Can someone who is severely deaf talk normally? - Page 9

mecooncat · 12-28-2006, 06:04 PM

I'm severely HOH. My left hearing is going downhill to becoming total deaf as I age. *sighs* Anyway, I was born that way. When I was about 3, I could only say 5 words and that's not normal for any 2 or 3 yrs olds. My mother found out that I'm HOH in both ears. So, starting at age 3, I took speech therapist all the way to the day I graduated from high school. Now and then, I have a hard time saying or pronouncing the words. I remember when I was a kid, my mother was talking to my sister. She asked to get some mayonnaise. My impression was band-aids. So, I asked her why she need some band-aids? She tells me no-no, it's mayonnaise. She has to teach me how to say it. It's the only way I have to learn.

Hear Again · 12-28-2006, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by signer16

Once you've had extensive training, and learned how to regulate your voice without hearing it, or have a certain level of hearing, it makes sense that your speech would hit a consistent level.

I was able to use BTE hearing aids and a Comtek FM system with DAI (direct audio input) for 2 out of the 10 years I had severe-profound hearing loss, so this allowed me to hear my voice well enough (since I used an environmental microphone to pick up the sound of my own voice) in order to be able to regulate it.

When I do not have my CIs on, my speech *is* different and I end up pronouncing certain words incorrectly even though I know how they should be pronounced. The volume of my voice isn't affected since I can control that by feeling vibrations in my throat (a suggestion shared by my former ENT).

Whether the quality of a person's speech is impacted by hearing loss or deafness varies from person to person. I know some totally deaf people whose speech sounds "normal" (i.e. like someone who has normal hearing). I also know people with moderate and severe hearing loss where it is evident that they cannot hear well.

Even though I've been able to use my hearing (with hearing aids and a Comtek FM system) until 1997, you can still tell that I don't hear well by the quality of my speech. I don't have a "deaf" voice per se, but pre-CI, one could tell by my nasaly voice and the way I slurred my words that I had some degree of hearing loss.

The earliest time this was evident was when I received my first pair of BTEs for a moderately-severe loss. My audi at the time politely brought the quality of my speech to my attention (see above) which continued until the time I received my first CI.

shel90 · 12-28-2006, 07:15 PM

[quote=signer16;696099]Um....what? No speech therapy? NO years of trying to get that S, CH, Z, etc. to sound right? I am SURE your hearing status has impacted your speech.QUOTE]

I was referring to Lantana's comment about how our speech deteriorates when we lose our hearing or become deaf. What I meant is that this issue doesnt apply to me cuz I have been deaf since birth so whatever speech skills I learned as a young child remains the same. My level of deafness doesnt impact my current speech skills. However I speak whether it is flawed or not will probably stay the same for the rest of my life.

shel90 · 12-28-2006, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillio

OMG, you just brought me back to all the times I wanted to strangle people who told me my son could "hear more than I thought he could" because he had worked for 18 years to develop speech skills! Dumb asses!

yea, that is what I deal with and still do. I just try to explain to people to the best of my ability so up to those people if they are willing to have an open mind about it or not. Yea, there were times I get frustrated but I just have to tell myself that it is not worth it cuz there will always be people like that.

deafdyke · 01-01-2007, 01:59 AM

Quote:

The volume of my voice isn't affected since I can control that by feeling vibrations in my throat

Isn't that *tries to remember* Tadoma?
And it's probaly a lot easier for you to do stuff like that since you had the advantage of only having a relatively mild loss for a lot of your childhood. I still have problems with modulation and pitch and stuff like that....

Hear Again · 01-01-2007, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

Isn't that *tries to remember* Tadoma?
And it's probaly a lot easier for you to do stuff like that since you had the advantage of only having a relatively mild loss for a lot of your childhood. I still have problems with modulation and pitch and stuff like that....

DD,

Are your comments directed at me? (Sorry, the quote didn't have a name on it, but I do remember mentioning the fact that I had a mild hearing loss for much of my childhood as well as my ENT telling me about controlling my voice through vibration).

I did have a mild loss for much of my childhood. In fact, it wasn't until my loss became moderately-severe that I experienced more difficulty controlling the volume of my voice. My voice also sounded monotonous because I could no longer hear the inflection in other people's voices.

I consider it a huge blessing to have had only a mild loss for many years -- although my CI audi said that I could have benefitted from HAs even then (HAs and ear surgery were recommended for me at age 3, but due to issues with my parents' health insurance, I had to go without either until age 15 when I received my first pair of BTE hearing aids for a moderately-severe loss).

