I'm Half Deaf and Could Disturb My Future Job. HELP!!

deafskeptic said:
According my to my sister's MIL, earwigs will burrow themselves in your ear and burrow it's way to your brain.
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That's a myth.... Right? *googling earwigs and brains*
 
jillio said:
Right. Some people just have a natural talent for languages. But if you are deaf, and have that talent, think how many different signed languages you could learn. You don't have to be limited to spoken language as a foreign language.
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If you have that talent, you don't have to be deaf to learn that many signed languages.

Is there a high demand for people who can sign in various languages? Can that become a well-paid career?

If you are hard-of-hearing, rather than deaf, and have that talent, you can learn many spoken languages (as the OP already has), plus signed languages, if there is a desire.

There is something called the "Modern Language Aptitude Test" (MLAT) which can grade someone's ability to pick up new languages.

Modern Language Aptitude Test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael, would you say you are fluent in the 3 foreign languages you mentioned? That is very impressive, since they are from different language groups. If you are indeed fluent, that would in itself show that you have a very high aptitude for language learning. That is a very useful skill, and if, as you say, languages and communication are your life, I hope you can find a career that calls upon that ability.

Even with some hearing loss, you should be able to pass a test in those languages, under the right conditions. And if you can use some sort of technology, HAs or other amplification to boost your understanding of others' speech, so much the better.

Good luck with the ENT appointment; I hope the pain turns out to be from something easily fixable.
 
deafskeptic said:
I met a deaf woman who knew 4 different sign languages in AOL chat years ago.
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Cool. There are as many different signed languages as there are spoken languages. Perhaps more. I learned some Auslan from Jake, and it is different than ASL even though both countries use spoken English. Same with BSL.
 
Beach girl said:
If you have that talent, you don't have to be deaf to learn that many signed languages.

Is there a high demand for people who can sign in various languages? Can that become a well-paid career?

If you are hard-of-hearing, rather than deaf, and have that talent, you can learn many spoken languages (as the OP already has), plus signed languages, if there is a desire.

There is something called the "Modern Language Aptitude Test" (MLAT) which can grade someone's ability to pick up new languages.

Modern Language Aptitude Test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael, would you say you are fluent in the 3 foreign languages you mentioned? That is very impressive, since they are from different language groups. If you are indeed fluent, that would in itself show that you have a very high aptitude for language learning. That is a very useful skill, and if, as you say, languages and communication are your life, I hope you can find a career that calls upon that ability.

Even with some hearing loss, you should be able to pass a test in those languages, under the right conditions. And if you can use some sort of technology, HAs or other amplification to boost your understanding of others' speech, so much the better.

Good luck with the ENT appointment; I hope the pain turns out to be from something easily fixable.
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You are correct. You don't have to be deaf to learn various signed languages. But being deaf will not prevent one from finding a career devoted to languages, either.

I think his aptitude has already been determined.

Online test results should always be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.

The field of linguistic research is wide open when it comes to various signed languages.
 
The MLAT is not an on-line test. If you want to read the link, it explains how it was developed. It's used mostly for government and military applications. A qualified clinical psychologist can also adminster it. It's designed for adults, but there are other versions which are normed for high school students and for children.
 
Beach girl said:
The MLAT is not an on-line test. If you want to read the link, it explains how it was developed. It's used mostly for government and military applications. A qualified clinical psychologist can also adminster it. It's designed for adults, but there are other versions which are normed for high school students and for children.
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I prefer the Strong Inventory. High levels of validity and reliability. Plus it is easily adapted for use with people with hearing loss.
 
and I did think that the locusts and the earwigs and brains were true! hahahaha

OMG. you guys really have opened my mind. I'm serious. :)

and yup, and also (not gonna impress you, but this is true), my lingua franca (first language) is not english. :D so english is just a second language I learned when I was 12 or 13 :) and so yeah haha I feel like afff :( this is too hard for me you know. :'(

ok and about the "I think his aptitude has already been determined".. that's really true.

