - an adaptation of the traditional poem.

 

January 2007 - Pros and Cons of Sign Language

 

January 2007 - Deafness and the Riddle of Identity

 

January 2007 - Deaf children without barriers

 

February 2007 - Documentary chronicles 200 years of deaf life in America

 

February 2007 - Plans for SD deaf town scrapped

 

February 2007 - People Who "Get It"

 

March 2007 - Silence in a Hearing World

 

April 2007 - I Can Hear You Now

 

May 2007 - New Findings Uncover Disparity in Attitudes About Hearing Loss

 

May 2007 - Deaf pianist imagines sound

 

May 2007 - Hearing Loss Negatively Affects Relationships

 

June 2007 - Playing in a Festival Orchestra

 

September 2007 - Guitar Hero: Suddenly, he couldn't hear the music for the noise

 

October 2007 - Hearing-impaired comedian encourages communication

 

October 2007 - Here's Denise Portis' "Between a Rock and a Hard Place"

 

January 2008 - Untreated Hearing Loss Impacting American Youth

 

March 2008 - Better Hearing Institute Publishes Legal Rights Guide for Individuals with Hearing Loss

 

March 2008 - House technology helps hearing-impaired lawmaker

 

April 2008 - Have hearing loss? Group offers help with daily living

 

April 2008 - Absenteeism Higher Among Hearing Impaired People

 

May 2008 - People with Hearing Loss Miss Sounds of Friends and Family

 

May 2008 - Hearing Impairment Appears Associated With Vision Problems in Elderly

 

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MarkeTrak VII Survey

 

January 2006

 

Sergei Kochkin, an American hearing expert, has carried out various studies of hearing-impaired Americans and their use of hearing aids (the MarkeTrak Surveys). In his 2005 survey (MarkeTrak VII) he found that more than 31 million Americans were hearing-impaired - corresponding to more than 10.5 per cent of the American population. More than 24 million of them did not have a hearing aid and only about 23.5 percent of hearing-impaired Americans actually use hearing aids.  Full Story

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Deaf Geoff

 

February 2006

 

WWHT-FM (Hot 107.9) morning producer Geoff Herbert has trouble taking calls from listeners. Sometimes, he misunderstands what hosts Marty and Shannon are saying to him. "Recently, Marty said something about Duke University and I thought he said something about Jewish people," Herbert says. "Sometimes, it's so off-base, it's funny." Even if he didn't call himself "DeafGeoff" on the air, there would be little doubt that Herbert is bringing something quite exceptional to Syracuse morning radio.  Full Story

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Bach, falling upon deaf ears

 

June 2006

Getting deaf teens to sing Bach is: (a) Exploitative and voyeuristic. (b) Culturally inclusive and respectful. (c) A celebration of failure and chaos. (d) A celebration of determination and hope. (e) Art. As any good test-taker knows, once you're pretty sure that certain answers can't be right, you simply settle for whatever's left. Art it is. Full Story

 

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Scots Reluctant to Wear Hearing Aids

 

August 2006

 

Editor: It seems that almost a third of Scots are reluctant to wear hearing aids, because they think it would make them seem old or disabled. I've never seen numbers reported for the US, but I bet they're at least as high! Here's the press release from Hear-it Press

 

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Fear of being labelled old or disabled makes the Scots reluctant to seek treatment for hearing problems.

 

According to a survey on hearing loss in Scotland, around 29% of Scots think hearing aids would make them look old. More importantly, almost a third of Scots believe hearing aids would make them look disabled and would not wear a hearing aid even if they needed one.

 

The Scottish survey highlights the stigma surrounding hearing loss and the use of hearing aids. Although most hearing problems can easily be helped, people are often unaware that they have a problem, or they are in denial about it.

 

It is estimated that 4 million people in the UK could benefit from a hearing aid. Hearing aids can help a person with a hearing loss at any age and are more effective if fitted early.

 

Deafness Research UK has launched a campaign to encourage people to admit the problem and seek early help. The campaign aims to help people recognise the early signs of hearing loss and what they can do about it.

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To Which World Do You Belong?

By Michael Gergley

October 2006

To which world do you belong, the hearing of the deaf? When asked this question I would have to say, "Neither. I'm between two worlds. I'm hard of hearing." And although my primary means of communication is oral, I don't identify with the hearing world. Alternately although I have a severe hearing loss and use assistive listening devices such as a hearing aid, my residual hearing leaves me feeling I don't belong in the deaf community, either. So I'm left as the lyrics to a favorite song of mine say to ponder, "Where do I belong?"

Ironically enough, I have 'heard' the answer, not in some lecture or after reading some book on hearing loss. Nor was it a one-time happening where a tiny light bulb went on in my head, revealing in full color and sound where indeed I DID and DO belong. It HAS and WILL continue to be a process of self-discovery for me.