Controlling the volume of your own voice via vibrations in the throat isn't Tadoma. Tadoma is a method of communication used by the deafblind in which they place their thumb on *another* person's lips and fingers on the throat to feel the vibrations.

Here is what Wikipedia says about Tadoma:

Tadoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tadoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Tadoma is a method of communication used by deafblind people, in which the deafblind person places his thumb on the speaker's lips and his fingers along the jawline. The middle three fingers often fall along the speaker's cheeks with the pinky finger picking up the vibrations of the speaker's throat. It is sometimes referred to as 'tactile lipreading', as the deafblind person feels the movement of the lips, as well as vibrations of the vocal cords, puffing of the cheeks and the warm air produced by nasal sounds such as 'N' and 'M'.

In some cases, especially if the speaker knows sign language, the deaf-blind person may use the Tadoma method with one hand, feeling the speaker's face; and at the same time, the deaf-blind person may use their other hand to feel the speaker sign the same words. In this way, the two methods reinforce each other, giving the deaf-blind person a better chance of understanding what the speaker is trying to communicate. In addition, the Tadoma method can provide the deaf-blind person with a closer connection with speech than they might otherwise have had. This can, in turn, help them to retain speech skills that they developed before going deaf, and in special cases, to learn how to speak brand new words.

The Tadoma method was invented by American teacher Sophie Alcorn and developed at the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts. It is named after the first two children to whom it was taught: Winthrop "Tad" Chapman and Oma Simpson. It was hoped that the students would learn to speak by trying to reproduce what they felt on the speaker's face and throat while touching their own face.

It is a difficult method to learn and use, and is rarely used nowadays. However, a small number of deafblind people successfully use Tadoma in everyday communication.

Lillys dad · 01-03-2007, 11:42 AM

This is the first time I have opened this thread, and I didnt read any posts to it. To answer the original post, Yes, someone that is profoundly deaf, can talk "normally". My daughter does, she will try to short cut proper speech, but when she speaks, she is very easy to understand.

Southern · 01-05-2007, 09:50 AM

My Great Aunt who died a few years ago at the age of 80 went Deaf over time. I only ever knew her as being HOH or Deaf. I will have to ask my Aunt, her daughter, if she was always HOH or not. She had the old style HA that had the sound receiver that hung around the neck. It got to where you had to speak in her chest for her to hear you. Then she would still wear it but the functionality of it was gone. She had a TTY and flashing lights for the phone and door. The only change to her speech that I noticed over time was words that ended in “Y” tended to be higher pitched and louder and would curl at the end as if she was asking a question. “I” in the middle of words also were higher pitched and louder. Other than that her speech remained relatively normal. She got pretty good at reading lips and she never really spoke too loud. She was too old to learn ASL though by the time it got to that point. You would have never said that to her though. She would have learned it just to spite you. She was an amazing woman!!

hohDougRN · 01-11-2007, 09:06 AM

I had good hearing and spoke perfectly normal if not extremely articulate until I lost my hearing in nearly an instant. Afterward I was instantly worried if I sounded "weird" people reassured me for a time that I spoke fine, but now after few years of being deaf I'm told I don't pronounce some consonents very well and cut out some of words. I hear some of my voice with my HA's, but obviously never how I use to could. So now that I speak a little differently and pretty monotone...hehe...I don't care anymore and now I never ask somebody if Im speaking ok......I think probably because Im used to and am much more accepting of me now than before.

Hear Again · 01-11-2007, 01:07 PM

When I lost my hearing, I also spoke in a monotone. My voice also had a nasaly quality to it. When I received my first pair of HAs for a moderately-severe loss, the sound quality of my voice was politely brought to my attention by my audi who said that it wasn't unusual for people who had losses similar to or worse than mine.

Ever since I received bilateral CIs, I can regulate my voice and have more intonation. As one of my friend's told me, I have more of a "lilt" in my voice -- something that hasn't been evident for many, many years.

jmscrty · 07-25-2008, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by momentary

Hi ,I am in school and talking with my friends and they say that a deaf person cant talk normally,but I say they can if they became deaf when adult. Am I right or are my friends right ? Thankyou!!!!

hi - i am severly deaf since childhood but can speak and hear quite well thaks to the advance techno. They are very few who can speak but luckly enough i can. So ur rite

James

JClarke · 07-29-2008, 11:38 PM

I am profoundly deaf and I can speak very well and normally. Sometimes a loud talker

David · 07-30-2008, 12:03 AM

I am profoundly deaf, and I have been told that my speech compares to that of a non-deaf, which puts me in "no-man's land".

thirdgencubfan · 07-30-2008, 11:41 AM

I'm severe-to-profoundly deaf, since birth. I've had speech therapy for 12 years, and many hearing people tell me that I sound like a hearing person and they're usually surprised when I tell them I'm deaf.

