Cute Bat Stickers + Hearing Aid = Happy Halloween!

Courtesy of Hello Kitty stickers

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Cell Phone Use in 1928? More Likely a Hearing Aid

In recent news: a woman appears to be talking on a cell phone in a clip from a 1928 Charlie Chaplin film The Circus.

Here is the clip:


(via MorpheusWasRight )

There are many theories, one of them being that she was probably a time traveler. But, I thought the most interesting one was that it could have been a hearing aid. They were manufactured during that time and widely distributed, so why not?

I love weird creepy tales especially around Halloween, and especially if they involve hearing aids!

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*Example of a 1928 hearing aid: http://medcat.wustl.edu/cgi/arb.cgi?115111922:ig1:3:did:2441
 *20th century hearing aids: http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/did/20thcent/index.htm

• Related DeafRead post: At The Rim's Cell Phone Used in 1928. . .

Creepy Jack-O-Lantern Picture

My boyfriend has been carrying around this stupid ceramic creepy looking Jack-O-Lantern thing for years. Tragically, it broke into pieces one day. Look at how he decided to make use of our fireplace in the spirit of Halloween.

CREEPY!!!

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What's the Point?

I was watching the movie Clueless the other night. It contains a hilarious scene where Cher (Alicia Silverstone) was driving while Josh (Paul Rudd) sat in the passenger seat. She was practicing driving around LA with her learner's permit.

Josh asked, "You want to practice parking?"

Cher responds, "What's the point? Everywhere you go has valet."

LOL. This part cracks me up.

But, it also makes me sad. 

It makes me think of some of my students who avoided learning certain useful skills such as studying, because they often had things done for them or were given way too many second chances. For example, one student would often fail or make D's on his Science tests. He never seemed to be concerned about this. It worried me.

I found out later why. He was always given a another chance to retake the test. Usually, he made a decent grade the second time around.

I remember when we were looking over a study guide for an upcoming Science test. I was getting angry because he was not paying attention and did not seem to care about studying for the test. I asked him why.

He basically told me (well, actually signed to me):

"I don't need to study, I can take the test again later. Then, I'll study."

So, what is the point of him studying for tests? If he fails, he can always retake the same test again.

This is sad, because he was hardly ever given opportunities to practice simple and very useful skills that he needs to learn how to apply to himself. On his own, you can say he was pretty much useless when it came to school.

Isn't this why we teach? To help teach others how to do these skills themselves? How is he supposed to learn if he is constantly being spoiled and babied? I mean he even had study guides for crying out loud! I don't remember ever having any study guides. I made my own study guides and studied on my own.

I don't ever want my students to avoid learning a practical skill such as parallel parking just because "everywhere you go has valet."

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My Experience With 'Dialogue in the Dark'

I recently went to an exhibit called Dialogue in the Dark. It is an exhibit which basically gives people with typical eye sight a taste of what it would be like to be visually impaired or blind. You are provided walking canes at the start of the tour. Then you are told to walk into this dim room softly lit by glowing white cubes which you sit on. For some reason, it reminded me of the movie Clockwork Orange. A soothing female voice came on through an overhead speaker explaining what will take place. I was having trouble understanding what was said, and so one of the people I went with interpreted for me what was said. As she was signing, the light grew dimmer and dimmer until I could not see her or anything anymore. It was completely black.

Feelings of panic developed. 

Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere. It was our guide, who is visually impaired himself. He said something about being our guide and how he will help lead us through different parts of the exhibit.

My first thought was, "How in the world would a severely-profoundly deaf person participate in something like this?" Would they rely on feeling a person's hands interpreting for them? Or would they blindly follow the others without being able to understand what is being said?

It was funny how the guide kept saying,  "Follow the sound of my voice." I could hear his voice, but I had no idea where the voice was coming from (often a problem for those with hearing losses). So I would walk around until I bumped into something or someone. I knew that I was OK if I was around people.

I was really surprised at how calm I became. It was a little disorienting, yes, but not too bad. It helped to know that this was an exhibit, safe and planned out, and we had a guide. If I was out on my own with no guide it would have been terrifying, of course. 

We went to different areas, such as a park (with sound effects, birds whistling, dogs barking, etc.), a grocery store, a boat, and a bar/lounge area. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to know exactly where I was just by feeling the objects around me. My sense of touch was heightened. I wanted to feel everything. I was also more cautious, trying not to hit anyone with my cane.

But, no matter how careful I was trying to be, I accidentally grabbed a stranger's breast. Oops.

