HOH vs. Deaf--which do I sign?

natty_4ever said:
I suppose I might sign deaf now, considering speech is so difficult for me to understand now without lipreading. I just wish I had the time to learn to sign, and that the classes nearby weren't so expensive!
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Some fantastic website that I use:

• ASL • American Sign Language
ASLPro.com Home
Signing Savvy | ASL Sign Language Video Dictionary
DCMP.org :: Home (they let you check out videos that are captioned and you can use it like a library and they mail everything to you.)

I also check with my local area for anything deaf related. That's how I found a Deaf Service Center and our local deaf club.

Check into adult education classes for ASL courses. I know locally there are classes in 6 different high schools at night that offer ASL for under $100. I am taking a class at my Deaf Service Center for $75 for 9 weeks. That's about average with the high school adult ed classes.

Hope this helps!!
 
natty_4ever said:
I suppose I might sign deaf now, considering speech is so difficult for me to understand now without lipreading. I just wish I had the time to learn to sign, and that the classes nearby weren't so expensive!
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So there's no community college where you live or nearby? How large is your city/town or ones nearby where there's the likelihood of finding ASL classes being offered for free or for a reasonable sum?
 
Tousi said:
So there's no community college where you live or nearby? How large is your city/town or ones nearby where there's the likelihood of finding ASL classes being offered for free or for a reasonable sum?
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I live in a large city and there are no "free" classes. Ah well - at least I found something for me and my mother's paying for it.
 
natty_4ever said:
I suppose I might sign deaf now, considering speech is so difficult for me to understand now without lipreading. I just wish I had the time to learn to sign, and that the classes nearby weren't so expensive!
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Where are you located and I'll see if I can find anything in your area if you want. You can PM me with the location and I'll keep it discreet.
 
I live in a decently large area. There is only one place nearby that offers asl classes. The local deaf school prices it kind of high though, for non students/family/faculty. I've considered volunteering there to try to practice. I have found no deaf clubs or associations either. I can skype or whatnot, but I don't have VRS.
 
I did find one club, but it doesn't seem to be active anymore. Another is for black deaf, and I'm not black! So I don't seem to have much luck.
 
I agreed with a person's personal choice because it is totally up to him/her.

If someone feels he/she is able to hear to some degrees, then someone can call him/herself a HOH if he/she want to. If someone prefers to call him/herself D/deaf, then let him/her be so. Why not? It's about your choice. :)
 
I've recently begun referring to myself as deaf when meeting someone that I know I'll never talk to again, like a store clerk, or bartender or something. It makes it simple and there's no need to go into specifics about the nature of my hearing loss, which is difficult to explain.

But with people that I know I will develop longer relationships with, I explain to them that I am both HoH and deaf. Some situations I will be able to understand speech, as long as I can also lipread, but in many situations I won't be able to understand speech at all, regardless of lipreading. So in those situations, I am deaf.

I am comfortable referring to myself as deaf in most situations, but with people that I have more than just fleeting relationships with, I like to be accurate about what I can actually hear so they don't get confused or think I'm lying about my hearing.
 
natty 4ever, If your site name is a play on Cincinnati because the slang name for the city is often natty.... there are tons of places and resources.

It depends on the situation for Randy. Very HOH if there is no background noises at all but anywhere there is a lot of mechanical noises, people/crowds, and so on he is deaf.
 
No, my name is Natalie, and that's just one of my nicknames. :) I have found a deaf club nearby here, but I haven't received any response from them. It seems to be all senior citizens though, lol! Not exactly my cup of tea, considering I'm in college.
 
TheWriteAlex said:
I've recently begun referring to myself as deaf when meeting someone that I know I'll never talk to again, like a store clerk, or bartender or something. It makes it simple and there's no need to go into specifics about the nature of my hearing loss, which is difficult to explain.
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I do this too. More often than not, it's noisy so I can't make out any speech anyway, and it helps them realize they can't just yell at me and have me understand, but that they have to actually print on my palm.

But with people that I know I will develop longer relationships with, I explain to them that I am both HoH and deaf. Some situations I will be able to understand speech, as long as I can also lipread, but in many situations I won't be able to understand speech at all, regardless of lipreading. So in those situations, I am deaf.
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Similarly, I explain that I can hear speech in a quiet room but when it's noisy I can't understand speech at all and need to use tactile methods of communication. I also explain that when I'm tired or feeling ill, my speech comprehension goes down because it requires a level of mental energy to fill in the gaps, and if I don't have the energy, I can't fill in the gaps.

I am comfortable referring to myself as deaf in most situations, but with people that I have more than just fleeting relationships with, I like to be accurate about what I can actually hear so they don't get confused or think I'm lying about my hearing.
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Same, which is why I don't like saying I'm deaf to people that I know well, since I do have a good deal of residual hearing, so that would just be a flat-out lie. What I say instead is that when it's noisy, I'm functionally deaf. I need more help than usual with navigating unfamiliar areas (especially in bright light when I can't see at all) and I can't understand speech.
 
