What does the term "deaf" mean to you?

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skm4441

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I am a cochlear implant recipient... And I am a member of a mailing list...

I was thinking... those with cochlear implants who were late deafened... would you consider them to be "Deaf" because they lose hearing and then get all paranoid and gets implanted and then talk about how much they can hear on the phone, iPod, etc. I just feel like they are such hypocrites. They call themselves deaf and then they can listen to all that stuff?

I am still deaf because I still rely on interpreters and ASL to communicate. I only got them because I have Usher's and I thought it would be better to get CIs earlier than when i get older and harder for me to learn new things.
 
I wish you the very best with your CI. In my opinion - from a medical view you will be considered deaf even with a CI...when you take your CI off at night, you will be deaf. You may function as a hearing or hard of hearing person (e.g., talking on the phone) but that doesn't mean you do not have a hearing loss.

Good luck. Keep us posted :).
 
skm4441 said:
I am a cochlear implant recipient... And I am a member of a mailing list...

I was thinking... those with cochlear implants who were late deafened... would you consider them to be "Deaf" because they lose hearing and then get all paranoid and gets implanted and then talk about how much they can hear on the phone, iPod, etc. I just feel like they are such hypocrites. They call themselves deaf and then they can listen to all that stuff?

I am still deaf because I still rely on interpreters and ASL to communicate. I only got them because I have Usher's and I thought it would be better to get CIs earlier than when i get older and harder for me to learn new things.
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We have been teaching them what is "Deaf" before on other threads. You are not the first one. Even when you go to bed and with the CI turn off for the night, you are still deaf. But when someone start to put the CI back on, can talk and hear on the phone, iPod or talking to the hearing person without no trouble understanding the person, etc. That would make them hard of hearing, even for late deafened. I am glad you are still relying on interpreters and ASL to communicate, so that make you Deaf. Deaf means that a person can not understand what is being said and like you mention have to rely on interpreters and sign the ASL and using the TDD or VideoPhone to communicate and living in a very quiet world. Hearing people don't understand what is "Deaf" really like and that we are all making excuses that being deaf is wonderful and that they can make us hear with CI and be like the hearing people. Boy, we have a long way to go to make them understand why we need these special needs for the Deaf instead of trying to make us hear. Wake up, World, smell the coffee and be realistic. :ugh3:
 
There are a lot of definitions of "deaf".

I usually label myself depending on what people ask me.

If it was a deaf person asking me, I would likely say that I was hard-of-hearing or oral" If it was a hearing person asking me, I would likely say that I was deaf.

As for people who get CI, some of them do suddenly say... "I'm now hearing!" :roll:

Even if you got CI or hearing aids or anything, you're still deaf... period. Want proof? Take off your CI. Now, can you hear? Bingo.
 
As defined by the Google Web Dictionary- 'people who have severe hearing impairments'. That I agree with. I think that people who have minimal hearing loss cannot define themselves as 'deaf', simply because they do not suffer from the severe restrictions of total or near-deafness. They could, however, describe themselves as hearing impaired, which is something (though not entirely) seperate from the meaning of deafness.

It pisses me off no end when you listen to ppl with normal hearing who sometimes express 'oh god, i think im going deaf'. Oh please, grow some balls. If you can't listen to music, talk on the phone, watch movies without subtitles, participate in group conversations, hear uni lecturers, communicate with people in just about every type of environment with background noise... the list goes on. But you get my point....

ah jeez, i need some more grog. BTW, I am a profoundly deaf uni student living at college. Life was going along great till my cochlear implant started being an asshole (the hearing quality becoming more deterioated with each day). I have become socially isolated to the point where its a huge effort to even try communicate with people. As some retarded goof said- 'it's easier to just give up'.
 
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