Can someone who is severely deaf talk normally?

[cdmeggers]

My deafness is in the severe to profound range, and I can speak normally. And I was only 2 when I became deaf (from meningitis). Had to relearn how to talk, had to go to speech therapy in school (up until middle of 8th grade when I quit speech therapy).

When I talk to people, they never even know I'm deaf unless I tell them I am deaf.

 

[deafdyke]

and I can speak normally. And I was only 2 when I became deaf (from meningitis). Had to relearn how to talk

Well then, that makes sense......Two is almost postlingal deafness....and you did have two years of hearing and talking normally......can totally understand why you're primarly oral and don't sign too much......not too many pediatric cases have that advantage.

 

[Lantana]

Oh, sure, you are fooling yourself, Meggers. Every try to take a poll of your friends? (If you have any). Wake up and smell the coffee.

 

[Lavender]

I was born hearing until at age of 4, I became hoh had been training with speech therapist thru-out all the years in elementary school and then turned out to severely deaf. My voice doesn't sound like deaf.

 

[Mookie]

my speech is terrible. My voice like a monkey. My speech is accurately sound "Fuck You" and "Shit"

How do you know? I am sure that you can speak very well with drunkards at at any bars. They surely read your lips in noise envirments. Just bring your brand-new hubby with you....

 

[Mookie]

EXCELLENT post Lantanta!
My speech is pretty good, but there are still people who can't undy my voice....I also have major problems with pitch and volumne. People say that my voice is easy to get used to, but it's still wicked distinctive......I'm never gonna be mistaken for a hearie. On the upside my LANGUAGE is good.....I know I test wicked high on tests of verbal acuity, even for a hearie person.

That's why you do have a strong deaf accent. How? you only speak on straight frequent line. If you wish to speak like hearing, just speak with expressional tones. Just like facial expression in ASL.

 

[deafdyke]

Hey, on the other hand....there ARE oral deaf folks who don't have Asperger Syndrome type social defincieces.... Not all oral deaf kids are severe loners (of course, it does seem like that sometimes!)

 

[Audiofuzzy]

I think a person who lost their entire hearing before the age of 6 wil have severe difficulty learning "normal" speech. If at all possible.

It is possible, I think, with years of extensive training and help of therapists. But not for everyone. I would say it a gift, also, of being able to "get it" and learn. Something like learning to paint or being an athlete, ya know, some do it better some just so-so.

I know Sue Thomas does have 'deaf accent', my husbnad says so- he's a hearie.
I don't think there is anything wrong with "deaf accent". nor calling it this such because it's just a fact and nothing wrong with the fact either.
I do have deaf accent..

Fuzzy

 

[travisdoesmath]

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[wolvie]

I'm hearing and my ASL teacher is profound deaf, but he can talk.

When you hear him speak he does that the deaf monotone, but his ennuciation is way better than mine as a hearing person so all of us in class can understand him quite well.

I also have a HOH friend who has a slight deaf tone to his speech, but his speech is also pretty good.

 

[Unegawahya]

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!!!!

Hmmmm...deaf can speak? YES. They can. I have a few deaf friends who are able to talk MORE clearly. Mistaken them for "hearing" and they loved it! Doesn't matter if ppl lose their hearing at adults or at birth, deaf person can learn to speak using special technique such as mirror, high volume hearing aid/body aid, hand to throat, etc. The more they practice and with discipline (not harsh, mild only), the more they are able to speak pretty darn good. I'm surprised when my friend's mom told me how they taught him since he was a baby. He didn't flink when he watched his parents since birth. He grew to learn to speak faster and improve pretty well. One place accidentally sent him to non-deaf school. Oops. So they have to send him to deaf/non-deaf school. Cute back then. He was trained to read and write earlier than the children's ages, so he won't lag behind. He did pretty good job and now a teacher. My mom did the same but I'm hearing-impaired. I was learning to read and write earlier than other kids, reading at toddler age, and writing begun at 3 years from ABC to more. It's a good idea to head-start the children to speak, read, and write when they're toddlers so they will not lag behind from other peers in schools when they turn into preschoolers or kindergarteners. But again, some kids don't want to learn until they start school.

 

[rushabh]

i know 3 people who where born deaf....and speak more then 6 languages! each speak so well that my hearing pals thought the deaf ones could hear!!!!
it just took many years of speach therapy!!!

6 languages?????? how the heck did they manage it?? I thought profoundly deaf people like myself are limited to only one language given the fact that they usually aren't even that proficient in their mother tongue. Can you please provide more details on how they were able to achieve the impossible?

 

[deafdyke]

Well.......does anyone know how high the comorbidity of apraxia and hearing loss is? I do know it's VERY common among dhh kids....Most kids with my syndrome are only hoh, but we have a very high speech failure rate, so many of us learn sign.
I do know it's possible for deaf kids to learn to speak with very limited hearing. I know of some deaf kids who learned to speak with only speech awareness thresholds with their aids.

 

[sr171soars]

That's why you do have a strong deaf accent. How? you only speak on straight frequent line. If you wish to speak like hearing, just speak with expressional tones. Just like facial expression in ASL.

