This year I’ll be 28 and each year I learn more and more about myself and my disability. I perceive my disability in a whole different way as an adult. When I was a child, it was this thing that made me different to other people and I hated standing out. Plus, kids are mean when you’re different. Even in my early 20s I dealt with people calling me names in the workplace or assuming I am a strange person because of my disability. But now going into my 28th year on this earth my disability feels different, I’m proud of how far I have come with having extra challenges, I am proud of the perspective having a disability has given me and I thought I would share 27 things that I feel you should know about being deaf. All of these are my own opinion based on my own personal experiences and hearing loss.
1. Disability in general isn’t one size fits all, same with deafness. Each person has their own experience what life is like for them.
2. Being deaf isn’t something to say sorry about.
3. Yes, lip reading, and writing is hard. If I’ve taken notes usually don’t make any sense.
4. I worry about my safety when I’m alone.
5. I can’t lipread with your mask on, so I’m just guessing what you've been saying.
6. Your eyes and body language tell me a lot about how you feel
7. Starbucks shouting out my name when my coffees ready, is so annoying
8. Deaf, hearing impaired and hard of hearing are all different and should be supported accordingly.
9. I don’t know every deaf person in the country, we don’t all know each other.
10. Nothing is scarier for me than knowing your battery is running out and you are in the middle of a fitness class or important meeting.
11. Shouting at me only makes you look stupid does nothing for me
12. “you’re not a very good deaf person if you can’t sign well” I didn’t realise there was a criteria
13. No captions, new views! I don’t watch anything without subtitles, it’s important that businesses make their content accessible.
14. Live programs or news with no signer and delayed subtitles is so frustrating.
15. “You wouldn’t know you were deaf” makes me feel like, it's good that you can’t tell…
16. Just because I manage being deaf well doesn’t mean you can’t support me by making things slighter easier.
17. Being deaf isn’t an excuse to not work hard for what you want.
18. Randomly tapping me for my attention will always be received with a look of horror and fear, usually jump out of my skin especially when I’m in the zone working.
19. I feel that judgements by others is the hardest thing about being deaf.
20. Being deaf is my superpower, my unique perspective to add to the world.
21. I look behind me constantly if I’m out running, walking or just by myself, I always worry I wouldn’t hear a danger behind me.
22. I have lip read some dodgey conversations, it’s hard sometimes to stop yourself from being curious about what other people are talking about. Suppose it’s the same as eavesdropping is for hearing people.
23. Sometimes my mind makes a different voice for you and when I hear your real voice I’m shook.
24. When lip reading a lot of words look the same when mouthed and it can be confusing, usually with getting the rest of the sentence I’m able to figure it out.
25. Leaving people out purposely because they’re not “normal” like you is still bullying.
26. When I take my hearing aid out at night to sleep, I could sleep through anything my alarm shakes the whole bed to wake me in the morning.
27. And finally, being deaf is part of me. It’s not all I am or all that you should see.
I hope in my 28th year I continue to discover more about my disability, more ways to educate people on how disabilities aren’t a reason to disregard people’s skills, talents and goals. As a kid I hated this big label that people stuck on me, now it’s a badge that proudly put on when I want to.
Until next time,
Amy x
