Lounge for Deaf people and their allies

[Viola]

Hi aishah

I've find youtube really helpful. Able to meet others...

When I was hard of hearing I was the only one in my family who was., I think in a way this delay what I need when I gain hearing, as I felt no one knew or any guide for me in a way. I had to figure it out on my own in a way.

do you ever find this where anyone with challenges if not around others with simular challenges then are delay in growth, due to not having a mentor or guide who's been there...

Did your dad know of others who were hard of hearing when being hard of hearing, when you were growing up? I really didn't know any hard of hearing or deaf, when I was hard of hearing...

Originally Posted by aishah

my dad was hard of hearing and many of my friends are deaf or hoh. i also get to spend a lot of time around deaf & hoh folks through my cross-disability work i would like to learn to be a better ally, and i want to learn asl. i've gotten better about asking people what works best for them and making sure to look directly at people when speaking so they can read my lips, etc. but i still feel like i have a lot of learning to do to be a good ally to folks with different disabilities than my own.

it has been a blessing (and a wonderful learning experience) to read everyone's posts about your experiences. thank you

[The JD]

Originally Posted by Viola

Hi aishah

When I was hard of hearing I was the only one in my family who was., I think in a way this delay what I need when I gain hearing, as I felt no one knew or any guide for me in a way. I had to figure it out on my own in a way.

do you ever find this where anyone with challenges if not around others with simular challenges then are delay in growth, due to not having a mentor or guide who's been there...

Did your dad know of others who were hard of hearing when being hard of hearing, when you were growing up? I really didn't know any hard of hearing or deaf, when I was hard of hearing...

I know this was addressed to aishah, but I’ve thought a lot about this topic. I was raised in a hard of hearing (hoh) family- we openly acknowledged we were hoh to one another, but looking back, it seems most of the mentoring I got went in to how to pass as hearing, and not into utilizing available resources. There were no trips to the audiologist, no ASL classes, no hearing aids… but there was a year of speech therapy in 5th grade to get rid of the deaf accent I was developing (not that anyone called it that- it took me years to realize why I was sent!).

Deaf people may seek out other Deaf people, but the hoh don’t usually seek out the hoh. Being in that grey area between fully hearing and deaf creates its own isolation, I think- there’s a pull to choose a side, and in my family’s case, they chose to present as fully hearing. Heck, even the language that describes my hearing indicates how uncomfortable the in-between place is: hard of hearing, hearing impaired, hearing challenged… or if you want to go back 600 years, Chaucer described the Wife of Bath as “somdeel deef” (somewhat deaf). All are clunky comparative phrases, while the deaf and the hearing get their own stand-alone words. (My own preference is for the phrase hard of hearing, which sounds far less clinical than hearing-impaired, and besides, Shakespeare used it ☺ )

I wrote an essay about growing up hoh, and how I live in this poorly named (both literally and figuratively) grey space between hearing and deafness. The essay is called “Hardly Heard”, and is in a recently published anthology called Deaf American Prose (Gallaudet Deaf Literature Series, Vol. 1). I’ve mentioned this on another thread, and at the risk of being redundant (or self-promoting), it really is a good anthology.

[DamonK]

I grew up in a hearing family.

When I was little, I *was* HOH.

As I've gotten older, that's not so.

My family is hearing. I am not.

But..according to them, I should be able to do EVERYTHING they can.

It's just not possible. Not for lack of trying. I just can't do it.

[Viola]

Hopefully this video will show as I read in the question how to do this...

So lets see if this works...

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEsldv_Tm4Q&feature=relmfu"]CODA BROTHERS: Handy Helmut! - YouTube[/nomedia]

well will it... I mean where one can see it here and not need to click on it...

Anyways, I hope you all a great day...

[Viola]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vEsldv_Tm4Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[WolfyOne]

[Rockinonahigh]

One of the biggest problems I face is vertago and ringing in my ears.At times the noise in my ears is anything from a bird chirp or squeek to a blasting fog horn..bird chirps drive me nuts after a while so you can bet the radio is on loud to drown it out,when the fog horn type noise happends it can be really painful.There is the veratgo thats can be just a slight dizzy floating to down right drunken falling down with neasua,I take antivert for it so most of the time it dose ok.How I rode horses plus did the things i've done over the years is a wonder to plane old stuborness.Not to say I did fall of a lot of times cause I did,but over time I got better at not falling off.I find the more active I am the better it is so I still do a lot of active things,once the doc said I had calcium deposits floating in my ear that causes this..whatever I wish it would go away when it hits.

[Viola]

Wow your amazing: Amazing how you did this. like magic, I'll so know how... yes, I will learn how, how did you do this?...

Cause so much I want to share through video yes...

Originally Posted by WolfyOne