Even some deaf people I've met think I'm just HoH and not actually born deaf, due to my ability to speak well.

Adam · 07-30-2008, 06:16 PM

What's "normal" ?

Adam

hohDougRN · 07-30-2008, 07:13 PM

I think a general concensus of "normal" would be speak clear enough, depending on the phoenetics of the region of world located, as to where it sounds there is no type of apparent impairment.

I often draw back from my own experience of "normal hearing/speech" and my own personal interpretation of this, whether same as anyone else, or even politically correct for that matter.

I have had wonderful experiences since deaf and some I wouldn't trade for anything. Even being post lingual deafened, people at first seem to be hesitant, fearfull, or even deduct a few IQ points from me preliminarily. It has brought about, or compelled, a point of view if humanity that I never would have had. I am humbled with this experience, and consider my point of view a personal treasure which theorectically not many people have gained. I think there are such wonderful individuals I have got to know from AD- I am so thankfull and greatful of everyone who I have the privilege of interacting with here.

hoshouwu · 07-31-2008, 08:21 PM

One dead ear, profoundly deaf in other....I speak quite clearly and "normally"

shel90 · 07-31-2008, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hohDougRN

I think a general concensus of "normal" would be speak clear enough, depending on the phoenetics of the region of world located, as to where it sounds there is no type of apparent impairment.

I often draw back from my own experience of "normal hearing/speech" and my own personal interpretation of this, whether same as anyone else, or even politically correct for that matter.

I have had wonderful experiences since deaf and some I wouldn't trade for anything. Even being post lingual deafened, people at first seem to be hesitant, fearfull, or even deduct a few IQ points from me preliminarily. It has brought about, or compelled, a point of view if humanity that I never would have had. I am humbled with this experience, and consider my point of view a personal treasure which theorectically not many people have gained. I think there are such wonderful individuals I have got to know from AD- I am so thankfull and greatful of everyone who I have the privilege of interacting with here.

Despite being born with a severe to prfound bilateral loss, I was told that my tone of voice is consistent during conversations like hearing people's. I wonder how the hell I learned that when I can hear shit? Weird.

hohDougRN · 07-31-2008, 10:01 PM

I thought a bit more and asked my Mom and Dad to tell me more my voice. They tell me that I do not mis to many sound speaking, but I do talk a little more different than 9 yrs ago.

Oceanblue7 · 07-31-2008, 10:15 PM

I am hearing sometimes people say my voice is too soft and to turn up the volume

Those people just haven't seen me watch a NE Patriot game

hohDougRN · 07-31-2008, 10:18 PM

Probably like I yell when I play Sofball and mess up.

Oceanblue7 · 07-31-2008, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hohDougRN

Probably like I yell when I play Sofball and mess up.

You got the idea

DeafMom22 · 08-02-2008, 08:38 AM

My hubby was born profoundly deaf (105 db) and he can actually use the phone with certain people and speaks well. Some of it is luck, some of it is speech therapy, some of it is his ability to benefit from hearing aids and some of it is just that he had two involved parents and teachers who tried to make sure that he had access to language.

I was born hearing, became hard of hearing around five and then profoundly deaf at nineteen-- and I've never been able to use the phone, but I've kept my speaking skills.

Passivist · 08-04-2008, 04:33 AM

I'm profoundly deaf in both ears, my voice is OK, I actively monitored my voice early on going deaf, by getting feedback from hearing, and trained myself to adopt mentally the same levels and volume all the time, and it works. Part of the problem identified with losing voice, is using sign language (Sorry !), so I never use it unless with another deaf person, and I have limited interaction with a lot of signing deaf and mix with HoH too, because they tend to not use voices, and it can be a habit ! My voice is still there, because it is vital to keep all the asset you can to communicate with I think. I had problems learning sign language, not because I lacked the ability, I don't, but because they kept telling me not to talk as well, and I refused, I couldn't do that.

shel90 · 08-04-2008, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Passivist

I'm profoundly deaf in both ears, my voice is OK, I actively monitored my voice early on going deaf, by getting feedback from hearing, and trained myself to adopt mentally the same levels and volume all the time, and it works. Part of the problem identified with losing voice, is using sign language (Sorry !), so I never use it unless with another deaf person, and I have limited interaction with a lot of signing deaf and mix with HoH too, because they tend to not use voices, and it can be a habit ! My voice is still there, because it is vital to keep all the asset you can to communicate with I think. I had problems learning sign language, not because I lacked the ability, I don't, but because they kept telling me not to talk as well, and I refused, I couldn't d

