Beowulf

I cannot find the answer anywhere online. Does anyone know? Thanks!

Deafness

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Tousi

Maybe rarer still than hearing people born just mute?

Beowulf

That's what I wonder about, Tousi; but it seems to me that if a person is born deaf, it raises the possibility of other health problems. It seems logical to assume that the percentage of those being born deaf and mute is higher than those being born hearing and mute. I am surprised it is difficult to find official statistics. Hmmm, maybe no one knows?

Speedy Hawk

I am curious about that. It is very rare now cos of all technology helps deaf to speak.

I think it might be more common in poorer countries than in richer countries, like you sometimes see in news online that village of poor people lock up deaf kids or just leave them alone completely. There are some deaf and mute cos no support and technology.

Bottesini

Paralyzed vocal chords are much more common than missing. But I don't know the percentage of people born with that either.

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shel90

I think it is very very very rare for people to be born without vocal cords whether they are deaf or hearing.

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jillio

Actually, there is no correlation between deafness and actual physical causes of muteness, such as deformed vocal chords, missing vocal chords, etc. Usually, however, physical causes of muteness in the hearing is an acquired disability. Damage to the vocal chords or a surgical procedure that compromises the vocal chords are the two most common causes.

That doesn't actually answer your specific question, but I'm sure you see how my answer is in reply to your question.

Beowulf

Yes I do, jillio. I have known two people in my life who were truly mute, and they were hearing. Yet I do not see them called "hearing mutes" as opposed to the number of times I have seen "deaf mute" bandied around. I was just curious, oh well.

jillio

That is interesting. Come to think of it, I have never heard the term "hearing mute" but have often heard the term "deaf mute." Curious that in one, we would imply a double disability, in sorts, while in the other, the term doesn't.

Beowulf

Once I worked alongside with a deaf man in a factory, and he never made a sound in the entire time I worked there, about six months. People would remark that I was weird because I was almost as quiet as he was. My job required total focus so I couldn't often take the time to stop what I was doing to carry on a conversation with the other hearing workers. I asked why I was picked on, but not the other guy, and they said it was because he COULDN'T talk because he was "mute." Then one day he passed out during a shift, and when he came to, surrounded by worried workers bending over him etc., he started yelling "NO! PLEASE! NOOOO!" and the others were shocked. I wasn't.

Reba

He didn't speak until he had something to say.

KristinaB

I know a man who is now a "hearing mute" due to surgery. He had to have throat surgery for the 3rd time due to throat cancer and now his vocal cords were damaged beyond repair. He is glad to have take ASL classes for the last 3 years through all of this. The last surgery just didn't go as planned.

Bebonang

Also many Deafies like me who can talk would rather not speak so that we can sign or write down papers for hearing people. Funny, I remembered when I was in Seattle Central Community College in Seattle, Washington, I just clam up and not speak for almost two years (1973 to 1975). I communicated with Deaf students and interpreters every day in class and in dormitory in ASL. One day I seem to strike up my voice to talk, of course in deaf accent, and some of the interpreters was floored and could not believe that I can talk with a voice, even not perfect. They thought I was mute. So it is common for Deafies when they don't want to use vocal voice to talk. As for born mute whether deaf or hearing, it is rare unless if there is problem with the vocal box that is not working very well. Almost pretty much use vocal to make noises or speak if not perfect.

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naisho

Here's a reasonable attempt at giving you an answer.
Deaf Understanding - Facts About Deafness
"Approximately 2-3 of every 1,000 infants are born deaf or hard-of-hearing."



http://www.cpnlac.org/memoriasacadem...20Children.pdf

Is the closest I found to any information but it covers it broadly.


As for disorders that cause muteness such as but not limited to: larynx deficiency or development, physical deformity, anything not neurological seems to have no numbers out there. I am going to go a realstic route and assume that the percentage is less than that of people born deaf, I think like others have mentioned, we can be safe to assume there are more deafs than larynx-impaired mutes.

Modestly if assuming one for every 10,000 births = 0.01%


Combine the two together with probabilities and it looks like it will be 0.000025% chance of happening in 10,000.. or one deafmute per every 40,000 if my probability was done right.

Even if we bump it up and assume 1 mute per 4,000 births, it makes it only 0.0000625% chance of happening, or one deafmute per every 16,000 births.

Math is a nice way to give rough estimates.

deafskeptic

I remember a hearing person who could not talk very much because of medical problems concerning her cords. I don't recall exactly why. She took up ASL so she could talk to others and she worked in one of the MSSD dorms.

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Beowulf

That's perfectly understandable to me, Bebonang, but ONLY because I am deaf! When I travel, I carry in my shirt pocket what I refer as "mute notes," a pencil and pad of writing paper. I sure find them indispensable, hee hee.

Beowulf

Thanks, naisho. That is what I found as well. Still, it is mostly guesswork, eh? Asking for a percentage turns out to be a bit much after all!

jillio

Sorry to hear that. But at least he does have accommodations in the form of sign to compensate. I bet, though, that general society refers to him as just "mute". Even though the communication barriers are the same as for a "deaf mute" in most situations.

KristinaB

He's been lucky in the sense that most people that he works with or know him are all understanding. He lives in Canada, but winters down here. He finds the people in Canada to be much more understanding than here in South Florida. They keep asking what he did to get throat cancer. His response? "I had to suffer through second hand smoke."

Speedy Hawk

I do the same. I don't speak in public even though my voice good enough to be understood cos hearies usually think good voice = good hearing which isn't true for me. If I speak they usually understand me but if they speak I don't understand a word they say. I always use paper and pen. They are much more helpful towards me if I used paper and pen instead of speaking. They will make more effort to communicate to me that way, if I speak they wouldn't bother. My lipreading skills aren't too good either, it depends a LOT on the person. I only use my voice for oral deaf and sign same time using SSE (I am from England and so that some oral deaf can learn some signs from me to talk to BSL only Deaf) and use BSL for BSL signers Deaf and interpreters.

netrox

was gonna say that there's no correlation between true mute (no vocal chords) and deafness. Nada.

shel90

Speaking of the devil...my brother went to a car shop yesteday to bawl them out for trying to rip him off (long story). He wrote, "Yes, I may be deaf and mute but I am not dumb" and showed them the cost he was charged by the 2nd opinion (only $320 as opposed to their $900 charge) and started screaming "************S!!!"

I am sure the people there were scratching their heads to why he identified himself as mute when he could use his voice like that.

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Beowulf

Relax, no one said there is.

jillio

You know, I find it very odd that our society has a tendency to always blame the person with the illness for contracting. I find it all the time in my profession. Society tends to think that the person who is ill has done something to cause their own illness.

evil_queen_lisa

not necessarily on topic, but i know a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. Born early. Girl has a severe hearing impairment, boy has a paralyzed vocal cord. Just thought I'd mention it. They were preemie, so i suspect there is a higher percent of preemies with deafness and/or vocal cord paralysis.
*EQL*