June Celebrations Are Over

Today my younger daughter turned 13. So we’re having a family party this evening, and tomorrow things should slowly start to go back to normal.

Also tomorrow I start work on the DHH book. I have to do plenty of research and then develop a book proposal. That will take some time, so be patient.

Many people have expressed interest in me doing this book. I feel that I have the background and the knowledge and with my M.A. in counseling, it should be an interesting project to do. Most importantly, I hope it helps others living life with a hearing loss.

If you have any comments, suggestions or observations you want to tell me for the DHH book, feel free to email me at:

ruth_6572@hotmail.com

I hope everyone will have a GREAT FOURTH OF JULY.

 

Back To This Blog

Well, the heat wave has passed, and my older daughter has graduated from UCLA.

Starting July 1st, I will start work on a DHH book. So many people have asked me to write one, and now is a good time. Over the summer, I will do research and write a book proposal.

After my two daughters return to school/work in the fall, that’s when I’ll start writing the book.

I need to finish up the multiple intelligences, and then I’ll blog some more about DHH issues.

There are some really good blogs on hearing loss on the Internet, and I hope to post them here at a later date.

Now that summer is offically here, do take the time to enjoy the great outdoors. I know I will.  

 

Audism

Brief posting today.

I’d like to discuss the word “audism”. It means the act or idea of people thinking that DHH people are less competent than regular people. There are even those who are DHH and oral, and think that those DHH who sign are less competent than those who lipread, and that is audism as well. All this is wrong.

I respect all DHH people across the spectrum. Each one of us has special qualities and intelligences, and just because we either choose to sign or lipread, does not make each one of us better or worse than another DHH, who will have different sets of skills and ideas. It also does not mean that each DHH person is lower in standing than any hearing person who’s present.

Audism is also evident in professionals who work with DHH, and who try to improve DHH lives, by insisting we try to hear better, or try to get us to act more like hearing people. This also includes hearies who judge our speech and compare us to hearing people’s speech. I really dislike it when a hearing person makes a comment about my speech. I know my speech isn’t perfect, but hearies have indicated they can understand me.

Professionals who work to help DHH people should either be educating us, or helping us to grow, and respect our choice of communication and hearing devices. They should never think they are superior to the DHH people they work with.

Really, I think it’s more important that a DHH person gets educated, regardless of what communication method is used.

If you would like to read the page on audism that’s put out by Gallaudet University, please click on this link: http://library.gallaudet.edu/deaf-faq-audism.shtml.

My daughter is graduating from UCLA next week, and so lots of things are happening around here.

So I won’t be posting as much until the end of this month.  But, I’ll be back.

Please visit my other blog at: www.ruthpealer.wordpress.com and www.ruthpealer.com for further info about me.

Have a Happy June.

Musical Intelligence And The Conversation Books

Another short posting today, this one on musical intelligence.

As most of us know, many people live for music. They live life via music. They crave it, and express themselves via music. That is musical intelligence and they understand it and use it.  

As they say, music is the universal language.

I can hear music, but I can tell I don’t get the full tonal qualities of any music playing. I also don’t understand lyrics, unless I have sheet music, and that someone is pointing out the words, and following it along with me.

We all know that the famous music composer Beethoven started losing his hearing when he was in his 20s. Eventually he became completely deaf. But he never stopped doing his passion for music. I’d say for somebody who went deaf, he had very, very strong musical intelligence, and never stopped his love for it.

He had conversation books, in which he and his friends wrote to each other, and through these books he would discuss his knowledge and passion for music. As I understand it, some of his conversation books still exist today. I think those conversation books were pretty awesome for those days.

Many DHH people do play and listen to music, regardless. It may be louder and have more vibrations and a definite beat tone, often using their residual hearing.

If you do see DHH people playing or singing, it’s probably more enjoyable if sign language was involved, or if a interpreter was along to help stay in sync with the music. There are deaf choirs, that use sign language, and it can be very pretty to watch.

If a DHH person is really passionate about music, you will definitely know.

If a DHH child shows interest in music, provide musical training or expose them to musical events.

I played snare drums for a while. I was told by a music teacher that drums were probably the best instruments for DHH people to play, although others may disagree with that.

For sure, musical intelligence is one of the more beautiful and artistic ones.

Wish I could hear music better. I know it’s a wonderful thing.

The Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Okay, brief posting today, as the Memorial Day weekend is just about upon us.

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence is interesting. This is the intelligence mode in which people express themselves through their body or muscles. They use what could be termed “muscle memory”.

Have you ever played Charades? That’s a great example of Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence being used.

