Deaf or blind?

Risky Thicket said:

As Helen Keller said, "Blindness cuts me off from things, deafness cuts me off from people."

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Very true. That's part of why I chose deaf rather than blind.

Canell said:

Well yeah, unless you were born deaf. Then you would not be able to hear, speak, read text or lips. :roll: You will be stuck with contemplating Scarlet Johanson and that's it. :lol:

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Actually there are deaf people who can read lips very well and speak very well. Lip reading isn't easy. IMHO it is a natural talent. Some have it and some don't.

Canell said:

Really? I didn't know that.
Wow, this is incredible! I'm very impressed.

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I know deaf people who have masters and doctorate degrees. Deaf people are not stupid. Language is not a pre-cursor to intelligence.

Once I meet and talked with a deaf crop duster. I asked him how the hell he did it. Crop dusting is dangerous, you have to watch the ground, tree, telephone poles, etc. very carefully while monitoring your airplane's performance as well. If you are deaf you can't hear the engine. He said he flies barefooted. He feels the vibration of the engine when he is flying low and slow and spraying a field. He said he also flies out of small airports where there are no control towers, so he doesn't have to communicate to a tower. Smart guy!

Canell said:

Really? I didn't know that.
Wow, this is incredible! I'm very impressed.

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Marlee Matlin is a deaf academy award winning actress. She was born deaf and she talks very well.

Deaf. Running in to things sucks.

Canell said:

How is going out more related to deaf people? Usually they don't visit pubs for a reason.

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They are there. They just aren't conversing much. Difficult to do in a pub unless you are with people who sign.

By the way British Sign Language is completely different from American Sign Language. American Sign Language is much closer to French Sign Language.

Not an easy choice - loss of music and sounds of the world, or not being able to see what's around me.

Can I choose Door number 3? That would be a leg, please...... :wink:

I don't get how this is a question. I could defend myself deaf.

ecofarm said:

I don't get how this is a question. I could defend myself deaf.

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Blind eagle - that would be a disaster!

Canell said:

Blind eagle - that would be a disaster!

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The way I see it, going blind one loses a basic human right - to self defense. What does one lose in going deaf that compares?

I've been hard of hearing since Vietnam. Technology has made life much easier. We still have a long way to go. For what it's worth:

I can't lip read worth a damn.

I did learn American Sign Language (ASL), which is a language and is just as difficult as learning any foreign language. Learning ASL doesn't help unless you know people who sign. Hearing people are generally not motivated to become fluent in sign language, even family members. Even parents of deaf children. 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. The only parent that learns to fluent sign is usually the mom.

Deafness is the only disability with a culture. That's a fact. One of the reasons is because it has its own language. As I mentioned earlier culturally deaf people - almost always spelled with a capital D, Deaf, - are pre-lingual and sign language is their native language. Even though I sign fluently and have been hard of hearing a long time, I am not (yet) deaf, English is my native language and thus I cannot be Deaf (culturally deaf).

Not being able to hear or hear well is the tip of the iceberg. Hearing loss is a deceptively complex disability.

More television is closed captioned than it was in the past, but much still isn't. Netflix online is captioned more and more.

I have missed a lot of flights because I cannot understand the gate announcements. They don't usually give you enough information on the electronic gate message board. I have missed flights because of gate changes - after I have checked in, even with TSA's passenger monitoring. Europe does a much better job at this than the U.S. The UK is more hard of hearing friendly than the U.S.

Most, not all, of the best hearing aids are manufactured by European companies.

Deaf people and hard of hearing people frequently respond with a "Yes" when we are asked a question we don't understand. We do that because it happens a lot and often social situations it is just easier to agree than to have everything repeated again and again. "Yes", is affirmative and often means you agree. "No" often invites questions such as "Why not?". It is just easier to say, "Yes". Though it isn't wise to do and it can get you into big trouble.

"Hi, we haven't met, but I'm wondering if it would be OK if I pee in your beer."

"Yes"



I'd be happy to answer any questions about hearing loss, hearing aid technology, experiences.

Nice post, RT.

Do you have an ear sound amplifier (or what's the name in English)?
I remember when I was in the army, every gunshot (especially canon) nearly knocked my socks off! I was jumping in my boots and never got used to it.

Canell said:

Nice post, RT.

Do you have an ear sound amplifier (or what's the name in English)?
I remember when I was in the army, every gunshot (especially canon) nearly knocked my socks off! I was jumping in my boots and never got used to it.

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Hearing aids? Yes. Digital.

My grandpa had some hearing issues. He partly lost his hearing during WW2 when one night they fired the hell out of those mortars against the Germans. He is up there now.

My learning style is auditory. I prefer hearing to seeing. That does not preclude me from adjusting to visual information. I just have a disability in understanding that visual information.

There's nothing wrong with either. It just requires you to adjust to your skills.

ecofarm said:

I don't get how this is a question. I could defend myself deaf.

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You could defend yourself if you were blind, too....that is, if the force is with you.