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? -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!Lee.Levin Internet: Lee.Levin@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org
James.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. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!James.Womack Internet: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org
Stu.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> -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!26!Stu.Turk Internet: Stu.Turk@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org
Jack.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! -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!26!Jack.O'keeffe Internet: Jack.O'keeffe@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org
Karen.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. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!809!Karen.Keil Internet: Karen.Keil@f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org
Karen.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 -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!809!Karen.Keil Internet: Karen.Keil@f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org