Hearing Aids in the Wrong Places - Part 2

It's not just orange juice that does strange things to hearing aids, but also sugary drinks and coffee. Massive amounts of water, either hot or cold, will do it. A boiled hearing aid sounds clean and germ-free, but let's face it... That's enough heat to most likely melt the case and some electronics as will time in the microwave. Radio Shack or any other electronics houses don't have anything small enough for a replacement.

Water flumes count in terms of massive amounts of water, which leads to her having a good point related to roller coasters if they have water ponds around or just plain rocky areas. Then there's all the feet around. But don't forget other amusement park rides. I mention in Hearing Aids vs Humans of my being on a roller coaster and in Growing up Deaf - Part 7, the hearing aid encounters the toilet...

We've never seen a fish wear a hearing aid, so we know we can't tuna fish (tune a fish). Just make sure the hearing aid never makes it to the bathroom, either worn or unworn. You do know what Part 7 said above...? A flush is all it takes to lose the thing.

And the final thing you never want to see your hearing aid is heading at high speed away from you, shot from something like a slingshot or a projectile weapon. Its final destination could be in massive amounts of water, somewhere between a rock and a hard place, smack in the grille of a speeding Mack truck, or part of someone's BBQ.

The same thing can easily apply to the cochlear implant's external part.

Hearing Aids in the Wrong Places - Part 1

But of course, we all know there's places to never put a hearing aid. Jennifer Stuessy's The 10 most dangerous places for a hearing aid has a good listing, but probably is missing a few places we never think about.

She mentions never to put it on a nightstand, but inside. Or better yet, never place it out in the open in an area where there's a lot of things being picked up, put down, spilled, sprayed, including the kitchen sink. It's rather easy to sweep the hearing aid on the floor or crushed on a hard surface like a table. And then when it hits the floor and you have a cat that loves to bat things around... Fried and bat-tered hearing aids, anyone? Here at home we've still not found all the balls our cat's hidden.

You do know you can't drink ground hearing aid (from a garbage disposal or coffee grinder) even if you put it into the coffeemaker?

Next - Part 2

"Growing Up Deaf" Update 3

Sherlock Steve's blog post against the deafness.about.com post! reminded me of a few things.

But first, in my Growing up Deaf - Part 11 post, I mentioned that I had printed information on MSSD, but never went. I talked with mom about this when I went home to join my family for a wedding. She said she and dad wanted me to stay home and learn more. I'll talk more with her when I head back sometime.

As mentioned before, I didn't quite get full immersion into deaf culture til college, with some immersion here and there in middle and high schools, deaf church ministries, and the deaf camp in Louisiana. My dad got upset a lot of the time when I had my hearing aids off, even when I was lipreading him. Did that make him an audist? I don't think so. They never forced hearing aids onto me, just encouraged me to wear them.

As for that four year old kid, the decision to wear his implant is up to him. It was a major mistake for the doctor to tell his mother to hold him down. I'm surprised someone didn't call Child Protective Services on the guy. Right now is the time for worried mom to work on communications, both sign and reading/writing. Nothing's worse than a deaf kid with no language. What a waste of a good mind.

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 4

So I ask once more, when is audism not audism?

Returning to the definition of audism, it is the belief that hearing and speaking are better than sign language. It is the notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears. It is all in the attitude. Hearing people who refuse to do anything other than speak to the deaf person, thinking they'll be understood, may be committing audism or may simply be unfamiliar with how to communicate. Adding to the term confuses and obfuscates the issue even more. Elimination of audism begins with education. Sometimes all it takes is the deaf person doing something with the audist that can change the attitude of the audist.

Bullying, social rejection, and cliques are not audism. They are issues of sociality that are faced by all members of society, no matter what the disability. There is still freedom of speech, but there are rules that must be followed here and there. This is not audism, but rule enforcement. However, Arthur Nonymous in a final comment in Part 2 had a good point.

Being offered tools for hearing better is not audism. It is a choice, to accept or refuse. The underlying hearing loss is still there. Education of the parents and user about the hearing tools is not audism, but informing them of the choices.

Deaf people will still be around, even with hearing assistance devices. Being militant will only make things worse and may cause other hearing people to commit even worse acts of discrimination and/or audism or simply refuse to deal with any deaf person, thus fueling the audism fire.

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 3

Here's another of Jamie Berke's articles on Deaf Culture - Audism. It's got a lot of good points here including a couple of good links, especially the two resources near the end.

Please do not say that I don't understand. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, felt the emotional impact, and then some. I have even talked about my own experiences in my Growing Up Deaf posts (parts 8, 9, and 10) in going to school, having experienced the Oralist vs Manualist fight. I posted Affected Emotionally by the AG Bell Protests? when a recent protest at AGBell in DC brought all the emotions back to the surface. My final post on the Growing Up Deaf serial sums things up.

Just because there is a bill out there for children for hearing aids and CIs doesn't mean it's an audist bill. The person sponsoring it may have the wrong ideas, but it is making more available of these tools to help, whether used or not. It simply means that you're giving the child a chance to hear with a hearing aid or a CI. If they don't help the child, not a problem. They are tools. The child can decide later on if they want to use hearing aids or CIs.

