Comments on Redeafined: 5 Things I Dislike About Being Deaf

You were fired when you became deaf? Did you file ...

2015-04-21T11:04:53.290-04:00

You were fired when you became deaf? Did you file a disability discrimination lawsuit? That's some overt discrimination to me.

Hi Katelyn, This particular post was written by o...

2014-12-11T13:32:55.553-05:00

Hi Katelyn,

This particular post was written by our founding editor, Sara Novic. If you need further information from us you can always email info[at]redeafined[dot]com

Hello, I am a Deaf Studies major and I came across...

2014-12-11T11:58:49.670-05:00

Hello, I am a Deaf Studies major and I came across your article while doing research for my final paper on Audism and Oppression in my Deaf Culture class. Would it be possible to get the author's name for citation purposes in my paper? Thanks so much :) - Kat

Hi all, I'm sorry to hear that you find your h...

2014-10-08T10:03:38.600-04:00

Hi all,
I'm sorry to hear that you find your hearing loss a struggle--we all do sometimes, of course. It can be isolating, so it's important to reach out and make connections even if it takes a little more work. There are often centers for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in bigger cities, but if you're in a small town or feel uncomfortable showing up in person, I'd recommend joining a nationwide facebook group (there's one called "Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing") to connect and talk with some people who may be feeling similarly. Additionally, if you ever feel really down and want to talk to a mental health counselor there's a link to an e-chat for the d/Deaf in this article: http://www.redeafined.com/2014/08/deafness-and-mental-health.html

I lost mine at 21, I feel that way on bad days too...

2014-10-06T02:31:53.364-04:00

I lost mine at 21, I feel that way on bad days too.

I lost all my hearing at age 36 no one learned sig...

2014-10-04T17:34:43.045-04:00

I lost all my hearing at age 36 no one learned sign to help me, I was fired at my job, lost my friends and my will to live. Music was my life and now I feel like a dead person forced to walk the earth seeing what I used to have but can never ever have again. I hate life.

Hi Stacy, Thanks for reading. Perhaps you missed ...

2013-11-18T14:28:09.584-05:00

Hi Stacy,
Thanks for reading. Perhaps you missed the first post of the series, "Five things I Like About Being Deaf"? There's a link at the top of this post, if you're interested.

Anyway, the concept of the series "Five things I Like/Dislike about being Deaf" was born out of the fact that hearing people generally can't even fathom that deafness has any good things about it, which is why "Five things I Like about Being Deaf" was written first. Then, after we got a few responses from readers about that, the author decided to post "Five Things I Dislike" not as a time to complain, but rather to acknowledge the fact that there are sometimes difficult things that come with being deaf (though, as the author says, those things are usually not related to being deaf itself, "just with how society deals with deafness."

You are right to point out that these kinds of things are experienced by a person with any kind of disability, or a person who belongs to any minority group--this is part of the point of the post, and one of the goals of Redeafined in general, to show that deafness is not any different than any of a wide-range of life experiences that makes people diverse. While we at Redeafined are proud to be Deaf and happy to talk about Deaf culture, we disagree that d/Deaf people, or minority or marginalized people of any kind, have to accept the misunderstandings or mistreatment by society with "grace and dignity." Rather, we accept our own deafness with that dignity, and then strive to change the mistreatment and audism that often comes along with it, just as advocates for all kinds of people speak out against racism, ableism, etc. For us, this means rejoicing in the great things about deafness and Deaf culture, and not being quiet about the struggles and rampant misinformation about what deafness means.

We appreciate you joining the discussion, and thanks very much for reading!

The author seems to ignore the fact that ANYTIME s...

2013-11-17T23:52:15.235-05:00

The author seems to ignore the fact that ANYTIME someone is "different", people will ask questions or look for guidance on the best way to communicate. I think you are focused WAY too much on the negative and need to understand much of what is detailed above is a fact of life. Famous politicians, actors, people with disabilities, other nationalities, all beg for human curiouisity. You can't stop it. And yes, you are an ambassador for the deaf and will enjoy so much more from life if you accept it with grace and dignity. I am over 50, very hard of hearing, become exhausted with lipreading, live with epilepsy, and have a demanding position where hearing accurately is a fundamental requirement, and I'm very isolated. If somebody wants to ask me about my disability, I'm totally honored. Your five categories are fundamental in nature. How you overcome each obstacle is admirable.

I love this! I am so glad that I found this articl...

2013-11-04T16:51:17.635-05:00

I love this! I am so glad that I found this article. I'm hard of hearing, and I stumbled across this article just as I was starting to feel completely alone at school. Being hard of hearing is, of course, different from being deaf, but I'm still caught between worlds - for me, it's between the hearing world and the deaf world.

This has really made me rethink deaf people. I nev...

2013-09-02T14:42:20.324-04:00

This has really made me rethink deaf people. I never thought of them as less, as you mentioned, but I've never taken the time to really think about the cons and pros of being deaf. I remember I tried to learn sign language because I thought it would be cool but ASL seemed too hard. People always ask if I would rather be blind or deaf and I always say deaf. But honestly, I'm glad you can make the best out of your life despite whatever you have to deal with.