Stereotypes of the deaf and hard of hearing

gnulinuxman said:
I don't have my radio loud, and I often drive with it off, but I usually see them before I hear them. I would instead worry about noise-induced hearing loss with your radio. ;)
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LOL, well, it's not TREMENDOUSLY loud. I have been pretty careful...especially now that I have a new car where I don't have to turn it up so far to overcome the road noise! :)

And Interpretrator--good point about the interpreter's demeanor! I think that people assume from watching the news where the interpreter sometimes copies the original speaker's tone, that the interpreter is reflecting the client's own emotions. So that's good to see you thinking of it.
 
When I was 10, I was visiting relatives miles away. My cousin and I were playing in the street. A neighbor of his came up to show off his brand new bike. Kids were taking turns to try out the bike. As I was waiting to get on his bike, he said "he can't ride my bike!! he's deaf!"
 
as for the driving issue...

there is a guy i know whose mother is deaf and kids often ask him if she can drive... and he's got so sick of it that he just replies with, "What?! are you kidding?!?! she's DEAF!"
 
gnulinuxman said:
Read it again.

Since I must always re-explain myself (even if you don't read it), I stated that HEARING PEOPLE WITHOUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS SOMETIMES THINK THAT PEOPLE WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS HAVE PERFECT HEARING. My post had NOTHING to do with the implantees themselves thinking or stating they had perfect hearing.

I also stated that some implantees denied that any hearing people would have this stereotype of cochlear implantees (I'm not naming names here because I don't want finger-pointing wars here.)

Again, I did NOT say you or any other cochlear implantee or CI advocate was stating this. I was stating that HEARING people knowing NOTHING about cochlear implantees had the stereotype.
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I still have to clear the record - no one on the CI board denies that there are hearing people out there who have mistaken ideas about the hearing deaf people get from CIs. I cannot recall anyone denying this and am not sure why they would?

Apologies for the misunderstanding. On the CI board you seem to have argued very strongly in the past that some posters there were claiming that the CI makes one hear perfectly. But you are now saying you don't believe this to be the case?

Anyway I don't want to further hijack this thread. Sorry to everyone else.
 
gnulinuxman said:
Several hearing people think that if a deaf person says they're deaf with their voice, they are seeking attention and/or lying.
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I think that goes along with the stereotype, or common misconception or whatever it is, that deaf people "can hear when they want to."
 
They are cute and a special tone to them. One of the things i would miss the most is my girlfriends voice.
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I wish more people felt that way, but the thing is too often people assume I'm MR b/c of the quality of my voice! That is why I hate my voice.




along with hoh= old people.... in hearing aid ads, it's a bunch of old men
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Yeah. or like preppy Stepford kids......I saw an ad in Volta Voices for hearing aids for kids....and they didn';t even try to make it look cool.....they just had a couple of preppy suburban kids.
 
I was reminded of another one today. Hearing people all seem to think louder is better, or if something is louder I'll be able to hear it.

it's very hard for hearing people to understand that there is no such thing as "loud enough".

for some tones, no matter how loud something is I won't hear it. Plus, since my hearing loss is sensorineural, my middle ear is "normal" loud sound are uncomfortable and painfulll the same as they are for a hearing person, some times I'm even more sensitive because I'm always straining to hear things.
 
Interpretrator said:
I think that goes along with the stereotype, or common misconception or whatever it is, that deaf people "can hear when they want to."
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No...THAT would go for little boys with ADHD. My dad got dragged to an audiologist when he was little because he wouldn't answer his mother when she called him. The doctor diagnosed him with "selective hearing". ;)

And good point on the "louder isn't better" thing. I only found that out at age 16 after I got too enthusiastic in a soccer game and accidently let out a victory yell next to a deaf girl's ear. And earned myself a very justified dirty look, for not paying attention to my surroundings. ;)

I genuinely didn't know that prior; I mean, it seemed logical to me that if the nerve did not send as many signals, then something loud would not be painful. At risk of sounding like an idiot, why is that not the case?
 
Rose Immortal said:
I mean, it seemed logical to me that if the nerve did not send as many signals, then something loud would not be painful. At risk of sounding like an idiot, why is that not the case?
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Frequency can play a role in "degree of deafness" (for lack of a more technical term). Could be you yelled right at a frequency that she was able to hear or that her hearing aids -- if she had them -- amplified.
 
Although hearing is not required for one to opperate a car, you cannot deny that in some circumstances being able to hear what's going on around you can prevent accidents (such as when you are backing out of a parking spot and failed to see an approaching vehicle; he honks and you stop before hitting him).
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This may sound true, but this is not always true. There was a guy who was backing out his car while my mother was honking to stop. He did not hear it at all. Some hearing people do not bother to double check all directions and SLOWLY before backing out. I truly believe that visualization is more important when driving than hearing. Hearing is an extra helpful addition. I have heard of 2 stories of women who have no arms, and they drive with their legs. It seems so weird, but how is that so far different from deafness? Would you say you cannot deny that arms are helpful? I saw a young teenage girl who did her makeup, brush her teeth, and mother tend to her baby by herself with her legs alone. The key really is to be ALERT.
 