So what does all this mean for my everyday challenges to find answers and have my unique needs met? Perhaps the best personal experience I can share was during a discussion on hearing loss during my graduate degree studies working towards my Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Many hearing loss related issues were spoken about, but some, like being deaf and being hard of hearing, were grouped together as if their needs were the same. I took advantage of this opportunity to educate others about my unique world. And though I still sometimes feel between two worlds and I seem to always have to educate somebody else, in my world is where I belong.

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Maryland School for the Deaf Considers Accepting Hearing Students

December 2006

Since its founding in 1868, the Maryland School for the Deaf has been cloistered from the wider world. Students walk a picturesque campus of green lawns and old brick buildings, speak American Sign Language and enjoy their own culture. Now the school is considering a radical step that could end that segregation: a proposal to accept a limited number of hearing students. The school's superintendent says it should think about admitting hearing students to ensure that enrollment in years to come will remain large enough to be viable. . . . But more young deaf children are getting implants that allow them some degree of hearing and, unlike a century ago, the majority of deaf students are going to regular public schools. The trend worries some educators who wonder if deaf culture and American Sign Language will dwindle away as fewer children attend schools for the deaf and fewer learn to sign.  Full Story

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Deafness and the Riddle of Identity

January 2007

But the "not deaf enough" issue is alive and well among deaf scholars, students, and activists. Even though Fernandes may have exaggerated that accusation to bolster her own position, and even though her detractors denied its relevance, the charge formed at least part of the subtext of students' anger and is a topic of debate within the deaf community. Now that passions have been spent and an interim president, Robert R. Davila, appointed, it might be useful to examine what deaf identity might be and how that identity fits in with current notions of other identities based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and so on.   Full Story

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Plans for SD deaf town scrapped

February 2007

You may have heard of plans to create near Sioux Falls, SD, a town in which sign language was the common language. The plans have been in the works for years and for a while things were rolling along. Now those plans have been scrapped and the promoters are leaving the state. Among the reasons cited for the change of plans are " declining enrollment at South Dakota School for the Deaf and the rapidly declining deaf and signing population in Sioux Falls because of changes at Communication Service for the Deaf."  Full Story

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Guitar Hero: Suddenly, he couldn't hear the music for the noise

September 2007

THE SUN ROSE ONE SATURDAY MORNING THE SAME AS ANY OTHER, EXCEPT THAT I AWOKE DEAF. It came without warning, as if awaking in a Kafka nightmare: nothing but an incessant painful scream in my left ear. It sounded as if my ear were pressed against a powerful blown-out Marshall electric guitar amplifier roaring at full-bore. The slightest sound was magnified and distorted beyond hurt to an excruciating, overdriven rage. I could not speak above a whisper. My own voice, my own footsteps, were intolerably loud and painful. Sounds were so distorted -- as if I were inside a trash can -- that it was difficult to comprehend speech through my other ear. If that were not enough, the room in my living nightmare shifted like the deck of a ship, heaving me around in a disoriented, dizzy daze.  Full Story

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House technology helps hearing-impaired lawmaker

March 2008

Rep. Bob Smith may be the chattiest guy down at the state Capitol. And darned proud of it. "I can't hear anything, so I might as well just keep talking," the Republican from Watkinsville jokes. You heard right: Smith, chairman of one of the most powerful subcommittees in the House and gladhander of governor, security guard and everyone in between, has a profound hearing impairment. "If I take these out," he says, pointing to the hearing aids that nestle inside and behind both of his ears, "I'm about 75 percent gone." He wouldn't dare risk it. It's not just that Smith, 55, is gregarious by nature. ("He's the most important person in the Capitol - just ask him," snickers good friend and fellow Rep. Jeff Lewis, a Republican from White.) The five-term House veteran also is making up for lost time. After nearly a decade of having to work harder just to keep up, Smith last year took a big stride forward in what he is able to hear and do, thanks to some sophisticated advances in audio technology in the House chamber. And he has no intention of going back.   Full Story

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Hearing Impairment Appears Associated With Vision Problems in Elderly

May 2008

Elderly patients, especially those who have had cataracts or have glaucoma, should be tested for other comorbidities, including hearing loss, researchers suggested here at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). "The actual likelihood of having a combined impairment is at least twice that [which is] expected," said Marilyn Schneck, PhD, Researcher, Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, California, and a member of the program committee of ARVO. "This holds true over a range of definitions of hearing and vision impairment and ocular disease status." In a poster presentation here on April 29, Dr. Schneck described a study of 446 patients who participated in a hearing screening test at the second follow-up after a Smith-Kettlewell vision study. The patients' mean age was 79.9 years (range, 67.0-107.1 years), and 43% of the patients were male.  Full Story