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Ahuska

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Hello,

I am Amy. I am 33 years old and deaf... I think. I have 100-120dB hearing loss and this happened in adulthood. I am learning ASL but I also speak. I am thinking about getting cochlear implants. I want to refer to myself as deaf, but I don’t know if that is disrespectful because I use hearing aids to hear many sounds. I feel like I’m stuck in between the hearing world and the Deaf community and I’d really like to be part of the Deaf community. I’m learning all that I can. Anybody else struggle with self identification?
 
Ahuska said:
Hello,

I am Amy. I am 33 years old and deaf... I think. I have 100-120dB hearing loss and this happened in adulthood. I am learning ASL but I also speak. I am thinking about getting cochlear implants. I want to refer to myself as deaf, but I don’t know if that is disrespectful because I use hearing aids to hear many sounds. I feel like I’m stuck in between the hearing world and the Deaf community and I’d really like to be part of the Deaf community. I’m learning all that I can. Anybody else struggle with self identification?
Click to expand...


Welcome Amy! I understand the feeling identity and there are many people who struggle with that. There is a term call late-deafened which means someone loss their hearing late in life. Deaf with a capital D refers to being a part of the Deaf culture or being native American Sign Language signer. I was born deaf but still have residual hearing so I wear hearing aids and I call myself hard of hearing. I also am fluent in ASL so I will say I am deaf but I feel it's better hard of hearing because I don't sign all the time. Most importantly, it is entirely up to the individual to what they want to call themselves. Sometimes I'll say I am deaf/hard of hearing. Most people are not going to be concerned about your hearing status in the Deaf community as long as you sign and are respectful you'll be fine.

here are some cool articles that explains more about the meanings of these terms:
www.verywellhealth.com

Self-Identification in the Deaf Community

Some deaf people consider themselves to be Big D Deaf while others are small d deaf. Learn about the distinction and this aspect of deaf culture.
www.verywellhealth.com www.verywellhealth.com

Media Insights: AI-media Knowledge Hub

blog.ai-media.tv blog.ai-media.tv

Keep on signing and check out the threads on cohlear implants there are many viewpoints.

Annie
 
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