I often wandered away from the group. There were times where the guide would say, "Ok, follow me. Follow the sound of my voice." Usually, I tried to stay close to my group, but somehow I always end up walking away as I tried to follow the sound of his voice. There was a time when we were in the "bar/lounge" area. This was a challenge because of the loud background noises (chatter, music). I tried to once again follow the guide's voice and I ended up walking away from the group. I walked around in circles bumping into walls and chairs. It was awful. "Elizabeth?" I heard my group call out to me. I ended up at the entrance into the bar lounge area again. The "bartender" yelled out, "We have a bar fly here!" The guide came and rescued me, "Take my hand, Elizabeth. I am so sorry."

He led me back to my group who were all sitting at a booth waiting for me.

After this, the tour was over. We were told to walk straight and to follow the light. "Keep walking towards the light." I felt as if I was in a scene from a movie where someone dies and is "going to the light". It was an odd experience.

I was glad to be back out in the light; to be able to see again. I was so relieved.

It was an interesting experience. I learned a lot. I learned that I take my eye sight for granted. I learned how much harder it is for me to follow what is being said (if I can't see the speaker) and to understand where the sound source is coming from. I am useless when it comes to following the sound of someone's voice if I can't see anything. I also learned how quickly I adapt to my surroundings and how quickly I am able to understand where I am just by feeling.

I would recommend to someone to try this once.

I think it would be interesting to have a similar exhibit where people would go to get a taste of what it could possibly be like to be deaf or hard of hearing.

I wonder which exhibit people would feel the most comfortable in?

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Visual Classical Music for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

I found a YouTube channel, musanim or Music Animation Remake Machine, which contains a collection of classical music presented in visually interesting ways.

I think they are strikingly beautiful moving works of art.

Here's a few:









Enjoy!

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Good Comebacks to Insults About Your Hearing Loss

So, someone you know continues to tease you or make insulting remarks about your hearing loss. What would be some good comebacks to these remarks?

But, first it is important that you understand whether the person is being a complete jerk or is honestly clueless about deaf and hard of hearing people.  You don't want to insult the clueless, which can discourage them from interacting with you and other deaf and hard of hearing people. BUT, sometimes the clueless can say the most insulting things that they should know better. So, in this case, they deserve a smart little comeback to knock some sense into them.

I had a hard time coming up with some myself. They are not that great, I know. Some are borrowed from well known comebacks. Some of the insults I have taken from comments left by my readers (I love you guys!).

Here's a few:

"Turn up your hearing aid (or cochlear implant)!" 

Comeback: "Oh, like that's going to fix everything, huh? It's my fault, huh? Has it occurred to you that maybe YOU are the problem? Why don't you learn to speak more clearly (or if you sign - learn some signs)?"

Comeback 2: "What? I just turned off my hearing aid for good reason."

Comeback 3 (from a reader, thanks!):  "What for?" (give them The Look.)

"Stop saying "Huh? What? Eh?" all of the time, like you have no idea what is going on in the conversations. What is wrong with you?" 

Comeback:  "Oh, I forget sometimes that I am deaf (or hard of hearing). It is such an inconvenience for you, I know. It must be horrible. I'm sorry. I'll try to hear better next time. I don't know what is wrong with me sometimes. Geez." 

Comeback 2: "For the ten thousandth time, I am deaf (or hard of hearing, or whatever)! I tell you this over and over again, and yet you still don't get it. It is like you have no idea what is going on. I don't know what is wrong with you sometimes."

Comeback 3: "I'll try to wear a sign next time reminding you that I am deaf (or hard of hearing). Would you like me to explain to you what it means to be deaf (or hard of hearing)? You seem to have trouble understanding."

Comeback 4: "What was that? Huh? Eh? What? I'm sorry, but I am pretty much deaf to jerky comments like the one you just made."

"You sound weird."   Or   "You sound funny."

Comeback: "You smell weird."
 
"Geez, why don't you ever listen to me? You always act as if you can't hear me half the times, but really I think you choose not to listen to me. It is so annoying!"

Comeback: "Because you obviously don't know me. If you did, you would know how to communicate with me. Want me to show you how?"


Comeback: 2 "You are annoying with your incessant whining about how I can't hear. Thanks for reminding me that you forget this sometimes."

Comeback: 3 "You obviously have never met or interacted with deaf or hard of hearing people. Want me to explain to you what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing? First, we tend to have a hard time hearing a-holes bitching about how annoying it is that deaf or hard of hearing people act as if they can't hear them half the time."

"You don't look deaf." 

Comeback: "Yeah, I try to blend in. Trying to keep it low key, you know? I don't want the others to find out just by looking at me."

