Hearing Impaired

[Solstace]

Right - today's task has got me thinking...

 

Basically I've been tasked with writing up an info sheet for the use of our Infra-red receivers. All good so far. I understand our gear and why we have it etc etc. The problem is (believe it or not) how to go about titling the document... I started out thinking that a title such as "Information for the Hearing Impaired" or something similar. Trouble is that having been deaf for the first ten years of my life, I personally despise the term "hearing impaired" as I find it quite offencive, as do the majority of people to whom this document would be most applicable. There doesn't seem to be any better or more politically correct way of going about this though...

 

Anyone else here had to do something similar? What is the accepted/correct term for one who "is deaf", "is hearing impaired" or "requires a hearing aid"?

 

Sensible answers appreciated...

[paulears]

What is the accepted/correct term for one who "is deaf", "is hearing impaired" or "requires a hearing aid"?

well the RNID always refer to

 

deaf and hard of hearing people

 

This is the best known authority on the subject here in the uk

 

RNID Website

[bruce]

Solstace, that's a really interesting question. But I would have thought that with your background, you would be more qualified than anyone else to answer it!

 

I have had a look at the documentation produced by the "Disability Services" department at my own place of employment. In itself, that's an interesting title - they used to be "Special Needs Service", but changed recently. I don't know the politics behind this.

 

Their documentation on this area defines and discusses the differences between the terms "Deaf", "deaf", "deafened", "hearing impaired", "hard of hearing" and several others, but doesn't address the "niceties" of this area. But some other documentation I came across talked about "people with hearing difficulties".

 

Edit: I have passed the query on to our disability services department, and will report back.

[Solstace]

Thankfully my deafness was cured when I was about 10, and said cure should last at least until the years of mixing and clubbing get to me!

 

If I were to become deaf again, I would personally prefer to be called "deaf" rather than "hearing impaired", but I guess either will do. Paul's statement re. the RNID definitions proves correct.

 

I'm concerned about the "niceties" on this subject because I'm doing this for a church, and as I've found in the past it seems that in our large congregation there is bound to be someone who will take very genuine offence at an equally genuine attempt to help them...

[timtheenchanteruk]

I have worked in the field of disabilities for a while, the term deaf and hard of hearing people suits most, but not all, some people prefer to be termed hearing impaired,

but the old add-age goes, you can please some people all of the time, some people all f the time, but not all people all of the time

[Ynot]

What is the accepted/correct term for one who "is deaf", "is hearing impaired" or "requires a hearing aid"?

Well, over the years, I've worked with adults and children who suffer a variety of disabilities, including deaf and blind youngsters. In both the latter cases, I believe the term prevalent at the time (late 80's, early 90's) was "Those with partial hearing or partial sight".

Of course, that could well have changed...

 

My personal experiences have shown that as with most groups of people who are less able than most of us, the majority don't actually want fancy names, and they don't necessarily want to be treated in any way differently from 'normal' people over and above what is necessary for them to achieve what THEY want to achieve. I believe that society in the past couple of decades has gone waaaaayy over the top, which is where some of the ludicrous PC stuff has come into general use.

 

Yes, there are exceptions, like the partially sighted wheelchair punter we had last year who insisted on being picked up in his chair onto the front row of our venue (we can't fit a ramp in, unfortunately), and then proceeded to step OUT of the chair and up the next step and sat in a seat on the front row - all because when he was closer he realised the theatre seat looked MUCH more comfy than his own...! :unsure:

 

Anyway, back on topic, what I'd suggest is that you actually TALK to a local support group for those with partial hearing and ask what THEY think - look at what documentation/pamphlets they have around. (Talk to the local CVS to get contacts if you struggle).

 

Hope that helps

 

TD

[Simon Lewis]

Sensible answers appreciated...

 

Why not, "Information for users of the Infra Red system" or similar? Those who need to use it will know what it is.

 

The problem with what to call those with hearing loss is that there are so many different categories!

 

I use the following list when trying to describe the main ones:

 

Deaf - sign language user and usually member of the Deaf Community. (note teh use of a capital 'D')

deaf - person with significant hearing loss

deafened - person who once had hearing but has lost some or all of it through illness or noise exposure etc.

deaf-blind - those who experience both significant hearing loss and visual impairment

hard of hearing - those with impaired hearing.

Ddeaf - inclusive term to describe those in the Deaf Community and other deaf people.

 

Of course, there are variations and subtleties of meaning that depend upon when the hearing loss occured, how they were educated (Deaf school, mainstream) whether they communicate orally or use BSL / SSE (or both) whether they use hearing aids / bone conduction units / cochlea implants etc.

 

I suspect that many of those using an IR system would fall into the "older person with presbycusis" category, who has (fairly) recently been given a hearing aid. He or she has not established coping strategies to hear and communicate effectively, and may not even get on with the aid. They probably wouldn't have sufficient technical expertise to know whether an induction loop or IR system was working satisfactorily.

 

Then again, we have a School for the Deaf in Derby, so there's quite a number of true Deaf community members who have completly different needs....

