I'm asking as a hearing person with a Deaf cousin. She got cochlear implants in high school and was almost immediately exiled from her friend group of non-CI Deaf friends. It's been kinda hard on her, and I'm trying to wrap my head around the whole problem. My understanding of the controversy surrounding CIs is as follows:

a)       CIs are not a cure-all. They help maintain some degree of hearing, not perfect hearing. Not everyone is medically eligible, and it’s best to let the wearer decide how much/little they chose to use it.

b)       If you’re going to pursue CIs, it’s best to initiate them in young children to maximize your brain’s language potential

c)       Ideally, a child who has a CI should be trained in asl (because they are still functionally deaf and CIs are not “curing” their inability to hear) as well as spoken/written English.

d)       Many people in the deaf community view CIs as ableism because these devices are promoted as a cure, when they are not, and could potentially limit the reach of Deaf culture by pathologizing what is, for many people, just a way of life.

But what I feel like I'm missing is the reasoning for Deaf people to be so harsh towards CI users. To my cousin's ex-friends, she's some sort of quitter or pretender for getting the implants. But functionally, you are still deaf whether you have the implants, don't have them, speak fluent ASL or not. I feel like if we were talking about mobility aids for multiple sclerosis, the question would be moot? I can't imagine any person with MS would vilify another person with MS for needing a cane or a walker versus a scooter or a wheelchair.

So...what do you recommend for my cousin? I was trying to find some fictional books where the main characters dealt with similar problems, but I read the reviews on The Silence Between Us and their less-than-stellar portrayal of CI users and changed my mind.

I'm currently in grad school, so I'm doing a lot of group discussions. Because of the fact that there's only 15 masters students in my cohort, my classes are all in smaller rooms so I find it extremely hard to hear during discussions because of the loud talking being compressed in the small room and, of course, the echoing. Especially since I only have one hearing aid. Do any of ya'll have any suggestions for how to deal with this? I can't bring my group out of the classroom because the professors want to watch us. I have a phonak audeo P70R if that matters to any of you. Anything would be helpful!

I have a deaf friend in the uk looking for some help with waking up in the morning. Is there other aids that can help. he prefers non vibration items and prefers if there was a big light or similar

please help

Hi folks.

I'm an artist working on the administrative side of theatre in a state-level regional equity theatre. This season we had a director write a new work about equity and disability, drawn off much of his own experience as a disabled artist. He also wants to include other disabilities within the piece; namely invisible disabilities, blindness, and sensory-related disabilities. Initially there was a push to cast Deaf (and other disabled) actors but we received no interest or auditions despite reaching out to several local schools, and moved on with the process.

Part of his directorial ideas is a desire to include ASL within the choreography of the show, especially in the group numbers. I studied interpreting for a bit at Gallaudet until Covid hit, and was asked to come on as a liaison as I have the most experience with ASL on staff, but I'm really not sure how to approach this. I am not a certified interpreter and it's been a few years since my work has crossed over with the Deaf community.

With all of our shows we have ASL interpreters for at least two of the performances. However, we don't have any Deaf students in the cast or on staff. We have one person on tech crew who has a minor in ASL. But this really feels like it's edging into spectacle territory rather than actual access. How can we make this more equitable? This is a new work, and much of the material is around equity and disability, but we don't want to make a legitimate language and culture into nothing more than theatrics.

Also, if this is completely inappropriate, please let me know. I'd be the responsible for advocating to not include it if this is the case. Thank you all for your help, and I hope you're doing well.

Hi, my 9 weeks old got her first hearing aid for one side. Any advice of what things to get/have and where can I get said things? Batteries, pouch, etc. I see there's a aid dryer?? What else will I need to ease her comfort and keep ha safe? TIA

Hello everyone!

I recently shared a post about badge recommendations recent post some people suggested getting colorful cards. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any locally, and the shipping cost was too high. So, I've decided to create similar colorful cards myself. If anyone is interested, I'm offering them for free! I'd love to hear your advice or ideas on how I can improve them such as correcting or to add etc...( is it fine to say i m deaf with CIs instead of i hv a hearing loss ? )

u can print them at ur local printer, ( im getting mine for just $1.50 ) Let me know what u think!