Comeback 2:  "And you don't look (insert your own insult)."

Comeback 3: "What? I am baffled by your last statement. Really? Did you just say that? You care to repeat it again?" (Make them say it again and again, until they realize how insulting or idiotic that statement is).

To being yelled in your face: 

"I can't lipread your tonsils!" (provided by Dianrez, thanks!)


Any others?

Email me or leave a comment with some good comebacks for insults or jerky remarks! If they are good, I'll add them here or in another post.

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How to Tell if Someone is Clueless or Being Mean About Your Hearing Loss

How can you tell if someone is being mean about your hearing loss or if they are simply clueless about deaf and hard of hearing people and issues?

They are most likely harmless or simply ignorant if: 

1. They never met deaf and hard of hearing people before.
2. They don't know that you have a hearing loss or that you are deaf.
3. They lived in a cave in complete isolation for most of their lives.
4. They remember that they have a deaf cousin that they have not seen in twenty years.
5. They have never been to DeafRead to read all of the blogs debating every deaf and hard of hearing issue you can think of to death.
6. They use terms you may hate such as "hearing impaired" or "deafness." Most likely no one has taught them that some deaf and hard of hearing people are offended by these words. (*Note: I think it is perfectly fine to use these words to describe someone who is deaf or hard of hearing.  I sometimes still use deafness to describe someone with a hearing loss. But, keep in mind, they may possibly offend someone out there. You can't please everyone. Just because someone uses these terms and you don't like these terms, does not mean that they are trying to be disrespectful).
7. They never met you or do not know of your deaf and hard of hearing ways and ask, "What are those things in your ears?" or "What are those things on your head?" "Why are you wiggling your hands and fingers around so much?" "Why do you keep asking me to repeat myself?" "Why are acting like my deaf grandmother?
8. They never met deaf and hard of hearing people and they ask seemingly stupid questions such as, "Can deaf people drive?" "Can deaf people speak?" "Can deaf people read?" "Do deaf people read braille?" 
9. They are not sure about how to accommodate you in certain situations. Not everyone has experienced this and often do not know what to do. 
10. They talk to your interpreter instead of you. Again, not many people know what to do in these types of situations. 
11. They claim that they know sign language, when in fact they can only do a poor version of the alphabet or the "ILY" sign. At least they are trying. 

 They are being inconsiderate if:

1. They continue to talk to you with their backs turned to you even after you have told them several times not to do this for the past ten years.
2. They repeatedly tease you by covering their mouths or turning their backs and asking, "Can you hear this? Can you hear me now?"
3. They point and laugh at you. "Eew, you are deaf. How gross. Your hearing aids are soooo ugly!"
4. They do the dreaded "mock sign language" by wiggling their fingers around in the air and make their "retard" or exaggerated "deaf" voice. Believe it or not, some people still do this.
5. They repeatedly refuse to accommodate you when you know that they easily can. 
6. They know that you are deaf or hard of hearing and say things like, "I would kill myself if I was deaf." "I think all deaf people are stupid." "Hard of hearing people are so frigging annoying." "Stop saying, "Eh? What? Huh?" all of the time!" "Geez, I wish you were not deaf!" "I wish you would listen to me! Why are you are not listening?!"
7. They repeatedly ask, "When are you going to get cochlear implants?" "Can you turn up your hearing aid?" "Is your implant working well?" 
8. They make fun of your speech. 
9. They know of your deaf or hard of hearing ways and make you participate in stupid games useless to you, such as "Telephone" or "Marco, Polo" just to see you squirm.
10. They know you are deaf or hard of hearing and they quietly sneak up behind you and scream "BOO!" and push you. They are even worse if they run away laughing hysterically.
11. They repeatedly make inappropriate jokes or comments about people with hearing losses whether they know you have a hearing loss or not.

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From the Street: ASL Tattoo

 LOVE

Picture taken by (e.  Saturday, October 16th, 2010

*Please, please, please link back to this blog if you are going to use this photo on your site or blog. Thank you!

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My Hearing Loss Sometimes Scares the Crap Out of Me!

I was in my apartment washing the dishes. I was not wearing my hearing aid which made the sounds of the rushing water and the clanking of the plates duller and softer. I saw my boyfriend leave the apartment, saying he'll be right back. I continued washing the dishes. A few minutes later, I heard my boyfriend's voice. Since, I have no concept of where sounds come from (I have trouble locating sound sources) I thought that perhaps he was outside the door to the apartment and he needed help getting in. I opened the door, and he was not there. No one was there.