 

HTH,

 

Simon

[bruce]

I asked our Disability Services department at work this question. They replied:

 

You can refer to a short piece on the RNID website: http://www.rnid.org.uk/information_resourc...ng_of_deafness/

 

Personally, I use the terms Deaf or Hard of Hearing (or someone with a hearing loss) most often. However, I'd always take the cue from the person I'm communicating with. If they prefer to use the term Hearing Impaired to describe themselves, then I'll use that.

 

Whatever terminology is used, it should never have 'the' in front of it, i.e. most people would find it pretty offensive to talk about 'The Deaf' but would be OK with 'Deaf people' or 'People who are deaf'."

[gareth]

I think a big give-away is probably the fact that the Royal National Institute for Deaf People is so named (and not called the Royal National Institute for Hearing-Impaired and Aurally Challenged People, or any other such PC abomination). If the national organisation representing deaf and hard-of-hearing people refers to them in that way, I think we should probably take some sort of a lead from that.

[Kelite]

Thankfully my deafness was cured when I was about 10

 

 

Not having met you, I am nonetheless happy that you've regained your ability to hear music and all the other awesome things in the world. If I may be so bold to ask, what type of procedure was used to restore your hearing?

(My daughters go to school with several young children under 10 years old that would like to regain this sense...)

[Just Some Bloke]

Why not, "Information for users of the Infra Red system" or similar? Those who need to use it will know what it is.

 

Simon

 

This is by far the best idea, surely. The great thing about using an infra-red system is that it can be used, not just by those with hearing aids, but also by anyone who can't hear the performance very well. If any comes up to our Front-of-House staff and says they are finding it difficult to hear the show, we just offer them an earpiece connected to an infra-red receiver. They have individual volume controls so you can set how loud you want it.

 

People end up using them who wouldn't normally think of themselves as hearing-impaired, just as "not as young as I used to be"! :blink:

[mac.calder]

If you want here to be no question - call it something along the lines of "Infra-Red Hearing Assistance System" or "Infra-Red Audio Reinforcement System." It should get all those anoying PC people off your back, as you have not mentioned any (real or imagined) deficiency in a person, but instead are providing information on a system which 'reinforces' audio, or assists with hearing.

 

That said, the term deaf is generally accepted, unlike 'dumb'... For gods sake people! Dumb - the inability to orate. Hence the phrase "Are you dumb?" asks the question "Are you unable to talk?" It is not offensive! And the comment "You are dumb" basically says "You lack the ability to orate", meaning you should shut your trap because you dont make sense, and when used in the correct context, is not offensive either. I just dont see the offensive conotations, and I do not see why I should have to replace it with 'mute' just to please the PC police. Believe me, when you have a charactor who is "mute" and is refered to constantly as "Dumb" throughout a full length show, it is a REAL pain in the a$$.

[Simon Lewis]

Dumb - the inability to orate. Hence the phrase "Are you dumb?" asks the question "Are you unable to talk?" It is not offensive!

 

Ahhh... some history may help.....

 

Historically, the Deaf community have various reasons to feel aggrieved. One is that in 1880, a number of educationalists decided that deaf children shouldn't sign, but should learn to speak and be taught purely by oral methods. Given that speech is hard to learn when you can't hear it, it didn't help them, and many deaf teachers lost their jobs.

 

Secondly, as those in the Deaf community often communicated by signing, (and either couldn't speak or chose not to) they were identified as "deaf and dumb" or "deaf mutes". As the average reading age for many deaf people is quite low (again it is hard to learn to read when you have no aural association to back up what is written on the page), it was assumed that the deaf person was slow, stupid or "dumb". Therefore, the word "dumb" was often used as a term of derision, rather than identifying that the person couldn't or wouldn't use speech.

 

There were a few other blunders... some church leaders pronounced that deaf people could not receive salvation since "faith comes through hearing" (Ephesians 2), and Alexander Graham Bell advocated compulsory sterilisation of deaf women.

 

All in all, they have had some rough treatment, so if certain words have loaded meanings - I think we can understand where they are coming from ;-)

 

Simon

[Solstace]

If I may be so bold to ask, what type of procedure was used to restore your hearing?

 

Cheers!

 

My hearing loss started with glue-ear when I was around 3 or 4, and where doctors had pronounced I'd grow out of it by the time I was 7, by the time I was 9 it was quietly (sic) getting worse. So I wasn't completely deaf, but was affected enough to have some real problems communicating outside of a one-on-one conversation in a quiet room.

 

What solved it? Grommets! I had an operation to insert a tiny grommet into each ear-drum, which allowed the fluid behind the ear-drums to freely drain off and the blocked Eustachian tubes (connecting the inner-ear to the back of the nasal passage) to clear. Within a year or two, the grommets "grew out" of the ear-drums and normal ear function was completely restored.

 

It's not an horrendous procedure to go through, so is certainly worthy of consideration (and discussion with an ENT consultant) if the problem is of a reasonable severity.

 

For me, this probably served as the catalyst for my interest in sound and music - so I ain't complaining!!

 

As for how I titled the document in question - I eventually settled on "Using our Infra-Red system" - since our congregation and welcomers already have a good understanding of what the Infra-Red system actually is...

 

Thanks everyone for your input - I hope this discussion has helped others as well as myself!

 

C