"i'm a little bit deaf"....

[rockin'robin]

What's a "little bit"?...find it odd some people do say that...either you're Deaf or HOH...unless you want to explain about ur CI or HA....Many times I've been conversing with people and letting them know that I'm Deaf...and they say..."I'm a little bit Deaf in this ear"...

 

[AlleyCat]

Good point. I've had people say that to me too. I think what they really mean to say is they might be hard of hearing. It's kinda hard to be just a little bit deaf. Either you are deaf or you aren't. Hard of hearing is a better way to go in those cases and I think some just don't know how to phrase it correctly.

 

[DeafNerdMommy]

What I find funny is when I tell people I am hoh, they always tell me that they have some kind of hearing loss also. So I offer to hook them up with my audie to see if they need ha and rhey always tell me "Oh it's not that bad, I'm just a little bit hoh." (Or something along those lines.) Why did they bring it up if it was a none issue?!?!

 

[Ambuhhlurr]

It irks me when that happens. I wonder if they say it to try to relate?
The most annoying to me is when they diagnose themselves with nothing to back them up.
"Oh, I have hearing problems too. I think I'm kind of deaf in my left ear. I've been jumping around from doctor to doctor and they all say my hearing is fine, but I don't believe that.
^ I know three people who act like that and only started saying that after they learned I am HoH (I don't tell most people unless I find it necessary or they ask. So a good portion of the people I know don't figure it out until a couple years later and just thought I was super quiet, ignoring them, or that I just was "dumb").

 

[Jane B.]

But . . .yet I remember seeing so many posts here suggesting to refer to your self as deaf even if you can hear some.

 

[AlleyCat]

I have a profound loss. I hear zilch without my hearing aids. 100% quiet. But with hearing aids, THEN I can hear some noises. I'm still deaf.

 

[DeafDucky]

But . . .yet I remember seeing so many posts here suggesting to refer to your self as deaf even if you can hear some.

There have also been posts throughout AD that suggest to refer to yourself as whatever makes you comfortable whether that be HOH, deaf or 'hearing impaired' or hearing disabled or whatever you want.

Yes there are opinions on what's the 'right' term (no such thing as 'right' or 'wrong' with the exception of language that is MEANT to denigrate, harm or bigoted).

As for me... audiologically (sic...) I am deaf, on paper I am deaf; with 'assistance' I am technically hard of hearing and says so on paper too. But I still refer to myself as deaf because well.. that's what I am...still can't hear for beans in many situations or understand so hard of hearing doesn't really fit...FOR ME.

 

[Ericka]

There was an article where the woman said she didn't say "hoh" anymore because people wouldn't listen to her needs about facing her, speaking clearly and slowly and often say they forgot She was hoh the blog it was posted on is livingwithhearingloss.Com. When she said she is a little bit deaf people would remember to face her or speak slowly and never forgot she couldn't hear well.

 

[Tetracyclone]

I too have a profound and progressive hearing loss. As others mention, I shifted to using the words "deaf" or "almost deaf" to get people's attention better. "Hard of hearing" elicits less cooperation.

 

[Beowulf]

There have also been posts throughout AD that suggest to refer to yourself as whatever makes you comfortable whether that be HOH, deaf or 'hearing impaired' or hearing disabled or whatever you want.

Yes there are opinions on what's the 'right' term (no such thing as 'right' or 'wrong' with the exception of language that is MEANT to denigrate, harm or bigoted).

As for me... audiologically (sic...) I am deaf, on paper I am deaf; with 'assistance' I am technically hard of hearing and says so on paper too. But I still refer to myself as deaf because well.. that's what I am...still can't hear for beans in many situations or understand so hard of hearing doesn't really fit...FOR ME.

Amen, bro.
No way I am Deaf.

 

[DeafNerdMommy]

It irks me when that happens. I wonder if they say it to try to relate?.

I feel like (for people I talk to) that they get nervous when I explain that I am hoh and need then to face me. I think some people way of making it 'normal is to compare their own hearing loss. But then you get those people who say, I have some hearing loss also, but they just need someone to speak up sometimes. So they end up yelling at you eith out facing you or from another room. Urg reminds me of past job experiences haha

 

[Lysander]

I think a lot of hearing people are never taught what hard of hearing means. And since hoh can be such a spectrum, you never really know where someone is. We're taught what deaf means. So I think it's an easier concept to grasp for hearing people. People like you to be one or the other. They can't adjust to spectrums.

