Help for Hearing Impairment

Savvy_Sue

My hearing is impaired, ie it's not as good as it used to be. I'm not deaf or Deaf or really hard of hearing, which were all terms used at my lipreading class, but it's definitely impaired.

Dictionary.com definition.

Greta

If you want to get definition centric about this, the word impairment comes from the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification of disease. However, that was coined by hearing people. As the dictionary.com definition.

My question was more around self reflection, and perhaps why we will adopt labels given us by society. Defective goods comes to mind over and above a respect for diversity.

kyssyn

I'm partially sighted and hard of hearing. I say I'm deaf and blind. This isn't me adopting a label given by society, it's just what I like to say. I don't care for PC terms, in my opinion they do nothing to stop discrimination and everything to encourage it by making other words taboo that only certain groups can say. It's about time that people got over being PC and learned to tell the difference between an insult, joke, noun etc.

At one time it was proper to refer to a black person as negro, then n*gger, then coloured, then black. In the USA I got told off for saying black because the 'proper term' was African-American (so what about blacks outside the USA?). No matter what label you give people it will become derogatory eventually.

I don't know why you're equating a disability with diversity. In my mind diversity of people refers to personalities, beliefs, aspirations etc - i.e. what they CHOOSE to be. It makes me uncomfortable to think of people as being diverse just because they have a disability. Disabilites may shape a person's existance but they NEVER define a person. I think that respecting a person just because they're disabled is, in itself, disrespectful. I'll earn my respect like everyone else thanks

Savvy_Sue

Having self-reflected, impaired describes my hearing perfectly, thank you. I am not deaf: some members of my family are deaf, others I might describe as hard of hearing (and I suspect I'm heading that way myself) but if they prefer to describe themselves as deaf or hard of hearing or hearing impaired I won't argue with them. But to me, impaired does not = broken. Nor is defective a word I would apply to people - my hearing AID may be defective, but I am not.

And at the end of the day, it's called Help for Hearing Impairment because that's the title GotNoRhythm chose. And hearing impaired is how s/he chooses to describe him/herself.

So maybe we could maintain the diversity and describe ourselves in whatever way we find comfortable?

But Discussion Time would probably be a better place to continue a philosophical discussion about this.

Greta

Have any of you stopped to consider why deaf organisations don't use 'hearing impaired'? Even the RNID, NDCS, BDA, etc ... don't use it. The only place you might find it, is within medical circles, medical associated charities or within education (which has its own history).

People would do well to read a bit more about the history of deafness.

Deaf defines me in as much the same way as I'm a woman; its part of who I am.

Errata

I have to say I'm really not too bothered what people call it, as long as I can hear what they're saying.

becb1

Greta wrote: »

Okay, I have a question. Why is this called a hearing impaired thread? What's wrong with deaf or hard of hearing?

Impaired = broken. No thanks. Since when was it okay to measure people by others. Would it be okay to call women, male impaired? Black people, white impaired? etc. You get the picture. All those groups might encounter discrimination or disadvantage.

So just why is it perfectly okay to call deaf people, hearing impaired?

isn't it up to the individual to decide how they would best like to describe it? i used to teach deaf children and they often said they didn't like to say they were deaf...so we went through all the choices - hard of hearing, hearing impaired, deaf, 'i have a hearing loss/problem'... etc etc

Surely it is whatever makes the individual feel comfortable?

Greta

becb1 wrote: »

isn't it up to the individual to decide how they would best like to describe it? i used to teach deaf children and they often said they didn't like to say they were deaf...so we went through all the choices - hard of hearing, hearing impaired, deaf, 'i have a hearing loss/problem'... etc etc

Surely it is whatever makes the individual feel comfortable?

Part of the problem with this approach, is that society pushes non acceptance of deaf people (and aspiration to be 'normal') and diversity. Some of the replies / thanks on this thread are a classic illustration of this. Including hearing must be the norm.

Children are possibly the most vulnerable here (and I say this as someone who has worked children / young people nationally), and having to educate or readdress years of "damaged goods" mentality that gets projected.

altocumulus

Has anyone here managed to get any dla, mainly for being deaf?
[to add to this debate, I've been described medically as partly deaf since I was knee-high to a grasshopper and it may have taken me decades to accept that I was disabled, but deaf is my prefered term - no PC for me].

My original claim, for dla, was refused; a review one week later decided the original decision was correct (the review supposedly should have taken 11 weeks). Obviously DWP do not employ 'deaf-aware' decision makers for DLA claims.

Savvy_Sue

Did you have help with your DLA application? There are a very few identified situations where you automatically get DLA, but in most cases the decision is based on how you are affected by - in your case - your deafness. For example, does it prevent you caring for yourself? Can you go out on your own? Do you need someone with you at all times?

If you look at the Benefits board, there will be lots of helpful information there, including details of organisations who can help you with the form filling. There is a definite technique to it, and part of it is making the most of what you CANNOT do without help that a hearing person CAN do. Which is the opposite to the way most of us approach life, IME.

BTW, even without DLA you should be able to get a Disabled Person's Rail Card, if you use trains a lot.