CJB said:
I do this too. More often than not, it's noisy so I can't make out any speech anyway, and it helps them realize they can't just yell at me and have me understand, but that they have to actually print on my palm.



Similarly, I explain that I can hear speech in a quiet room but when it's noisy I can't understand speech at all and need to use tactile methods of communication. I also explain that when I'm tired or feeling ill, my speech comprehension goes down because it requires a level of mental energy to fill in the gaps, and if I don't have the energy, I can't fill in the gaps.



Same, which is why I don't like saying I'm deaf to people that I know well, since I do have a good deal of residual hearing, so that would just be a flat-out lie. What I say instead is that when it's noisy, I'm functionally deaf. I need more help than usual with navigating unfamiliar areas (especially in bright light when I can't see at all) and I can't understand speech.
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Exactly, when people don't understand hearing aids/CI and such, I don't have time to explain to them that certain situation make me appear deaf because I have a hard time understanding. It's just better to say deaf because I really do feel deaf when I can't make out the sounds I'm hearing.
 
Yeah, when I'm speaking to a hearie, I will usually say I'm deaf. Because if i say I'm HOH they just look at me like oh okay, so you have SELECTIVE hearing? and I'm like um no. They just generally brush it off and then act like it wasn't true or just...not as significant, you know? Basically if I ask them to repeat themselves or the like, they're like, dude, can't you hear me? But I have never signed to a deafie before.
 
I am now sating I am Late-deafened and most people will ask what that is. It gives me a chance to explain and they generally are fine and courteous.
 
KristinaB said:
I am now sating I am Late-deafened and most people will ask what that is. It gives me a chance to explain and they generally are fine and courteous.
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Same here, and it helps people understand why I don't have a "Deaf accent." (Of course pre-lingual Deaf people can have excellent speech too, and I always make sure to emphasize that too.)
 
I too am struggling with this debate. I have mild hearing loss, and in cases like a quiet room, I can understand speech. I am starting to have issues over the phone, depending on the tone, and that is sort of a issue since I answer calls in a call center for a living. Luckily the headset I have has a great volume control that I have been turning up and just having people repeat if I do not catch what they say. For the most part, I tend to call myself hearing, and only started to use hard of hearing. At work, I am not telling them a dam thing tell my job is secure, since I am hoping my hearing lasts tell I get out of college (I went back to train for a new career ).

I still don’t really know what to call myself, since the other day, I got yelled at in a freaking store for calling myself HoH to a signer.. long story, but it really gave me pause since I can understand some speech, but if it gets loud, I have to switch to lip reading and use what bits I hear as a cross-check. I am at a point in my hearing that HA’s will not help, but I still have issues.. I have started learning sign and have just started a sign class. In this class, I am trying to embrace the HoH tag, but I still question myself constantly.
 
You have a mild loss, but your HAs aren't working for you? You might want to consider different ones, because my loss is severe and they worked for me so far until very recently when my audiogram dropped and my speech recognition did as well. Is your audiogram a funky slope or something?

I don't see why a signer would get angry at you calling yourself HOH if that's how you want to identify yourself.
 
:ty: Thank you for the sites, Kristina. I wish I also took the time to learn sign language further after taking the basic class twice in my early 20's. I was born deaf and I was raised in the hearing world without any sign language. Though I dearly love the hearing people, I just don't fit in as there is so much frustration in understanding what they're saying, even though I can lip-read up to a point. The classes are too darned expensive for me, too. I'm almost completely deaf and need the classes. LOL! Sadly, nothing in life is free. There's a price, or consequence, with everything. Kinda depressing, hehe. :twisted:
 
Firebrand said:
:ty: Thank you for the sites, Kristina. I wish I also took the time to learn sign language further after taking the basic class twice in my early 20's. I was born deaf and I was raised in the hearing world without any sign language. Though I dearly love the hearing people, I just don't fit in as there is so much frustration in understanding what they're saying, even though I can lip-read up to a point. The classes are too darned expensive for me, too. I'm almost completely deaf and need the classes. LOL! Sadly, nothing in life is free. There's a price, or consequence, with everything. Kinda depressing, hehe. :twisted:
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I am glad that the sites will be a help. I was fortunate to have located ASL classes at our local Deaf Service Center here in town.
 
CJB said:
Same here, and it helps people understand why I don't have a "Deaf accent." (Of course pre-lingual Deaf people can have excellent speech too, and I always make sure to emphasize that too.)
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Haha, someone asked me once why I wasn't mute and why I didn't "talk retarded." No lie, exact words, "talk retarded." I was like...you're kidding, right? They were like "Well, no, Helen Keller couldn't talk!" :roll:
 
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