Wow...i love the broad generalization i see here of how hearing people look down upon the deaf.... Only way ive ever looked down upon a deaf person is every time i look at my fiancee.....and thats only because shes a foot and a half shorter than i!
I was crurising around town last tuesday with my fiancee skullchick (amy) on the back of my buell, decided to bang thru the gears from a red light turning greem, revved her up to about 3 grand and dumped the clutch, went to bang second with no clutch and for some odd reason it didnt catch second...
The largest hurdle to overcome on your part is going to be learning to include your deaf mate into conversations with your friends, family, children etc. This is something i still struggle with as i have no formal asl training and my fiancee does not really make much of an effort to teach me...