Lee.Levin@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (Lee Levin) (11/28/90)
Index Number: 12013
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
My daughter (age 19) is hearing impaired. She wears aids in both ears.
Things hve been stable for about 6 years but at her last fitting for
molds they said there was a change for the worse. She has neve been
totally deaf and it appears that she will still hear with the use the
aids.
I notice that users of this echo refer to 'deaf' and not hearing impaired.
At what point is a hearing impaired person condidered deaf?
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!Lee.Levin
Internet: Lee.Levin@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.orgJames.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack) (11/28/90)
Index Number: 12014
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
Lee, deafness is more than clinical. It is an attitude as well. You
have hard of hearing people who attended institutions for the deaf
so are very much involved with deaf culture and/or the deaf community.
So they will look at themselves as "deaf" inthe social sense of the
word. This despite the fact that they maynot be totally deaf. On theopposite
coin, you can have a profoundly dea person with a strongly oral background
or one who has not been able to cope with the fact that he or she is
deaf. Their mindset would not allow them to label themselves as deaf
though they would be in the clinical sense.
I don't how your daughter sees herself or other deaf people. As for
the hearing aids and worsened hearing loss don't be surprised. A hearing
aid ( I will not doubt get lots of flak for this) is basically an amplifying
device. It is little different from a loud speaker on a boom box or
other amplifier. With most deaf people, the outer and middle ear function
just fine. It is usually the inner ear, specifically the organ of corti
located inside the cochlea that is the problem. Hence the problem is
neural and not mechanical. Yet an hearing aid by its nature as an amplifier
forces the mechanical segments of the ear to work harder. Its like
having having a mouth inside the ear shouting. The mechanicl parts
the wear out sooner or later. Theodd thing is that hearing aid is directing
its energy atthe very part of the ear that doesn't need the help.
Until the cochlear implant, there was no way around this contradiction
of terms. Still, if a hearing aid helps a person use the residual hearing
better, they should use the aid because eventually they are going to
lose the remaining hearing through entrophy anyway. Use it before you
lose it is what I call it.
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!James.Womack
Internet: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.orgStu.Turk@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Stu Turk) (11/28/90)
Index Number: 12016
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
Lee Levin of 1:300/14 wrote to All:
LL> My daughter (age 19) is hearing impaired. She wears aids in both
LL> ears. Things hve been stable for about 6 years but at her last
LL> fitting for molds they said there was a change for the worse. She
LL> has neve been totally deaf and it appears that she will still
LL> hear with the use the aids.
=
Er, did they saw _what_ had changed for the worse? Did they give her a
hearing test in addition to the mold fitting? If not maybe they only ment that
there is a noticable change in the size/shape of the earmolds, not neccessarly
her hearing.
LL> I notice that users of this echo refer to 'deaf' and not hearing
LL> impaired. At what point is a hearing impaired person condidered
LL> deaf?
=
If you can answer back, you're "hearing impaired". If you can't answer
back, you're "deaf". <grin>
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!26!Stu.Turk
Internet: Stu.Turk@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.orgJack.O'keeffe@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Jack O'keeffe) (11/28/90)
Index Number: 12018
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
LL> I notice that users of this echo refer to 'deaf' and not
LL> hearing impaired. At what point is a hearing impaired person
LL> condidered deaf?
Lee, most professionals apply the term "hearing impaired" to any
person with less than "normal" hearing. "Hard of hearing" applies
to people who can discriminate speech with amplification, and
without visual clues thru speechreading or sign. The term "deaf"
usually means someone who cannot discriminate speech, even with
amplification, unless assisted visually. Both deaf and hard of
hearing persons are considered "hearing impaired".
Which brings us to Deaf persons (as distinguished from deaf persons).
Deaf people consider inability to hear (or hear well) as a "culturally
defining condition", not an impairment of any kind. Some will take
grevious exception to being called "hearing impaired".
I find the most prudent course is NOT to get excited about labels.
Let people classify themself however they please, be it Deaf, deaf,
HoH, or HI. We have many more significant issues to be concerned
about, and it serves no constructive purpose to worry over labels.
Best of luck to you and your daughter.
... Xpress Yourself!
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!26!Jack.O'keeffe
Internet: Jack.O'keeffe@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.orgKaren.Keil@f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Karen Keil) (12/04/90)
Index Number: 12162
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
According to some books I've read, the point at where a person
is considered deaf varies from 80-85 decibels to 90 decibels. They
consider someone with a 90 decibel loss as 'deaf' whereas anyone with
80 or better is hard of hearing. There's no firm dividing line or
consensus.
My hearing used to be 55 - 60 db loss at age seven, but now
I've lost so much hearing with the loss at 95 db and worse that I now
have a profound hearing loss, whereas it used to be merely severely
hard-of-hearing.
The term 'hearing-impaired' is just a general term to refer to
all those who have hearing loss (not normal hearing).
The term 'deaf' refers to all those who have 'bad' hearing
losses and/or belong to the deaf culture. This is just my opinion,
okay?
Hope this helps.
Karen
P.S. The term 'hearing-impaired' seems to be a official term used in
official documents--like all those terms like 'differently abled', etc.
The term 'deaf' is generally applied to people with profound hearing
losses, while people with severe, moderate, mild losses are only hard
of hearing.
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!809!Karen.Keil
Internet: Karen.Keil@f809.n104.z1.fidonet.orgKaren.Keil@f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Karen Keil) (12/04/90)
Index Number: 12164
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
I never thought of the 'mechanical parts' wearing out (the
middle ear) because of all the amplification. I thought the cochlea
was being damaged (the little hairs get destroyed). That was what I
kept reading while reading about young people and rock stars losing
their hearing because of the loud music.
You are right about people being only severely hard-of-hearing
considering themselves deaf while people with real deafness don't
consider themselves deaf.
I'm oral speaking and have never been part of the 'deaf
culture' per se. Nevertheless, I'm meeting more and more deaf people
as time goes by, and depending on who I meet, I feel like an outsider
or one of them. I'm more at home with people like me (only natural).
Anyway, there are no easy answers.....but cochlear implants
look very promising. I am considering one myself, providing I'm a good
candidate. Most insurance companies don't want to finance this for
someone born deaf, but they are assuming way too much! I was born deaf
but act like a hearing person.
That's all for now.
Karen
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!809!Karen.Keil
Internet: Karen.Keil@f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org