Completely separating ourselves from the hearing world would be a mistake. One would need to deal with the hearing people at some time or another. This is not a time for us to be divided based on the this word's meaning. What unites us is a common theme, our hearing loss. Don't let this become the equivalent of the Civil War, one that nearly destroyed our country.

Next: Part 4

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 2

Let's move back in time when the Oralism vs Manualism debate was hotter, and the child was mainstreamed or in a deaf school. For the child who was mainstreamed, there were often issues such as being able to follow along with the lesson and classroom discussion including socialization with peers and classmates. In some schools, especially middle, there is a lot of peer pressure, wanting to fit in, and acceptance/rejection. The kids with disabilities could be instantly rejected the day they joined that school and/or bullied to an extent. With deaf kids who had this issue, this was not audism at all. It was plain ignorance and immaturity on the part of the non-disabled kids and in some cases, adults. Bullying can happen anywhere, regardless of disability.

Refer back to my Growing Up Deaf posts parts 18, 19, 20, and 21 on Teasing and Mistreatment. Again, as I said in the previous paragraph, it was not audism.

In Jamie Berke's article, Worse Than Last...Not at All. - A Growing Up Deaf Memory, she talks of being picked last. I had this exact same thing happen to me, not occasionally, but all the time. That is not audism, but a form of social rejection. You could SEE it in their eyes when I was last to be picked, an "oh crap, we got him" look. There was also another HEARING boy who had this same issue, and team captains often debated who to pick! Yet, the gym teacher did nothing, even though they knew about my deafness! I actually had ONE gym teacher stand up to someone who was really giving me trouble! There was another disabled girl who was in the same middle school as I, who was also rejected. So again, it was not audism, but social rejection. Mix that with immaturity and ignorance...

Remember this relay log in An Example of What Deaf Jobseekers Face? That was not audism. It was a recruiter who wasn't familiar with the relay and got intimidated and nervous by the process.

Next: Part 3

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 1

I'm seeing many other deaf call any kind of mistreatment of them audism. It's become too much of a blanket term. But first, before I start, the definition of audism as coined by Tom Humphries in his unpublished 1975 work "The Making of a Word;"

"Audism- (o diz m) n. the notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears."

In short, it's the application of hearing ability onto someone who has a hearing loss and may or may not use a hearing assistance device, and expect them to be able to hear well. I have often said that with many deaf, hearing and understanding can easily be two different things. Just because something is heard, if at all, does not mean it will be understood. It stereotypes those with hearing losses. Before I continue;

Audism by Susan F. Crist

She's right about how we've expanded the term. Thus, this is why others have said while others think it's audism, most likely it may not. Wikipedia's definition of audism seems to have a somewhat slanted view.

Think about how blind people feel when a lot of the world is highly visual in this article, Being blind, 'you have to be adventurous'. What would they call it? Visualism? It's quite true our world is highly sensual. This reminds me of a short story by HG Wells, The Country of the Blind where every citizen is blind, and there is no such thing as sight. Now apply this to a country of the deaf, where every citizen is deaf, and there is no such thing as hearing.

There's an interesting parallel to this short story and the hearing/deaf world. Near the end of the story, the blind doctors want to remove his eyes to "cure him."

Next: Part 2

Of CIs and HAs

I just had to start out this blog with a title like this, since for some reason, John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" came to mind. I've not yet read the book which is a classic often read by literature students.

I've been following the battles of those for and against cochlear implants including Tuscany mom's Re: Ci Controversial, Why? post. Both hearing aids and CIs do the same thing, amplify sound to an extent and pipe/send it to the ear. Even removed, the user still has a hearing loss. I'm wondering just what's on the parent's minds when they have their very young children implanted? Is it that they can't seem to stand the thought or the shame of their child growing up without sound to an extent? Is it that they can't seem to fathom the kid spending more time with other deaf than hearing?

What's really on their minds when they go for a CI at such a young age? Why are the doctors pushing so hard for them to have it? Is it financial reasons for them as well as the companies? The decision to have the implant should come from the future implantee.

I've often told people that with those with hearing losses, that hearing and understanding can be two different things. Just because something is heard if at all doesn't mean it will be understood or known. Too many hearing people seem to not understand this little factoid. It's kinda hard to lipread a telephone.

When I lived in Louisville, KY, I was interviewed on this. If you read the article, A Sound Barrier of Another Sort, you'll see that I've foreseen a few things mentioned. Unfortunately, it's not archived on the newspaper site.

I've pretty much got a "grandstand" view if not an "onstage" view of Jamie Berke going through the process and procedure. It's fascinating watching the healing process and then going from there. I'll let her do the writing about it. Fortunately, I'm still alive since I didn't take a post-surgical picture of her. It was her decision. I didn't make it for her. I told her if she went with nothing, hearing aids, or a CI, I would go along with her decision.

Just because she got a CI doesn't mean she's an audist or she can't do her job on about.com. Far from it. She's still using sign and interpreters. She's still the same person we've all known, with or without CI and/or hearing aids. Too many people just throw around the word without really knowing what it means.

Will I get a CI? Hearing aids still work well for me. Ask me again later.