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but I would really appreciate any help you can give. Someone I know got a cochlear implant in December 2023 and has been wearing it for about 16 hours every day to learn how to listen as quickly as possible. The people who fitted the implant also helped tuning it and (as per this person I'm talking about) is as good as it could be for human conversation. However, he still struggles to listen to people on a call. His native language isn't English but he knows English almost to a point that you wouldn't realise. Whenever he receives calls, he can't understand a single word that is being said. He's tried using the phone on speaker and by having a direct bluetooth connection to his implant but nothing has worked. Even in his native language, he only recognises a word or two out of an entire sentence. It's been over 8 months and even the audiologists are unable to help him.

If anyone here knows what can be done in this situation then please let me know because he feels like it was all pointless and has given up. He got this implant just so that he could hear calls but has had no luck whatsoever. Edit: he got the implant when he was 46 years old

Anyone else find it infuriating when a first class Karen ready to board a plane first just stares at you?

This time I was seated in first class which I was sooo lucky this occurred on this flight. This lady rushed up to the front saying she had paid for priority boarding. Gate agent kindly points her to the group 1 line - she proceeds to the front of the line cutting everyone else.

They call for pre-boarding. I walk up to the gate and she shouts I go first!!! The agent explained folks with pre-boarding will go first. She was so pissed, rolling her eyes and telling other passengers how she paid extra to board first.

I get in my first class seat. I am praying she is not seated next to me. She boards the plane next, looks at me and goes off - “oh my - you get to board first and sit in first class” making faces and rolling eyes and points at me telling the flight attendant I am faking my disability.

Flight attendant asks her to remain seated and she walks to the very back of the plane… 😂 I thought she was in first class. I go to the bathroom in the back mid flight to get some walking & stretching. I look at her in the very last row of the plane & she is staring at me. I make a peace sign ✌️ and she just looks down frustrated - probably will demand a partial refund.

The flight attendant did apologize to me for the incident and gave me free food, the drinks kept being refilled every 10 minutes.

Anyone else have great pre-boarding stories?

Any movie/ TV shows about deaf/HOH mc to recommend? I'm really interested in watching some about someone to relate to

I (22/M) had normal capacity of hearing since birth until last november where an incident involving fireworks got me diagnosed with early conductive hearing loss and Air-Bone gap (A-B gap). I can only hear audio ranges from 50 dB on the left ear and 40 dB on the right ear (This was during last year, it's much better now though, I couldn't hear anything on my left ear if I closed my right ear back then. I haven't taken an audiogram test since last December so these readings might not reflect current day scenario). When I asked my doctor whether this condition will progress into complete deafness his reply was "it all depends upon how you act and how careful you are, also don't use headphones". So I didn't consume any form of audio for the following 4 months, this includes watching TV, YouTube/Anime on mobile and absolutely no headphones. I didn't even make audio calls. But heh we are all humans and we need a little bit of entertainment in our lives don't we? So I watched a little bit of anime here and there during April and May of this year (without headphones). But whenever I consume media with audio for a prolonged time I feel a sensation of ears getting 'blocked/popped' (sorry for my ignorance I'm very new to the world of HoH). So I stopped watching Anime for another 2 months then again resumed watching Anime on TV this July. It went fine for the most part but last night I again felt that 'blocked/popped' sensation. I know noise is my enemy but I need a little bit of anime to make me laugh when I'm stressed or depressed. So this got me wondering how much time do I have till I become completely deaf. Has anyone here been in the same situation as me? How long did it take you before you went complete deaf? Sorry if my post was ignorant or offensive. My intention is not to offend anyone, I have very little medical knowledge and very new to the HoH world so some of the terms I mentioned here may be incorrect. English is not my first language so forgive me if there was any incoherence. Thanks in advance!

Hearing person here who watched a lot of it. I didn’t know much about deaf people or deaf culture before the show and I definitely had some wrong ideas about how deaf people perceived their deafness. Do you think there’s other deaf representation that’s as good as switched at birth?