"Babe."

I screamed.

He was standing right behind me.

He was alarmed by the fact that I did not hear him come in the apartment and walk right by me. He was trying to talk to me from another room in the place, when I thought that perhaps he was outside.

Geez.

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Learning Through Osmosis

I work with a nine year old student who has a moderate-severe hearing loss. She knows some signs but prefers listening and speaking. She is language delayed possibly due to a number of reasons (hearing loss, not much support outside of school, mother does not speak English, she did not get a hearing aid until last year, she did not get much instruction in language until last year, etc.).

Even though she has a poor grasp of everyday vocabulary and language, I speak to her like I would anyone else. I never "dumb down" my language. I throw in a lot of slang terms and everyday expressions. I use a lot of idioms. I make sure to use these words again and again every time I see her. I never sat down and directly taught her these terms. I mainly directly teach her vocabulary she needs to know for class or specific reasons (if they are going to do a cooking activity, I would teach her the names for the tools and foods they will be using).

I was hoping that she would learn like most hearing children learn language, through osmosis or indirect absorption.

Eventually, I heard her on her own say things like, "Let's check it out." "Oh, cool!" "Oh, snap!" "Okey, dokey." "See ya later alligator." "See ya in a while crocodile." "It's raining cats and dogs outside."

The other day she said, "I find this to be quite amusing."

What?! I asked her where she heard this. She said that she heard it from me. Apparently, I say this a lot. I had no idea that I am such a dork.

I am glad she is listening.

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Difference Between CART and C-Print

CART and C-Print are both speech to text systems used by deaf and hard of hearing people needing access to spoken language in certain situations, unless one decides to use a sign language interpreter.

They are both different. With CART, everything spoken is turned into text verbatim; word for word. C-Print interprets the content of what is said.

Here is a link to a site which clearly explains how they are both different using comparison charts and examples:

http://www.pepnet.org/newsletter/2008_fall/page6.asp
 
So, for me, because English is my native language which I am most comfortable with, I would use CART. C-Print is more appropriate for those more interested in the content of what is being spoken.

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Don't Forget That You Are Hard of Hearing and Plan Ahead

For a moment, I forgot that I was hard of hearing.

There was a famous pop artist coming to town and I really wanted to go and hear him give a talk at a museum. I bought the tickets and excitedly thought about what he may talk about.

I went, and to my chagrin, hundreds and hundreds of people stood in line to see the same guy. I don't know why I thought only a handful of people would show up. I thought it would be small and intimate and that I would be in close proximity to the speaker.

I scolded myself, "He is a very famous artist, Elizabeth. Duh. You thought you and a few others were the only ones to hear about this? What's wrong with you?!"

Anyway, because an enormous amount of people had shown up already, I was sent to the nose bleed areas in the balcony.

The speaker was tiny from where I was sitting, and I could hear most of what he said. But, I had to really strain and concentrate. He talked a lot. There were times where he said something I did not hear and people would laugh. I wondered what was so funny. It was frustrating.

An example of how I heard the speaker:

"Look at the pictures of this j---b, perhaps there ---- gu----ble and I know that this represents a slight ------ --m--. And I knew that this would be the ----- important work. It was ------ mystery, and I love the pink color and the broad brushstrokes."

Aargh!

I should have known better and planned ahead. I need to remember that I don't hear very well and could use the help of closed captions in certain situations. Next time, I will need to call ahead and see if I can arrange for them to have captions or perhaps CART services.

I will be sure to call the people in charge and see if this is possible or how I can arrange this for next time.

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How I Replace An Old Hearing Aid Tube (Pictures Included)

I often come across yellow, stiff, and brittle *BTE hearing aid tubes with my students. Yesterday, a student complained to me that her hearing aid was hurting her. Sure enough, her tube was yellow, stiff, and hard. It was time for it to be replaced with a new one.

Hearing aid tubes should be clear and soft. They often need to be replaced. I replace mine every three-four months.

When the tube becomes hard and stiff, it shrinks, causing pain and discomfort to the ear. It can be really painful, I don't like it. It can be so bad, that I would prefer to go without my hearing aid. It is as if someone is pinching the top part of your ear really, really hard. Ouch.

It is important to change your hearing aid tubes as soon as the tubes get hard and stiff. You can learn to do this yourself. Depending on where you are, a pack of tubes can cost as little as $1.00. Some places give them away for free. If you have a child who wears BTE hearing aids, and he or she has an itinerant teacher or teacher of the deaf, ask them to do it or show you how to do it, that is if they know how to.

