darkdog

I'm hearing and have often wondered what it would be like to experience profound deafness. Even if I found near-perfect earplugs with 90+ dB attenuation, I would still be able to hear myself speak since the sound would travel through the jaw to my ear drum. I wonder if there's a way to temporarily "numb" just the auditory nerve without any permanent damage. Has anybody heard of such a thing? Perhaps there's another way I haven't thought of?

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tikka

its only barely related but, I recall a couple of years ago when I worked in a data center, I was tired and being lazy with my chair tipped back. I could hear the sound of the air conditioning, the fans in the servers, hard drives, it is a very noisey environment... Then for a couple of seconds it went completely silent, when I realised this, sound came back abruptly.

I do hypnosis, I have made people incapable of seeing objects, unable to feel pain and unable to move their body.. I suspect its a possability that in fact a hypnotist could make you deaf, maybe go to a stage show and ask them to add it to the routine or something. *shrugs*

Hear Again

I'm curious about something. If a hypnotist can make someone temporarily deaf, how can they bring that person out of their hypnotic state if they are unable to hear?

Bottesini

I get to answer!! Make the cue be "I will touch your arm"

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Hear Again

That thought occurred to me, but if it were really that simple, how come there are numerous studies examining the effects between a d/Deaf person's response to hypnotism vs. a hearing person's response to hypnotism? According to these studies, d/Deaf clients are less responsive to hypnotism than those who can hear. (Just do a Google search for "deaf + hypnotism" for more information.)

deafbajagal

Now that is a damn good question. LOL

jillio

You are correct. The subconscious part of the brain will respond to sound in a way that it will not respond to other stimuli. In order to bring someone out of a hypnotic trance, they need to be able to respond to a post-hypnotic suggestion. If they were placed into the hypnotic state using a verbal cue, then they must be able to respond to another verbal cue to come out of the hypnotic state.

Bottesini

Confusion? What do you mean by giving a deaf person a verbal cue? If you actually mean by voice, that could be the reason it is harder to hypnotize the deaf.

My apologies if you mean something different.

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Hear Again

A d/Deaf person can be brought into a hypnotic state by using visual cues (such as a terp or pendulum), but cannot be brought out of that state by the same means.

Hear Again

I've been doing alot of reading on this subject and I'm still confused about it.

Bottesini

I understand, but my point would be that the cue to come out of hypnosis could be a specific touch.

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Hear Again

Not necessarily. Again, if it were that easy, there wouldn't be a multitude of studies discussing how d/Deaf people have more difficulty coming out of a hypnotic state than hearies do.

jillio

I meant a verbal cue as given to a hearing person to place them in a trance. Since we are talking about a hearing person attempting to be made deaf through the use of hypnosis, I meant once they had been made deaf, as they would not know either lipreading or sign language (being hearing just a few minutes prior), they could not be brought out of the hypnotic state throught the cue that placed them in it.

Also, hypnosis requires deep relaxation. A part of that is to close the eyes and block out the visual stimuli that keep the brain awake and functioning at a conscious level. As long as the brain is processing visual information for meaning, it remains at a conscious level, and the individual cannot go into a hypnotic state. To hypnotize someone with sign means that they must continue to receive language visually.

But there are any number of hearing people that cannot be hypnotised, as well. There is a distinct personality type that is known to be more open to hypnosis.

jillio

But the person would already have to be under hypnosis when the suggestion was given that touch would break the state. The problem is communication once the individual is under the hypnotic trance state.

If I put a hearing person under hypnosis, and through a verbal suggestion, make them deaf, how am I to communicate with them and bring them out of that state once I have induced the deafness?

Bottesini

I understand now what you meant. And I did not realize you were talking about the OP, I was just talking about hypnotizing deaf people.

While we are on the subject, isn't it some kind of illness to want to be made deaf if you hear?

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jillio

Yes, it could be symptomatic of a couple of different disorders. Very difficult to treat. Clients tend to be very resistant to getting better.

Hear Again

Believe it or not, there's a list on Yahoo! Groups called "Deaf Wannabes." These people discuss all kinds of ways to induce deafness -- everything from exposing themselves to loud music to pointing a hair dryer at one's ears for 10 minutes. I used to be a member of that list (for curiosity's sake), but eventually left out of disgust.

Bottesini

That is truly weird!

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Hear Again

No kidding! Why anyone would want to induce deafness is completely beyond me!

Oceanbreeze

I don't get it, either. We had a lengthly discussion about this some time back. I re-read that thread about "Deaf wannabes", and it's just beyond me, too.

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jillio

We had a thread started about that a while back. Then the wannabe amputees joined it. It got pretty wierd. They all claimed that pdocs didn't help them and the only way to treat their illness was to make them deaf or amputate the offending limb. We got into a lenghty discussion of treatments and diagnoses, and of course they had a "Yes, but" answer for everything. Needless to say, it got a bit ugly, the Gestalt came out in me, and I refused to buy into their excuses.

Bottesini

I must not have been here yet.It sounds like a fun argument.

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jillio

No, it was before your time. Interesting thread if you want to pull it from the archives on a day when you are bored. It got very long and detailed.

Bottesini

I am going to bookmark this and pull it when I come back tonight!

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Hear Again

I wasn't here to see that thread. How do I search for it on AD? I'd like to read more.

I just don't understand the need for someone to deliberately create deafness or physical disability.

By the way, what *is* the recommended treatment for people who suffer from these kinds of illnesses? CBT?

By the way, I'm glad you didn't buy into their excuses. What were some of the excuses they had?

Hear Again

Was that the title of the thread? If so, I vaguely remember reading it.

Bottesini

Something shocking and creepy, deaf wannabes, pretenders and others

Think this is it Hear Again. I will be back for fun discussions later.

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jillio

It was in what used to be the Health forum. I believe the title was "Deaf Wannabes". I'd say go to the Lifestyles forum now that has the health topics, and use the search feature to enter "Deaf wannabes."

Oh, excuses like, "my pdoc just doesn't understand my disorder. I am not mentally ill. I have a foreign body part that needs to be removed. I've tried all kinds of treatment. Nothing works." All the usuals of the non-compliant and resistant client. Ethically, I cannot let them make such excuses without pointing out the incongruencies in their statements, and letting them know that treatment is only effective when the client wants to get better. They are obviously getting some sort of secondary gain from their behavior and, as a consequence, are unwilling to do what they need to do to get better.

CBT is a good course to follow to get symptoms under control. Also some of the more in depth psychodynamic techniques to get to origin of the behaviors. Gestalt is effective, and I would like to see some literature on the use of DBT with these cases.

jillio

Never mind. Looks like Bott already linked it for you.

Thanks, Bott.

deafskeptic

mm. I hadn't known that.

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