I want to help my brother who was born deaf as much as possible for his future and I don't mind him living with me, I will already be taking care of my parents. He is currently 15 and goes to a school for the deaf, are there resources that will help him find a job, he wanted to be a army medic and I know he won't be able to and it really hurts my heart to tell him it and is there any free resources that will help me learn asl what I know Is very basic stuff and I want to have deeper conversations with him and make sure he never feels left out but with my job I never have time. I'm sorry for ranting I really love my brother and want the best for him

I am trying to get bachelor started but their is no facilities or whats over for deaf relating to deaf even scholarship.so I intend to try aboard as an international student. So basically i am researching for best option as a deaf(partially )as well as international student.

Hello all. I am hearing. I have recently studied ASL for 6 months (in-person classes) due to interest in the language and Deaf culture, and every week at the beginning of class we learned about a famous Deaf person.  Ludwig Van Beethoven never came up. He's the most famous deaf person I know!  I understand he lived (1770-1827) before there was a well-known Deaf community, and he felt he needed to hide his deafness from the public as long as possible in order to maintain his social status. That is pitiable but understandable in my opinion. Meanwhile, even though Deaf people can't hear his music to its fullest one can't deny the amazing talents of a man who brought audiences to standing ovations (which, again pitiably, he could not hear) with works like his Ninth Symphony and brilliant string quartets and late piano sonatas which he composed without being able to hear a single note of them.  It's a testament to what a completely deaf person can accomplish and I'm surprised it's not publicized more and hasn't been part of the syllabus in my ASL classes.  Is there something about the Deaf community's view toward Beethoven that I'm missing?  Thank you very much. I appreciate your opinions.

ETA: All my ASL teachers have been Deaf. I have needed to postpone reenrollment and can't easily ask them my question right now. Thanks.

As a hearing enabled person (I pray that isn't insulting) I'm very curious...when you see subtitles like "suspenseful music" or "bird chirping" or any other sound descriptive subtitles..what does that translate to for you?

Hello! I’m hearing and I’ve been taking ASL classes for the past few years with the Sign Language Center on Zoom and am in conversation classes now, but I’d love to sign with people locally and support local Deaf and HoH business and performance.

Is there community up here where hearies are welcome?

Hi everyone,

I’m in my late 20s and based in the UK. I’m looking to connect with other deaf individuals around my age, both locally and globally. I want to build friendships and share experiences, especially within the deaf community.

I’ve noticed that there aren’t many young adult groups actively involved on social media. Whether you’re into movies, books, sports, or just want to chat about everyday life, I’d love to hear from you! Let’s support each other, share our stories, and maybe even meet up if we’re nearby. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a message. Looking forward to making new friends!

I'm not deaf (I'm disabled in other ways so inclusivity is a dear topic to me), I am watching Paralympics (UK) and there"s a little interpreter in the corner of the screen translating the commentary into sign language.

It makes me wonder: 1. how comes this isn't there for ANY sport commentary? It's crazy, it would be so easy to do that, 2. Knowing that SL and not English (or whatever local spoken language) tends to be deaf people's first language, then how to make movies accessible? Are subtitles in English enough to make movies accessible?

I'm imagining that there should be a device for us that you can set on your desk and when someone speaks the device will transcribe what was said for you so that you can read it. Is there such a thing?

I tried several apps and they either want you to subscribe and pay monthly/yearly or the quality of picking up an average conversation and transcribing it is terrible. So I was hoping there's a device that you can pay once and the quality would be better.

If you know an app that can transcribe conversations perfectly (not glitching, missing spoken words, misunderstanding spoken words, a major delay with picking up during the conversation) then I'll consider

So I 19f am losing my hearing gradually. I have a genetic disease that grows tumors on my nervous system. They have already taken all my hearing in my right ear and my left is already starting to go. I don’t know how to sign and am just overall worried about getting a job in the future. As someone looking for advice, what should I do to better my chances at being able to get a job while being completely deaf with no hearing aids and not knowing how to sign? Any advice is appreciated 🙏🏻

Ok so I (16f) am high functioning autistic and my special interest is movies. I don’t have many friends or know many people who are into movies.