ClearSky said:
The key really is to be ALERT.
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Indeed, and had that driver been alert, as any opperator of a motor vehicle should be, he would have heard your mother's honking. Just because someone chooses to be destracted and not pay attention to his surroundings does not change the fact that the ability to hear does aid in safely opperating a car.
 
Rose Immortal said:
........

I genuinely didn't know that prior; I mean, it seemed logical to me that if the nerve did not send as many signals, then something loud would not be painful. At risk of sounding like an idiot, why is that not the case?
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The ear is a complex thing. There are lots of things that can go wrong and make a person deaf. I'm hoh because my cochlea has some physical "weirdness" going on (the shape of my cochlea isn't normal.. that's the best guess that any dr has given me since I have no family history and there's no other detectable reasons.)

Anyway, the rest of my ear is fine so loud noises are just as painful to me as they are to a hearing person.
 
the next time somebody yells at me, " what?!?! are you deaf?!?!?!?"
i'll sign with a smile, "what? are you hearing!?!?!?!?!"

sheesh... i hate being yelled at... i mean... it helps sometimes, yeah... like on the phone... funny stories, there. hehe...
 
Interpretrator said:
I think that goes along with the stereotype, or common misconception or whatever it is, that deaf people "can hear when they want to."
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That is SUCH a common stereotype. So many people think that deaf people are "faking it" and don't really want to hear. There are times when a deaf person responds to a loud noise because either one, they hear it, or two, they get visual clues that something is happening. People can be visual aware of noise, so many hearing people don't get that and think deaf people are "faking it."

ksbsnowowl said:
Indeed, and had that driver been alert, as any opperator of a motor vehicle should be, he would have heard your mother's honking. Just because someone chooses to be destracted and not pay attention to his surroundings does not change the fact that the ability to hear does aid in safely opperating a car.
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When the radio is on, people are being loud, construction is happening, or a person just chooses not to pay attention, they may not hear honking. But also, MANY cars now are made to be sound proof. I have seen plenty of HEARING drivers that don't hear ambulances, let alone honking. However, being visually alert, which most deaf people are, you can seen the expressions on the faces of people honking, and you can see ambulances through windows and mirrors.
 
Interpretrator said:
I think that goes along with the stereotype, or common misconception or whatever it is, that deaf people "can hear when they want to."
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Oh, I am SOOOO sick of people throwing that one at my fiancee's face. Her whole family has that stereotype. :mad: Lots of other people do too.
 
Well, I got another oldie but goodie today: that deaf people use Braille.

I swear when an interpreter first told me that people ask her about this all the time (before I became an interpreter) I thought she was crazy or that only very very stupid people would ask her this. Now I have to agree. I get this all the time. I got it today from a graduate student in physics. Not a stupid person!

Okay: I taught myself both the ASL alphabet and the Braille alphabet when I was in elementary school and I know this was a little weird and that not everyone is like me. But really, how do people -- smart people! -- keep making this mistake? It boggles my mind.

(Of course I'm not talking about deaf-blind people, many of whom I'm sure do use Braille. That doesn't enter into these conversations. I'm talking about people who think deaf people who use ASL also know Braille.)
 
Interpretrator said:
Well, I got another oldie but goodie today: that deaf people use Braille.
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A year and a half ago my fiancee flew to Germany with her sister. When her sister informed the flight attendant Sharon was deaf, the flight attendant went and got one of those airline emergency brochures in braille for her...
 
ksbsnowowl said:
A year and a half ago my fiancee flew to Germany with her sister. When her sister informed the flight attendant Sharon was deaf, the flight attendant went and got one of those airline emergency brochures in braille for her...
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Quite a few of my friends have had similar experiences on planes or in museums. Makes me giggle every time. :)
 
Interpretrator said:
Well, I got another oldie but goodie today: that deaf people use Braille.

I swear when an interpreter first told me that people ask her about this all the time (before I became an interpreter) I thought she was crazy or that only very very stupid people would ask her this. Now I have to agree. I get this all the time. I got it today from a graduate student in physics. Not a stupid person!

Okay: I taught myself both the ASL alphabet and the Braille alphabet when I was in elementary school and I know this was a little weird and that not everyone is like me. But really, how do people -- smart people! -- keep making this mistake? It boggles my mind.

(Of course I'm not talking about deaf-blind people, many of whom I'm sure do use Braille. That doesn't enter into these conversations. I'm talking about people who think deaf people who use ASL also know Braille.)
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I've come across people who think ASL is the same thing as Braille. :giggle:
 
I remmy one day when I walked to 7-11 to get some stuff, there were three guys and a gal standing by the entrance. They tried to talk with me but I ignored them as I walked in. They figured that I am Deaf and when I came out, they made fun of me. After many years of dealing with stupid hearies, I got fed up and pulled out my Beretta 92FS pistol (I had a concealment license). They ran away like crazy and I believed one of them actually ran faster than Carl Lewis! Few days later, I saw one of them at 7-11, trying to befriend with me...lol. :)
 
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