I have looked online for video demonstrations or step by step instructions on how to change or replace a tube, but have been unsuccessful in finding any good ones. I found several written instructions, but I prefer to have a visual guide. Because of this, I decided to make my own demonstration of how I change my tube and will post it below, using pictures.

What you need:

•  BTE hearing aid
• New hearing aid tubes or preformed tubes for your hearing aid
• Pair of scissors

 First, I get a new tube.

 Then I take off the ear mold. I gently wriggle it off.

 Then I take the old tube off. Again, I gently wriggle it off.

 Look at how stiff, old, and yucky my old tube looks.

 Next, I line up the new tube with the old one. I am measuring and would like to cut the new tube close to the same length as the old tube.

 I cut off one side of the new tube.

 Then I cut off the other side of the new tube.

 I wriggle the new tube back onto the hearing aid.

 Then, I wriggle the ear mold back on.

 I try it on, to make it fit just right. Sometimes it needs another adjustment. 

Just right! Much better!

Hope this helps. 

* BTE - Behind-the-Ears

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My Experiences With Cued Speech

I took a Cued Speech or Cued English course during my second year at graduate school. One of the instructors was Hilary Franklin. She uses both Cued Speech and ASL.

If you want to read more about Cued Speech please visit this link: National Cued Speech Association.

Before taking Cued Speech, I thought Cued Speech was just a tool used to help deaf and hard of hearing people's speech. I thought it would be something you would only use during speech classes, just as you would use Visual Phonics to teach phonics in a visual way during reading classes.

Boy, was I wrong.

It was an interesting course. It really opened up my eyes to the fact that there are plenty of other opportunities out there other than using sign language.

Watching a fluent cuer for the first time is an odd experience. It looks like fingers fluttering around the mouth area. I thought, "How does this work?" "How could this possibly make sense to anyone?"

I learned that it is more like a code used to help people see the phonics or spoken phonemes. Once you learn the cues, you can immediately see how something is spoken.

For example, I learned that the name "Hugh" is supposed to be pronounced as "Hue." I often forget this and would pronounce the name with the hard 'g' sound at the end ("Hue-guh") as it looks in written form. I have trouble hearing certain ending sounds and I would assume you pronounce the 'g' sound. The instructor corrected this by showing me the correct way of saying it through the use of cues. I could clearly and instantly see how the word is pronounced. There was no need to explain to me how it is said. No one had to remind me that the 'gh' is silent.

For the longest time, I was pronouncing Illinois as 'Ill-i-noise'. I would emphasize the 's'. Through everyday conversations, I assumed people were pronouncing the 's' sound at the end. I usually cannot hear 's' sounds and assumed that it should be pronounced as you would read it or see it in written form. Cued Speech would have immediately prevented me from doing this, if I was a fluent cuer. I would have seen that the 's' is silent.

The cues can be learned quickly, over the weekend. It can take a year or so to become a fluent cuer, depending on the person. Some people learn fast and can cue fluently within months. The great thing about it is that you don't have to learn another language. You use your own native language, a language you would prefer to use with your child and family. Some families and deaf cuers learn and use sign language as well.

Cued Speech is interesting and a very useful tool, especially to use with very young children. Ideally, one would use it consistently around an infant or a very young child, just as you would talk in front of your hearing child. Eventually, the child would pick it up and see how English is spoken similar in how a hearing child hears and learns the English language. The only disadvantage I can think of is that it would require the child to see you talk. The child could not pick up side conversations or conversations taking place in another room.

Once the child learns the English language by 'seeing the sounds' they can easily participate in and understand various literary activities such as rhyming games, word play, poetry, etc. They can pick up reading more easily.

I was really impressed with the instructors. They were both fluent in ASL and spoken English. One was profoundly deaf and have been cueing and signing since she was a child. I believe that first she learned Cued English and then she learned ASL. She had an in depth understanding of the English language, thanks to Cued English.

They were not preachy and did not talk about how Cued Speech is the best and should be used with every deaf child we come across. They understood that it is not for everyone and that not every parent is going to be so dedicated to take the time to learn it and then use it consistently with their child. However, they did stress that it should be suggested as an option to everyone and that everyone should try it first before knocking it. They explained how it is not very popular because of the misconceptions about Cued Speech. They preferred to call it Cued English to emphasize that it is about providing cues for the spoken phonemes of the English language. If you are learning Spanish, you can call it Cued Spanish. If you are learning French then it should be called Cued French, and so on.

I encourage those who have not yet, to please take a Cued Speech or Cued (substitute your spoken language here) class. Do not knock it until you have tried it!

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