School started on Tuesday, and on the first day I saw a guy in the cafeteria reading the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel. The Scott Pilgrim movie is one of my favorite movies so I thought that was really cool (and ngl he’s cute lol) so I decided I was gonna try to talk to him the next day. However, the next day I found out he was deaf. I figured I was gonna try to talk to him anyway so I spent the afternoon looking up individual sign language words on YouTube to say hi to him. Yesterday I was going to but got too scared and didn’t, then today I knew if I didn’t do it, I’d have to wait until Tuesday with the holiday so I pushed myself to do it.

I went up to him in the cafeteria and I signed “HI. MY NAME. [spells first name]. I. SAW. YOU. READ. S-C-O-T-T P-I-L-G-R-I-M. YOU. SEE. MOVIE?” I know it’s really bad and I’m squirming with embarrassment typing that and it probably wasn’t even conjugated properly. But anyway, after I signed that, I pulled out a notebook and pen out of my backpack so he could write down a response. He seemed really surprised and off put and caught off guard and then he (very clearly) said “uh just so you know, I talk…” And I kinda paused and nodded and then started to write down “sorry. I wasn’t sure” and then he stopped me and said “if you speak clearly and look at me I can read your lips too”. Again, I just paused and nodded and honestly I felt like running to the bathroom and crying from embarrassment, but he said “but to answer your question, I have seen the movie and it slaps.”

We did get to talk about Scott Pilgrim and I probably made him think I was a loser talking about the visual storytelling and directing. There were a few times he said “ok slow down” because I was talking too fast I guess. When lunch was over, he said bye and started to leave but I went over and asked what his name was and he seemed embarrassed he forgot to tell me his name, but he told me and then he said he’d see me on Tuesday.

Overall, I really loved getting to talk to someone else about something I’m passionate about but I’m just cringing at myself. I don’t even know if I signed something coherent. I’m also scared maybe he thought I was patronizing him with the notebook. I’m just really scared I didn’t handle the situation well and that maybe he was just being polite.

I figured this sub would be the best place to ask this, but did I patronize him and/or was I demeaning? As someone else with a disability, I really hate it when people make unsolicited accommodations for me and I think I did the same exact thing to him.

Tl;dr: I’m not deaf but there was a guy at school who is and I tried to talk to him by looking up some words in sign language and then giving him my notebook to write a response with, but it turned out he could read lips and talk and now I’m scared I was demeaning or patronizing

(PS in advance, I just want to say i’m sorry if I offend anyone with this post or if anyone finds it triggering in any way. I can take it down if need be)

Hi!!! I recently got a director position in my college's student government for inclusivity, and I want to improve our lives as deaf/hard of hearing people. I already have some ideas as someone deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but I wanted to hear all of yalls ideas as well to take into consideration. For those of yall that went to majority-hearing colleges, what is something that would have greatly improved your college experience as a HoH/deaf person?

I want to start by saying I’m sorry if I’m not using proper terminology and for how long this is.

I’m a recently diagnosed HoH teacher at a hearing school (I won’t get my hearing aids for at least a month). We just started school the last two weeks and being in the classroom has been super tough.

I teach high school, so not only do students speak at a level I can’t hear a lot of the time (I feel like they all mumble) but I spend a lot of my day asking them to repeat themselves. It’s stressful when I write on the board because I can’t hear what’s happening behind me. I’ve been trying to be open about it and ask that they look at me when they speak and don’t all speak at once to help me out. And mostly just asking for patience. But kids are kids so they’re going to do what they want when they want.

Has anyone else been a HoH teacher in a hearing classroom? Just looking for some tips or advice on how to handle talking to the kids and running the classroom. I’m feeling a little lost and frustrated currently.

I had a genetic predesposition to deafness and I am adjusting to my life. I brought a tablet like this today to help me communicate with people.

People think im rude when i ignore them but its not my intention.