For DHH people, this could be an important intelligence, because perhaps they cannot express themselves well in English or in lipreading or in art, but can express themselves through their body. An example might be a DHH person moving and expressing emotions and ideas via big sign language displays.

Some DHH people are awesome to watch, when they use sign language. They can communicate quite well through this way, and their meanings and intentions are quite clear.

It’s especially fun when DHH jokes are done in body expressive form. It always elicits laughs from people who understand DHH culture.

Have you ever seen the Blue Man Group? They do not speak at all. They are using their Bodily-Kinesthetic energy to communicate with their audience members. They are great fun to watch. If you never have seen them perform, go to Las Vegas, as they generally perform there.

For you see, some people are meant to be dancers, actors, expressing themselves in a big, but silent way. For that is their way of communicating.

Observe how your DHH child communicates with others. Does he or she try to get a point across silently?

I remember one time I asked a little DHH girl in sign what her father did for a living. She looked at me, hesitating, trying to think. Finally she imitated a person chattering with a mike in hand, so I knew she meant her father was a radio broadcaster. She was brilliant in how she tried to tell me something.

We all have our own personal way to communicate with society, and Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence mode is a great way for non-verbal people to communicate.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone.

DHH Choices in Communication Methods

Here I am, and I’m going to continue with my MI theory explanation. Please see my post on March 19, 2008 to see what multiple intelligences are. There is still research and controversy about this, and there will probably be changes and additions in the future, but I will cover the basic multiple intelligences for now.

I have already explained naturalistic and verbal-linguistics intelligences in previous postings.

Today I’m going to talk about interpersonal intelligence. The intrapersonal intelligence is critical for the successful social life of a DHH person.

Intrapersonal means you have the ability to sense and feel other people’s moods and attitudes. Many DHH people LOVE to be sociable, and are anxious to know how others feel and react.

So DHH people will watch intently your face, reactions, your body language and your hands.  The better interpersonal skills you have, the better you will be in understanding others in non-verbal ways. This explains why some people are able to get inside someone else’s “skin” better than others. You just “know” what the other person is thinking and feeling.

This is where lipreading and sign language skills come into play and how they are chosen.

Many DHH people can sense and understand you better via lipreading, because they are also able to watch your face and reactions. So they may choose to use lipreading for that reason. Lipreaders also have an innate sense of the English language base and the structure of it. Also, those who have better residual hearing tend to lipread. Lipreading would also be chosen by those who are not good in sign language skills. For me, I am much better at reading sign, than expressing myself in it. In other words, my receptive skills are much better than my expressive skills while signing.

But I am the best in written English than I am in signing or lipreading!

On the other hand, some DHH people like to watch body language, and so therefore sign language comes into play. ASL language structure is usually different from straight English. The ASL structure would probably be chosen by those who might not speak well, or are embarrassed by their speech. Other possibilities are that they may not be good in English, or not good at lipreading. Some just enjoy seeing sign language, because it’s fun and/or different, or that they cannot think in English, but in ASL only. That’s totally fine.

Regardless of which communcation method is chosen, it’s important that the DHH child start developing interpersonal skills early. Watch your DHH child to see how he is in receptive and expressive skills.

This is why parents of DHH children must take them out and expose them to as many social situations as possible. The DHH child can see how people react in various situations and learn the proper responses. The DHH child starts to learn early what is the best way for him to communicate with others.

I recall once observing a DHH man managing a restaurant. I could see how each time a restaurant patron came in, he would study their body language and faces quite closely. He didn’t speak much, but seemed to know instinctively what each patron wanted. It was an interesting situation to observe. He evidently had to use his lipreading skills, although other DHH people told me he had quite strong sign language skills.

For you see, socialization IS communication. Socializing, for DHH people, is far more important to them than to hearing people. It is because they know they have less of it, and so will maximize it as much as they can with other DHH people. This is why they have such “long goodbyes” periods. You see, when a DHH person leaves a DHH social time, it is a “death” of social time, and who knows when the next time a DHH person can be with another DHH person.

The bodily-kinesthetic intelligence theory will be in my next posting.

 

Oralism Vs. Signing, Part II

I would like to add a few more thoughts to my last posting, on oralism vs. signing.

For parents of DHH children, and those interested in how or why DHH people choose the method of communication they want, there are a lot of factors that come into play.

First of all, I believe I introduced the multiple intelligences theory, which I have not completely covered yet in full.  It can go a long way in explaining how a choice is made. I need to explain this, because so many people have asked me why DHH people have so many different ways of communicating.