I'm not that fluent in those 3 languages, but I think my ability is enough to translate a whole page in those languages in minutes without google translate, and of course to speak well, *not mentioning I can hear well :(

and I don't know, I don't have any idea about signed languages :( and (honestly) I'm not interested. :( I don't know. Just imagine (this is gonna be dramatic) a teenager who has just found his aptitude, interest, ability, and realized he will miss it all slowly?

and does inherited hearing loss exist? (like color blindness, etc?)
 
ps: "Modern Language Aptitude Test" = Cool. I'm really interested with the test too x)

but it seems kinda controversial too. but i guess it's good enough for predicting
 
michael13 said:
ps: "Modern Language Aptitude Test" = Cool. I'm really interested with the test too x)

but it seems kinda controversial too. but i guess it's good enough for predicting
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Google to see what it's reliability and validity is, and what population it was normed on. That will all make a difference as to how predictive it is.
 
i'm almost tempted............. to say this one sentence. This entire thread would be derailed by the likes of csign, beachgirl, grendel immediately. So I am going to refrain.
 
michael13 said:
and I did think that the locusts and the earwigs and brains were true! hahahaha

OMG. you guys really have opened my mind. I'm serious. :)

and yup, and also (not gonna impress you, but this is true), my lingua franca (first language) is not english. :D so english is just a second language I learned when I was 12 or 13 :) and so yeah haha I feel like afff :( this is too hard for me you know. :'(

ok and about the "I think his aptitude has already been determined".. that's really true.

I'm not that fluent in those 3 languages, but I think my ability is enough to translate a whole page in those languages in minutes without google translate, and of course to speak well, *not mentioning I can hear well :(

and I don't know, I don't have any idea about signed languages :( and (honestly) I'm not interested. :( I don't know. Just imagine (this is gonna be dramatic) a teenager who has just found his aptitude, interest, ability, and realized he will miss it all slowly?

and does inherited hearing loss exist? (like color blindness, etc?)
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To your last question: yes.

You might develop an interest in the signed languages later. The study of language is the study of language. You could read some of William Stokoe's work on the linguisitics of American Sign Language. His work was pretty revolutionary with signed languages.
 
Google to see what it's reliability and validity is, and what population it was normed on. That will all make a difference as to how predictive it is.
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great idea :)
 
i'm almost tempted............. to say this one sentence. This entire thread would be derailed by the likes of csign, beachgirl, grendel immediately. So I am going to refrain.
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ok what's that?
 
You might develop an interest in the signed languages later. The study of language is the study of language. You could read some of William Stokoe's work on the linguisitics of American Sign Language. His work was pretty revolutionary with signed languages.
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It's not that easy to leave spoken language, but i guess I should read some informations about signed language. preventive.
 
The MLAT has been used by the U.S. gov't and military for several decades now. I had to take it after I entered the Foreign Service, to determine if I was a candidate for one of the so-called "hard" languages. (I was. In my case, I took Serbo-Croatian, and used the language for four years. I also studied and used French, Spanish, and Portuguese, all considered "easy" languages.)

Michael, do you know for a fact that your hearing loss will be progressive? You said "Just imagine (this is gonna be dramatic) a teenager who has just found his aptitude, interest, ability, and realized he will miss it all slowly?" Do you know for a fact that you will "miss it all slowly?"

You mentioned that your mother said you had been "half-deaf" since childhood. Do you know if your hearing has remained roughly stable since childhood?

What sort of career do you have in mind? Deafness is more of an impediment in some areas than others. Being hard-of-hearing (which seems to more accurately describe you, is that correct?) doesn't have to be much of an impediment at all.

You could focus, for instance, on careers that call on your ability to do written translations from one language to another.

Are you in college now? Do you have an idea of what you're going to major in?
 
michael13 said:
It's not that easy to leave spoken language, but i guess I should read some informations about signed language. preventive.
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Yes, it requires an adjustment process, but I think you would be surprised at what you will find if you study the signed languages a bit.
 
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