Please pray tell how one does this without enough hearing to "get" all the nuances of speech? Unless one has a full range of hearing (aided or not), there is no way for a HOH/deaf person to talk like a normal hearing person. I don't care who you are. They may be able to get the monotone down pretty well but the expressive part requires decent hearing. Language is so much more than repeating back the words. Voice inflections are a critical component to expressing oneself in a hearing world. Sarcasm is an excellent example of a powerful voice mechanism. Just hearing the words won't do it if one wants to understand the totality of what was communicated. How about hearing "pain" in someone's voice from a person who is hurting over something.

I have been very fortunate enough to have enough hearing (especially range wise) with my HA to understand all that (took me years though). With my CI, it is sort of a moot point for me as I hear all that again. I will submit even with my CI, there are times I will miss some information in somebody's voice and that can throw one off (as to the meaning the person tried to convey). Just having a CI doesn't mean we have perfect hearing... *Sigh* Hearing such a complicated business.

 

[signer16]

Please pray tell how one does this without enough hearing to "get" all the nuances of speech? Unless one has a full range of hearing (aided or not), there is no way for a HOH/deaf person to talk like a normal hearing person. I don't care who you are. They may be able to get the monotone down pretty well but the expressive part requires decent hearing. Language is so much more than repeating back the words. Voice inflections are a critical component to expressing oneself in a hearing world. Sarcasm is an excellent example of a powerful voice mechanism. Just hearing the words won't do it if one wants to understand the totality of what was communicated.

True. SO true. That is the one area I notice my even most of hoh friends lacking, tone of voice. They may be able to give it to a point, but often time can't hear it in other people's voices. I notice myself trying to give an appropriate facial expression/comment to someone's remark to cue them, and a lot of times an "oh" registers on their face.
Deanne Bray is someone with a profound loss who is a GREAT speaker. She can make almost all the sounds and change her voice on a limited scale; she voices better than the real Sue Thomas! Many hearing people mistake her as deaf, but I would easily pick up on her voice being "deaf." People don't notice what they are not expecting or have never heard before. Still, if you asked them, they would probably almost all comment on her lack of tone, and inability to say the "s" sound correctly.

How about hearing "pain" in someone's voice from a person who is hurting over something.

Now, usually facial expression gives that impression clearly, but I know many hearing people that put on a tough face and body language when their voice gives it away otherwise so...okay, good example.

Just having a CI doesn't mean we have perfect hearing... *Sigh* Hearing such a complicated business.

Yup, hearing people - 200,000 cochlear hairs.... best cochlear implant - 24 cochlear hairs.... somehow I don't see that as becoming hearing.

 

[sequoias]

I've seen deaf people who don't even know sign language and they can talk pretty well with hearing people. Those were my old schoolmates back at the early stages of elementary school and pennisula oral school in Redwood City.

Severely deaf people CAN talk pretty well as long they can lipread and keep eyes peeled.

 

[sr171soars]

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Yup, hearing people - 200,000 cochlear hairs.... best cochlear implant - 24 cochlear hairs.... somehow I don't see that as becoming hearing.

Er...while I agree having a CI doesn't give one normal hearing (I can attest that it is much better than my HA days by far), your analogy isn't correct. There is not a "pro quid pro" comparison between 200,000 cochlear hairs versis "24" via the implant. The implant uses the 24 areas on the rod to stimulate quite a number of nerve spots on the cochlea. The number of stimulations will be obviously quite shy of 200,000 potential spots but quite decent (not sure of the rough number but it is quite a bit). Another problem is the implant doesn't go all the way to the end of the cochlea either for safety reasons (the implant might damage it as it is rather fragile). So, you have no stimulus with the very low, low sounds but it isn't a big deal either. Most of the "missing" sounds is in the higher ranges ~ 11,000hz plus through to 20,000hz. Fortunately, for the most important things in life including music, hearing up to 11,000hz is pretty good.

 

[sr171soars]

I've seen deaf people who don't even know sign language and they can talk pretty well with hearing people. Those were my old schoolmates back at the early stages of elementary school and pennisula oral school in Redwood City.

Severely deaf people CAN talk pretty well as long they can lipread and keep eyes peeled.

It is not the point if they can "talk" well enough. Anybody with normal hearing can usually tell the difference. I'm referring to voice inflection and all that jazz. As I mentioned earlier, speaking is more than just spitting words back.

I will agree there are some HOH out there who speak beautifully (I'm one of those myself) but I have yet to meet anybody who is considered truly deaf that could do that well.

 

[deafdyke]

sr171soars, exactly......"reading" vocal tone and inflection is ONE HUGE reason why a lot of hoh kids have such trouble with social skills in the hearing world. That is one HUGE reason why I support ASL and Deaf culture for dhh kids.

 

[ismi]

There are some hoh people who can get away with sounding like they have a lisp, and they made be able to fool some hearing people, but not those with knowledge about deafness and deaf voices.

I have a progressive hearing loss; got my first set of aids when I was five, and I've pretty much always pushed the limits of the available technology. Currently I have loss ranging from about 75-85dB. Yet, with only 6 months of formal speech therapy at age 6, I speak perfectly. I have not met anyone who noticed my speech, including 'terps, transliterators, audiologists, etc.

It might also help that I have choral and theatrical training, as do my parents (my father was once an ESL teacher who specialized in using theater to teach English, and my mother is a music teacher), but that happened much later in my life.