As we all know, I'm a lip-reader. What I can't hear, I can see. My hearing aids work up to a point, and my eyes do the rest. Most - if not all - of my friend know this. But they often forget, and it's not obvious when I'm meeting new people.
Some people feel uncomfortable, as it appears I'm staring them in their eyes the whole time we talk. I've had one person make the comment that I'm quite 'intense' when they talk to me, to which I've had to reply that no, I'm not staring deep in to your eyes when we're taking, I'm lipreading...
There can be aother, albeit amusing, problems. One guy, when I was talking to him in a club, asked me if I wanted a kiss. I was confused - this seemed to have come out of nowhere. I politely declined his offer, generous though it may have been, and asked him where that had come from. He replied with something along the lines of 'well, the whole time we were talking you were looking at my lips, and I read somewhere that if a woman does that it means they want to kiss'. I laughed and explained to him I was lip-reading, to which he turned bright red.
Of course, there are other times that have caused me to laugh. For instance, when I'm wearing my bluetooth necklace (that connects to my hearing aids turning them in to a headphone) and answer my phone on that, people look at me strangely when I suddenly start talking to myself. Or some people think I'm talking to them and look very confused.
And on the topic of my bluetooth necklace - a couple of times it has connected to the TV with no warning, making me jump out of my skin! The first time it happened, my parents were watching some kind of action movie and I was walking down the hall from my room, when suddenly I hear gunfire and loud explosions. Definitely made me jump - but luckily I managed to save some of my dignity by not falling to the ground shouting 'don't shoot, don't shoot!', as I was very tempted to do.
Some people must also think I'm being very rude when I'm listening to music through my bluetooth necklace - like anyone wearing headphones and listening to music, I just don't hear anyone talking to me. But of course, because there are no wires, it just looks as if I'm ignoring them.
The same goes when I'm watching TV with my necklace on - my parents start talking to me but I just don't hear them. They laugh and say it's a likely excuse, but it really is!
Until another time,
Deaf Girl
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Officials
Every month an online newspaper is released called 'The Hearing Times'. It publishes stories about/that affect HoH & deaf people. I enjoy reading the articles and normally come away feeling uplifted, as there are often positive articles in it.
However, this month there are several articles about how government officials are failing HoH & deaf people. For instance, in Wales a 52 year old deaf man was found in distress outside his home. Because he was deaf, the police that found him couldn't communicate with him. Instead of calling for an interpreter to ask what was wrong, they escorted him back into his flat and left him. Those police officers were the last people to see him alive - he was found dead in his apartment shortly afterwards.
Those that are close to me know that at the moment I am having my own issues with the police, and this latest story doesn't inspire any confidence in them whatsoever. Which is unfair. I know several people in the police force that are lovely people that are good at what they do. These people have a real passion for helping others and do a damn fine job. Unfortunately, there are just as many people that are complacent and don't care about what they do. Which affects the whole police force and gives people - myself included - a negative view of the force.
The same can be said for the NHS (National Health Service). An 83 year old deaf woman died in Gloucester whilst under the care of the NHS. Nurses at the hospital lost her hearing aid - making it impossible for her to communicate with the staff - and neglected to feed her. Because of 'the misplacement' of her hearing aids, she had no way to tell staff what was wrong.
Personally, I have had both good and bad experiences with NHS treatment. I have had several operations and when waking up from these procedures, my hearing aids have always been at hand. There have of course been instances with doctors and nurses trying to talk with me when I wasn't wearing my hearing aids - but the same can be said for everyone (including my parents!)
I just find it both appalling and sad that a) HoH/deaf people are treated differently by government officials and aren't as cared for and b) that those that DO care aren't noticed - we only hear the horror stories.
Yes, there are some nurses, doctors, police officers etc that are a disgrace to their proffession, but there are also some damn fine ones out there, whom we never hear about.
Deaf Girl
However, this month there are several articles about how government officials are failing HoH & deaf people. For instance, in Wales a 52 year old deaf man was found in distress outside his home. Because he was deaf, the police that found him couldn't communicate with him. Instead of calling for an interpreter to ask what was wrong, they escorted him back into his flat and left him. Those police officers were the last people to see him alive - he was found dead in his apartment shortly afterwards.
Those that are close to me know that at the moment I am having my own issues with the police, and this latest story doesn't inspire any confidence in them whatsoever. Which is unfair. I know several people in the police force that are lovely people that are good at what they do. These people have a real passion for helping others and do a damn fine job. Unfortunately, there are just as many people that are complacent and don't care about what they do. Which affects the whole police force and gives people - myself included - a negative view of the force.
The same can be said for the NHS (National Health Service). An 83 year old deaf woman died in Gloucester whilst under the care of the NHS. Nurses at the hospital lost her hearing aid - making it impossible for her to communicate with the staff - and neglected to feed her. Because of 'the misplacement' of her hearing aids, she had no way to tell staff what was wrong.
Personally, I have had both good and bad experiences with NHS treatment. I have had several operations and when waking up from these procedures, my hearing aids have always been at hand. There have of course been instances with doctors and nurses trying to talk with me when I wasn't wearing my hearing aids - but the same can be said for everyone (including my parents!)
I just find it both appalling and sad that a) HoH/deaf people are treated differently by government officials and aren't as cared for and b) that those that DO care aren't noticed - we only hear the horror stories.
Yes, there are some nurses, doctors, police officers etc that are a disgrace to their proffession, but there are also some damn fine ones out there, whom we never hear about.
Deaf Girl
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