So in the next posting, I’m going to review and explain more of the multiple intelligences theory, because I believe quite strongly it shows better than any other way how the choice is made by DHH people.

And somewhere along the way, I’ve GOT to give some improve literacy rates information, which I promised eons ago. I believe very strongly we need to get more people to read well. It’s good for deaf people, and good for readers, and good for writers, who want business.

Adios until next time, hopefully tomorrow.

Oralism vs. Signing

I said in a recent posting that I would talk about the wide spectrum of DHH people that I’ve met or known since age 2.

I’ve gone to oral schools, hearing schools, mainstreamed schools, hard of hearing classes, lipreading classes, and pure signing deaf schools. I have met native signers who are highly literate in ASL, foreign-born native signers, well-educated oralists, well-educated signers and everyone in between, and those who hear, but want to be part of the DHH culture.

I love DHH people, and respect them. I also spend a lot of time with hearies. So I am much more marginalized than most DHH people are. I would say at this time I am about 70% with hearies and 30% with my deaf friends. This is probably because I’m home with my children at this stage in life.

There ALWAYS has been a controversy about which DHH life is better, being an oralist or spending your life as a signer. This controversy will NEVER go away, and believe it or not, I hope it never does. It adds spice to the DHH culture, and makes DHH people really think about what is the best choice for them personally in communication methods.

As most DHH people know, 90% of deaf children have hearing parents. I am one of those. My husband is in the rare minority, his parents were both oral deaf.

My husband, his brother, and sister are all hard of hearing. I’d say my husband has moderate hearing loss. My sister-in-law is closer to being severely hearing-impaired, as she has trouble with the phone, and wants a cochlear implant. It may very well be she is deaf, but I would have to see her audiogram. My brother-in-law, I would say, has mild to moderate, slightly better than my husband’s.

It’s important to note here that a person can be considered deaf, but still be able to talk on the phone, or have a conversation with a hearing person, oddly enough. This might be because their residual hearing might have a narrow gap of hearing frequency that allows them to utilize that one part of hearing. A good oral school should work to develop that residual hearing, with possibly a CI or a good quality hearing aid.

Most DHH people consider me a strong oralist, although I do know and read sign. I have no hearing in my right ear, but I am very good at utilizing my residual hearing in my left ear. For a long while, I considered myself hard of hearing, but my husband has told me he really considers me deaf. And the more I thought about it, the more I realize he is right. This is because I cannot understand anything speech-wise, but can hear some non-speech sounds, as long as I am wearing my hearing aid. I cannot hear anything at all without my hearing aid.

Since I have experienced a bit of everything in DHH culture, what do I think about signing vs. oralism?

My answer is: both are terrific.

There are oralists who will stick up their noses at signing, or being with deaf signers, and signers who will stick up their noses at oral deaf people. There are deaf people who will have nothing to do with hearing people at all. And believe it or not, there are DHH people who will have nothing to with deaf people, especially once they get a cochlear implant or their hearing improves markedly.

 And there are those who like both, and respect them both and mingle freely with all DHH people. The DHH culture is indeed varied and interesting.

Both oralism and signing have advantages and disadvantages. It could take a book to discuss it all. There are many books on this subject. Try checking Amazon.com.  I haven’t set up a resource list, but I hope to do that in the future. I am considering writing such a book in the near future.

Probably the most conflicted people are the parents, who discover their child is DHH at the time of birth, or shortly afterwards. This is quite common, and I will try to share some information regarding this issue in the future.

I also haven’t finished my discussion of the multiple intelligences, which I feel is a critical component in educating a DHH child. I hope to wrap that up in coming days.

For now, let me again remind you, that oralism is not bad, and neither is ASL. What’s more important is that the DHH person gets to choose the communication method that’s the best. Oh, and also there are variations of oralism and signing as well.

Just remember that DHH people come in all sorts of colors, sizes and communication modes. Respect them all, for each one is a person, just like you and me.

 

 

May Is Better Hearing Month

Yep, I meant to mention this, but somehow I didn’t do it earlier. Oh well, better late than never!

Ironically, husband dear is looking for the hearing aid of his dreams. He hasn’t found it yet. I believe I mentioned a while back that we finally both got approved for new ones. He has been trying several of the latest ones, but so far doesn’t like a single one. I already like mine, it’s a Widex Bravo.

He doesn’t like the new ear molds and he doesn’t like digitals. So far. He just returned his third hearing aid. His dealer is DETERMINED to find the holy grail for him. I have been telling him to be patient and keep looking. He will find the hearing aid of his dreams.

