"Hearing Impaired" = offensive?

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shel90 said:
kokonut said:
Absolutely. And some may need to lighten up, too.
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Nobody needs to follow your way so some of us may not want to lighten up so get over it.
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i would imagine it takes a toll on one's life being angry and offended all the time. It has got to be exhausting :dunno2: hence the advice to "lighten up"
 
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GrendelQ said:
My daughter is profoundly deaf from birth in both ears, uses ASL as her primary language, attends a bi-bi school. She has MUCH pride (even stretches out the DDDDDDDDDDD in deaf when she signs whether she is deaf or hearing, which her school identifies as a black & white distinction (either you have typical hearing (HEARING) or you don't have typical hearing (DEAF), including all shades of hearing loss.

Last night, as we prepared for bed, I asked her what she thinks of the term "hearing impaired" -- which I don't like to use, but still doesn't offend me (takes a lot to offend me). She SHRUGGED nonchalantly and pointed to her CI battery in in the charger next to the CI and said emphatically: I CAN'T LISTEN TO YOU. I'M DEAF.
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yeah, seeing her growing up as culturally Deaf, she's definitely "deaf". I know one good friend just like her and she can talk. curious, how well can she speak?

what bothers me is when people define themselves differently than truth; i.e. has CI on and say "I'm culturally Deaf" when this person knows no sign language at all. :roll:
 
Frisky Feline said:
I am deaf. :)
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I HATE when my hearing friends introduce me to their friends, the very first thing they say "Oh, she's deaf." my name's not Deaf. :mad2: and now I start to annoy them, *taps firmly* "No, my name is not Deaf, my name is XXXXX." so I won't be only one that gets embarrassed. :lol: boy, that infuriates me. WHY do you NEED to tell them I'm deaf?? they will know/find out a few minutes AFTER, right? sigh.
 
freckles said:
I HATE when my hearing friends introduce me to their friends, the very first thing they say "Oh, she's deaf." my name's not Deaf. :mad2: and now I start to annoy them, *taps firmly* "No, my name is not Deaf, my name is XXXXX." so I won't be only one that gets embarrassed. :lol: boy, that infuriates me. WHY do you NEED to tell them I'm deaf?? they will know/find out a few minutes AFTER, right? sigh. :|
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haha yeah i hate that too. whatever they say, Oh you are deaf, I said no deaf. lol they got confused then they realize for a few minutes. hehe
 
freckles said:
I HATE when my hearing friends introduce me to their friends, the very first thing they say "Oh, she's deaf." my name's not Deaf. :mad2: and now I start to annoy them, *taps firmly* "No, my name is not Deaf, my name is XXXXX." so I won't be only one that gets embarrassed. :lol: boy, that infuriates me. WHY do you NEED to tell them I'm deaf?? they will know/find out a few minutes AFTER, right? sigh.
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Frisky Feline said:
haha yeah i hate that too. whatever they say, Oh you are deaf, I said no deaf. lol they got confused then they realize for a few minutes. hehe
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maybe it's because they were talking to you and you didn't know? I guess your hearing friends didn't want them to think you're ignoring them hence.... "oh she's deaf"
 
Jiro said:
maybe it's because they were talking to you and you didn't know? I guess your hearing friends didn't want them to think you're ignoring them hence.... "oh she's deaf"
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I bet, in this situation, the friend said, "oh she's deaf", all in the same introductory sentence before anyone could react.....
 
Tousi said:
I bet, in this situation, the friend said, "oh she's deaf", all in the same introductory sentence before anyone could react.....
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could be.

Freckles - I'm wondering is it because your hearing friends don't respect you? or not well-informed about deaf stuff?
 
Jiro said:
maybe it's because they were talking to you and you didn't know? I guess your hearing friends didn't want them to think you're ignoring them hence.... "oh she's deaf"
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no. often it's "She's Deaf" just before they started to 'speak' as we were walking up to them. tousi is right, please don't underestimate my intelligence, I KNOW what I SAW. their mouths weren't moving yet. clearly. I even can 'hear' (sense) when they're talking about me. :giggle:
Jiro said:
could be.

Freckles - I'm wondering is it because your hearing friends don't respect you? or not well-informed about deaf stuff?
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not well informed until I told them a couple MORE times, they still don't get it. rude? defend my deafness? use me for ASL? :dunno:
 
freckles said:
no. often it's "She's Deaf" just before they started to 'speak' as we were walking up to them. please don't underestimate me, I KNOW what I SAW.
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but do you KNOW what you HEARD? :hmm:

hearing people speak "multidirectionally" :dizzy:
 
freckles said:
yeah, seeing her growing up as culturally Deaf, she's definitely "deaf". I know one good friend just like her and she can talk. curious, how well can she speak?

what bothers me is when people define themselves differently than truth; i.e. has CI on and say "I'm culturally Deaf" when this person knows no sign language at all. :roll:
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:applause:
 
Frisky Feline said:
haha yeah i hate that too. whatever they say, Oh you are deaf, I said no deaf. lol they got confused then they realize for a few minutes. hehe
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heh.. I have learned to be sarcastic, too. so if you see sarcasm from me here, not my fault. :wave: :lol:
 
freckles said:
not well informed until I told them a couple MORE times, they still don't get it. rude? defend my deafness? :dunno:
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rude? hmm more like... *knocking on their head* empty head!

My hearing friends introduce me by my name and that's it. no mention about my deafness or HA. nada. Probably because they're too used to me or something.

But interestingly enough - when I first worked here, the HR director introduced me to some people and said - "this is Jiro... he is our new webmaster... he is hearing-impaired so make sure to look at him when talking to him." I was :ugh3: but not offended cuz she's technically correct.
 
Jiro said:
but do you KNOW what you HEARD? :hmm:

hearing people speak "multidirectionally" :dizzy:
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reread my post, I clarified a bit. again, you must think I'm pretty dumb. thank you. but you're not culturally deaf, after all. :D they are really good at body language, too.
 
freckles said:
reread my post, I clarified a bit. again, you must think I'm pretty dumb. thank you. but you're not culturally deaf, after all. :D they are really good at body language, too.
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:applause: I love this thread.
 
Jiro said:
rude? hmm more like... *knocking on their head* empty head!

My hearing friends introduce me by my name and that's it. no mention about my deafness or HA. nada. Probably because they're too used to me or something.

But interestingly enough - when I first worked here, the HR director introduced me to some people and said - "this is Jiro... he is our new webmaster... he is hearing-impaired so make sure to look at him when talking to him." I was :ugh3: but not offended cuz she's technically correct.
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That last paragraph is a horse of a whole 'nuther color! :lol:
 
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