12-28-2006, 07:15 PM	#243 (permalink)
shel90 Sun Whorshipper Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: A Desert Rat that has found herself in Maryland Posts: 16,155 Blog Entries: 1	[quote=signer16;696099]Um....what? No speech therapy? NO years of trying to get that S, CH, Z, etc. to sound right? I am SURE your hearing status has impacted your speech.QUOTE] I was referring to Lantana's comment about how our speech deteriorates when we lose our hearing or become deaf. What I meant is that this issue doesnt apply to me cuz I have been deaf since birth so whatever speech skills I learned as a young child remains the same. My level of deafness doesnt impact my current speech skills. However I speak whether it is flawed or not will probably stay the same for the rest of my life. __________________ ~Shel~ "A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

01-03-2007, 11:42 AM	#247 (permalink)
Lillys dad Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: St. Louis MO. Posts: 863	This is the first time I have opened this thread, and I didnt read any posts to it. To answer the original post, Yes, someone that is profoundly deaf, can talk "normally". My daughter does, she will try to short cut proper speech, but when she speaks, she is very easy to understand. __________________ Lilly CI right ear Sept 8 2005 CI left ear Jan 17 2007

01-05-2007, 09:50 AM	#248 (permalink)
Southern Southern Boi Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 646	My Great Aunt who died a few years ago at the age of 80 went Deaf over time. I only ever knew her as being HOH or Deaf. I will have to ask my Aunt, her daughter, if she was always HOH or not. She had the old style HA that had the sound receiver that hung around the neck. It got to where you had to speak in her chest for her to hear you. Then she would still wear it but the functionality of it was gone. She had a TTY and flashing lights for the phone and door. The only change to her speech that I noticed over time was words that ended in “Y” tended to be higher pitched and louder and would curl at the end as if she was asking a question. “I” in the middle of words also were higher pitched and louder. Other than that her speech remained relatively normal. She got pretty good at reading lips and she never really spoke too loud. She was too old to learn ASL though by the time it got to that point. You would have never said that to her though. She would have learned it just to spite you. She was an amazing woman!! __________________ He thinks my tractor's sexy

01-11-2007, 09:06 AM	#249 (permalink)
hohDougRN GO UTAH JAZZ!! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: utah Posts: 1,617	I had good hearing and spoke perfectly normal if not extremely articulate until I lost my hearing in nearly an instant. Afterward I was instantly worried if I sounded "weird" people reassured me for a time that I spoke fine, but now after few years of being deaf I'm told I don't pronounce some consonents very well and cut out some of words. I hear some of my voice with my HA's, but obviously never how I use to could. So now that I speak a little differently and pretty monotone...hehe...I don't care anymore and now I never ask somebody if Im speaking ok......I think probably because Im used to and am much more accepting of me now than before. __________________ *Doug*

01-11-2007, 01:07 PM	#250 (permalink)
Hear Again Proud Beeper/5150 Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Wisconsin and my own little manic world... Posts: 7,713	When I lost my hearing, I also spoke in a monotone. My voice also had a nasaly quality to it. When I received my first pair of HAs for a moderately-severe loss, the sound quality of my voice was politely brought to my attention by my audi who said that it wasn't unusual for people who had losses similar to or worse than mine. Ever since I received bilateral CIs, I can regulate my voice and have more intonation. As one of my friend's told me, I have more of a "lilt" in my voice -- something that hasn't been evident for many, many years. __________________ Left ear - Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with Freedom BTE (Implanted: 12/22/04 \| Activated: 1/18/05) Right ear - Nucleus Freedom (Implanted: 2/1/06 \| Activated: 3/1/06) Deafblind/Postlingual What is bipolar disorder? What are the different types of bipolar disorder? "All things are difficult before they are easy." -- Thomas Fuller

12-28-2006, 06:04 PM	#241 (permalink)
mecooncat Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 543	I'm severely HOH. My left hearing is going downhill to becoming total deaf as I age. sighs Anyway, I was born that way. When I was about 3, I could only say 5 words and that's not normal for any 2 or 3 yrs olds. My mother found out that I'm HOH in both ears. So, starting at age 3, I took speech therapist all the way to the day I graduated from high school. Now and then, I have a hard time saying or pronouncing the words. I remember when I was a kid, my mother was talking to my sister. She asked to get some mayonnaise. My impression was band-aids. So, I asked her why she need some band-aids? She tells me no-no, it's mayonnaise. She has to teach me how to say it. It's the only way I have to learn.