Now, let me tell you that many DHH people don’t adjust well to hearing aids. This is one reason why DHH people are so intensely interested in the cochlear implant option, or want to pursue some other option in living with a hearing loss.

DHH People often just 1) don’t like the way hearing aids look; 2) find it a hassle to adjust it and have to buy hearing aid batteries; 3) find them difficult to afford; 4) some people are allergic to the earmold and/or get ear infections, and 4) just don’t like the way they sound.

But they are MUCH better than they were say, 10 years ago.

Hearing aids, like cochlear implants, do take time to adjust to wearing and living with them.

DHH people have to make up their OWN MIND how they want to live life with a hearing loss. There are lots of options out there.

I’ve been wearing hearing aids since age 2, so it’s like a natural extension of me. I can pick up a hearing aid and after 30 seconds know if it’s the right one or not. The last hearing aid I tried, I knew was the one for me. But I suffered migraines for a week, so it was more programming that had to be done, and then it was fine. So, if you have headaches from wearing a new hearing aid, either get it re-programmed, or try a different hearing aid.

A couple more tips for wearing hearing aids successfully:  If you suffer from ear infections, see your doctor. He will most likely prescribe antibiotic ear drops. Follow his instructions explicitly. Do not wear your hearing aid during this time. (I know, I know, it’s a pain going out without it.)

If, for some reason the drops don’t work, inform your doctor, and he should switch you to another totally different antibiotic. Also, always dry your ears before putting on your hearing aid for the day. Believe it or not, I dry my ears with a hair dryer (recommendation from my doctor.) DO NOT PUT IT ON HIGH. You don’t want to scorch your ears. Low is fine. If you don’t like the idea of blowdrying, then I would wait about 15-30 minutes for your ears to dry before putting on the hearing aid. This is so residual water isn’t trapped in the ear canal.

A well-fitted earmold is CRITICAL. If it pops out of your ear constantly, TAKE IT BACK and get another one made. If you audiologist or hearing aid dealer squawks about doing extra work, find another qualified person. Everybody has different ears.

Let me tell you from experience that if you gain or lose a substantial amount of weight, your earmold probably will not fit as well. You ladies, if you’re going through menopause or PMS, don’t expect a perfect earmold fit until your female cycle is over.

Remember, each and every DHH person is different, and each and every DHH person will have to find his/her own solutions to living a life with hearing loss.

For some, it may even mean dumping all hearing aid devices and living life simply by lipreading or signing. There’s nothing wrong with that.

 

 

DHH Good Times

I am a member of a DHH social group that gets together maybe 3-4 times a year. We usually rotate from house to house, per group agreement, or if a member decides to throw a party.

I feel that all DHH people should be a member of such a group.

It really helps to know you’re “not alone.” Communication is easier, and you don’t have to struggle with the high speed conversations of hearing people. Although most of us are oral, we know sign and use it when necessary.

When I was young, I thought I was the only one in the world with such bad hearing problems. Later, I met other DHH people in school, social life and such. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to be with DHH people. I found it less stressful being away from hearing people sometimes. Isn’t that strange in a way?

Some years ago I took a class in deaf culture. It was pointed out to me that DHH culture is actually good for you, because of the wide support, understanding and education that’s available within it. I have found that generally to be true.  Never shun it. Always respect the DHH culture.

There is a wide spectrum of DHH people within the culture.  Many DHH have jobs, careers and businesses that are equal or rival hearing people’s.  I’ll talk about about this in the near future.

I knew a DHH girl once who had mild-to-moderate hearing losses. Then, as she got older, her hearing got worse, and finally she decided, upon advisement, to get a cochlear implant.

She was happy with it, and her children told me that her hearing had gotten better. In fact, it improved enough that she was able to use the phone and understand movies. I was really pleased for her, and I’m sure her family was too.

But as she improved, she distanced herself from other DHH people, and acted hearing, and wanted to be with hearing people only. I am not sure how she had viewed herself before and after the CI. But I had to respect her decision, although I am not sure it was the best one she had made for herself. Is she better off leaving DHH people behind? Only she can say.

I know that if I were to suddenly become 100% hearing, I would never leave my DHH friends behind.

Anyway, no matter what, always have at least one friend who’s DHH.

It’s good for you and you’ll learn, at least, new technology being developed for DHH people. Especially when it comes to CIs, hearing aids and communication devices.

Most important of all, remember that your DHH friend(s) will understand and accept you completely. And they will laugh and smile with you.

For they have been there too.

Please see my website at: www.ruthpealer.com for more information about me.

I also maintain a second site for writers and friends at: www.ruthpealer.wordpress.com