 

[rockin'robin]

I feel like (for people I talk to) that they get nervous when I explain that I am hoh and need then to face me. I think some people way of making it 'normal is to compare their own hearing loss. But then you get those people who say, I have some hearing loss also, but they just need someone to speak up sometimes. So they end up yelling at you eith out facing you or from another room. Urg reminds me of past job experiences haha

LOL...wondering if they get more nervous when you say/write that you are deaf?....Sort of a "Oh...I'm sorry"... or "you don't speak English"...If you say "I'm HOH" and aren't elderly?...LOL...(as it mainly refers to old people)...they begin to shout (and sometimes spit)...even getting into your ear and hollering....LOL...

 

[rockin'robin]

I think a lot of hearing people are never taught what hard of hearing means. And since hoh can be such a spectrum, you never really know where someone is. We're taught what deaf means. So I think it's an easier concept to grasp for hearing people. People like you to be one or the other. They can't adjust to spectrums.

Huh?...never taught what hard of hearing is?...

 

[Lysander]

Huh?...never taught what hard of hearing is?...

Totally. Prior to me working in medicine, I don't think that I had ever heard the term. Like we would say things that allude to someone being HoH, but never actually use that term. It's more along the lines of "Grandma can't hear you, you have to speak up." Or someone would say "He doesn't hear well." But to actually hear the term "hard of hearing." That term doesn't really get used a lot in the general hearing world. At least in my experience.

Edited to add: And it's sad to think about, but if it wasn't for my uncle's boyfriend, I don't know that I would have interacted much with anyone Deaf growing up. I think it would be a really nice cultural diversity experience for school kids to have a presenter come in with an interpreter to interact with kids so they could meet Deaf/HoH people and get to know and understand and ask questions.

 

[Ambuhhlurr]

Huh?...never taught what hard of hearing is?...

I think I sort of understand what he's trying to say.
In my experience people tend to think you're either hearing or completely deaf. I have come across many people who have never met or had to work with someone with hearing loss and can be ignorant to it since the only thing they do know is what they see on tv and I find tv doesn't really represent the whole spectrum when it comes to hearing loss. What I find is most people don't take those who are deaf/HoH seriously unless the fit the original "stereotype". I've had hearing people try to tell me that Im really not deaf/deaf enough because I can speak semi well, I don't have any hearing devices, and that I don't have a real hearing issue because I don't have the "deaf" look. Or I get the other side of things where I've had hearing people who thought I was too deaf and therefore a waste of their time.

 

[Lysander]

I think I sort of understand what he's trying to say.
In my experience people tend to think you're either hearing or completely deaf. I have come across many people who have never met or had to work with someone with hearing loss and can be ignorant to it since the only thing they do know is what they see on tv and I find tv doesn't really represent the whole spectrum when it comes to hearing loss. What I find is most people don't take those who are deaf/HoH seriously unless the fit the original "stereotype". I've had hearing people try to tell me that Im really not deaf/deaf enough because I can speak semi well, I don't have any hearing devices, and that I don't have a real hearing issue because I don't have the "deaf" look. Or I get the other side of things where I've had hearing people who thought I was too deaf and therefore a waste of their time.

Yes. This is totally what I'm trying to convey. Hearing people have this idea of a binary system. Where you are either 100% hearing or 100% deaf. No one explains to us that there's a spectrum. We get this idea from early on that hearing is either something you have or don't. It seems obvious to those that have different levels of hearing that it would be a spectrum, but to hearing people who have no point of reference from someone they know they don't get that. And like I said, we tend to use these euphemisms instead of actually calling it what it is.

 

[Cappy]

Who cares what hearing people think? This is AD. AllDEAF. Only thing that matters is what AD thinks. We don't need hearing folk excuses.

 

[rockin'robin]

Well...I'm not "a little bit deaf"...I'm totally deaf.

 

[Beowulf]

Who cares what hearing people think? This is AD. AllDEAF. Only thing that matters is what AD thinks. We don't need hearing folk excuses.

Except when I'm late for work.