Today
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07-29-2008, 11:38 PM	#252 (permalink)
JClarke AD addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Down Under Posts: 14,328 Blog Entries: 4	I am profoundly deaf and I can speak very well and normally. Sometimes a loud talker __________________

07-30-2008, 12:03 AM	#253 (permalink)
David David Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 616	I am profoundly deaf, and I have been told that my speech compares to that of a non-deaf, which puts me in "no-man's land". Last edited by David; 07-30-2008 at 01:04 AM.

07-30-2008, 11:41 AM	#254 (permalink)
thirdgencubfan Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North side, Chicago, Cook County, IL, USA, North America, Earth, Orion Arm, Milky Way Galaxy Posts: 53	I'm severe-to-profoundly deaf, since birth. I've had speech therapy for 12 years, and many hearing people tell me that I sound like a hearing person and they're usually surprised when I tell them I'm deaf. Even some deaf people I've met think I'm just HoH and not actually born deaf, due to my ability to speak well.

07-30-2008, 06:16 PM	#255 (permalink)
Adam Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Charleston SC Posts: 40	What's "normal" ? Adam

07-30-2008, 07:13 PM	#256 (permalink)
hohDougRN GO UTAH JAZZ!! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: utah Posts: 1,617	I think a general concensus of "normal" would be speak clear enough, depending on the phoenetics of the region of world located, as to where it sounds there is no type of apparent impairment. I often draw back from my own experience of "normal hearing/speech" and my own personal interpretation of this, whether same as anyone else, or even politically correct for that matter. I have had wonderful experiences since deaf and some I wouldn't trade for anything. Even being post lingual deafened, people at first seem to be hesitant, fearfull, or even deduct a few IQ points from me preliminarily. It has brought about, or compelled, a point of view if humanity that I never would have had. I am humbled with this experience, and consider my point of view a personal treasure which theorectically not many people have gained. I think there are such wonderful individuals I have got to know from AD- I am so thankfull and greatful of everyone who I have the privilege of interacting with here. __________________ *Doug*

07-31-2008, 08:21 PM	#257 (permalink)
hoshouwu Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 4	pals One dead ear, profoundly deaf in other....I speak quite clearly and "normally"

07-31-2008, 10:01 PM	#259 (permalink)
hohDougRN GO UTAH JAZZ!! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: utah Posts: 1,617	I thought a bit more and asked my Mom and Dad to tell me more my voice. They tell me that I do not mis to many sound speaking, but I do talk a little more different than 9 yrs ago. __________________ *Doug*

07-31-2008, 10:15 PM	#260 (permalink)
Oceanblue7 Patriots Rock! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gillette Stadium Posts: 4,446 Blog Entries: 8	I am hearing sometimes people say my voice is too soft and to turn up the volume Those people just haven't seen me watch a NE Patriot game __________________ Ps.103:12 He washes our sins away into the ocean

07-31-2008, 10:18 PM	#261 (permalink)
hohDougRN GO UTAH JAZZ!! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: utah Posts: 1,617	Probably like I yell when I play Sofball and mess up. __________________ *Doug*

08-02-2008, 08:38 AM	#263 (permalink)
DeafMom22 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 18	My hubby was born profoundly deaf (105 db) and he can actually use the phone with certain people and speaks well. Some of it is luck, some of it is speech therapy, some of it is his ability to benefit from hearing aids and some of it is just that he had two involved parents and teachers who tried to make sure that he had access to language. I was born hearing, became hard of hearing around five and then profoundly deaf at nineteen-- and I've never been able to use the phone, but I've kept my speaking skills. __________________ Karen "Life is too short to pout all the time." A Deaf Mom Shares Her World (www.deafmomworld.com) Deaf & Hard of Hearing People at Work (www.deafhhcareer.com) Home on the Waterfront (www.homeonthewaterfront.com)

08-04-2008, 04:33 AM	#264 (permalink)
Passivist Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 242	I'm profoundly deaf in both ears, my voice is OK, I actively monitored my voice early on going deaf, by getting feedback from hearing, and trained myself to adopt mentally the same levels and volume all the time, and it works. Part of the problem identified with losing voice, is using sign language (Sorry !), so I never use it unless with another deaf person, and I have limited interaction with a lot of signing deaf and mix with HoH too, because they tend to not use voices, and it can be a habit ! My voice is still there, because it is vital to keep all the asset you can to communicate with I think. I had problems learning sign language, not because I lacked the ability, I don't, but because they kept telling me not to talk as well, and I refused, I couldn't do that. Last edited by Passivist; 08-04-2008 at 04:39 AM. Reason: typos