DEFINITIONS:
Signing Exact English - sign language that is in English word order. They borrow signs from ASL but this sign language uses little words like a, the is etc. ASL DOES NOT use little words!
Deaf (with capital D) - people who are part of deaf community and use American Sign Language (ASL) as primarily means of communication
deaf (with little d) - people who are not part of deaf community and their deafness is viewed as a problem that can be fixed. It is from audiological view of deafness. They can not hear at all without wearing hearing aids. Most of them can hear very loud noises with their hearing aids. Some do hear some speech but they usually rely on lipreading/speechreading.
Hard of hearing - people who have hearing loss but do not hear as well as hearing people. They usually have some ability to talk on the phone with other hearing people but it is not always easy, some do use TTY/TDDs.. They can be part of deaf community or not part of deaf community.
Hearing Impaired - this term is usually include people with all degrees of hearing loss. This term does not tell you if a person is d/Deaf or hard of hearing at all. A lot of d/Deaf and hard of hearing people do not like be called hearing impaired as they view it as rude. This term is more of political correct to use.
Hearing - people who can hear/have normal hearing
American Sign Lanugage (ASL) a visual language that has its own language structure (different from English) and have culture also. Example of how ASL is different from English:
ENGLISH: I read a book today.
ASL : Today book I/me read or book I/me read today
Another Example:
ENGLISH: I watched tv at the dorm.
ASL: Dorm tv I/me watch.
ASL really do not have written forms, it is a very visual language using facial expressions to show emotions since many D/deaf/hard of hearing people can not tell if you sound angry or frustrated or excited by tone of people voices.
TeleTYpewriters/Telecommunication Device for the Deaf - a machine that shows text messages back and forth via phone line. A lot of Deaf/hard of hearing people use it before E-mail and Internet became really popular. Most deaf/hard of hearing people uses Email and the Internet more than they use TTY/TDD these days.
Telephone Relay Services (TRS) - a relay service that lets hearing callers call Deaf/hard of hearing people when they (hearing) do not have a TTY/TDD and Deaf/Hard of hearing people can call their hearing friends, coworkers and family who do not have TTY/TDDs (TTY/TDDs are really expensive to buy) Once a hearing person reaches Relay; there is an operator who is called Communication Assistance (CA) who would type on their computer to Deaf/Hard of hearing people what hearing people are saying. Same way when Deaf/Hard of hearing people use Relay Services only the operator (Communication Assistance) would voice message to hearing person from Deaf/Hard of Hearing TTY/TDD user.
Closed Caption (CC) - a text based letters in boxes white letters on black background that shows tv dialogue and sound effects so Deaf/Hard of Hearing people can follow tv shows, movies, news and some of the commercials. Tvs that are 13" or higher are required by law to have closed caption decoder chip built inside them.
Digital captions on High Definition Tvs - captions on these tvs can be made larger or smaller and text types such as bold, italics and other text. Also you can decide what color of captions for easier viewing and reading. Also you can select captions to be in regular letters or in caps.
Caption Decoder box - a machine that looks like a VCR but decodes captions. Usually you only see it on tvs that were made before 1993 or 1990 on some tv models.. You won't see much of these anymore since alot of people have newer tvs. They are obsolete now.
There are ways to measure sound levels. It is called Decibel. Decibel measures how loud a person with normal hearing can hear.
Here is an Example of how loud certain things are at the following decibels:
0-19 DB - Threshold of hearing
20-39 DB - Normal hearing (Can hear whispering, soft sounds).
40-59 DB - quiet street, quiet home
60-89 DB - normal conversations, loud singing, inside a car, cars (25ft away), busy traffic, loud music.
90-110 or higher - Jackhammer, very loud rock concerts, airplanes (100ft away)
HEARING LOSS RANGES
These ranges of hearing loss mean that sounds have to be amplified to certain level for a person to hear it without a hearing aid when they are having their ears tested. The following ranges are as seen below: I know it sounds very confusing to people.
0-20 - Threshold of hearing.
21-29 - Normal.
30-40 - Mild.
41-59 - Moderate.
60-70 - Moderately severe.
71-89 - Severe.
90 and over - Profound.
There are two types of hearing losses: sensorineural and conductive sometimes some people have mixed loss (sensorineural and conductive)
Sensorineural hearing loss - nerves are damaged as well hair cells are damaged and cannot be reversed. Deafness is permanent.
Conductive hearing loss - usually caused by problems in middle and outer ear and can be corrected by surgery and medical intervention.
Mixed hearing loss - a person usually have both types of hearing loss, sensorineural and conductive.
Usually when a person has a hearing loss, they are given a hearing aid to help them hear. HEARING AIDS ARE NOT LIKE EYEGLASSES; THEY ARE AMPLIFIERS! THEY DO NOT RESTORE HEARING TO NORMAL AT ALL! Sounds are/can be distorted through hearing aids depending on the person who wears them. Speech are not usually clear. (This is mostly based on my personal experiences with my hearing aid). That's why when you say something to someone he/she may not hear you the first time. When you see someone wear hearing aids, do not think he/she may understand speech but some do/can understand speech and it all depends on their hearing loss and how they can interpret speech as well as other factors. Also do not shout at a deaf/hard of hearing person, it just make things worse.
NOTE: Hearing aids nowadays are becoming more and more powerful than ever to the point that even some people with profound sensorineural hearing loss can get some benefit from it especially with digital hearing aids. Hearing aids will continue to get better even more poweful. Also, I want to add that technology just keep getting better all the time as years go by.
There are two type of hearing aids:
Analog hearing aid - an old standard hearing aid that amply sound and speech and doesn't have as much as power as digital hearing aid. These aids are not programmable
Digital hearing aid - newer type of hearing aid that can be programmed for your type of hearing loss. It is very powerful depending on the model and the make of the hearing aid.
There are many variety of assistive devices to help D/deaf/hard of hearing people in their daily lives. Example of these can be helpful:
1. Doorbell signalers - flashes light from when a person knocks on the door or rings a doorbell.
2. Flashing/vibrating alarm clocks - devices used either by a lamp or a device that shakes the bed.
3. Phone flashers - devices use either by a lamp/strobe lights to alert to phone ringing. Sometimes you can set it up to vibrate when you sleep so it wake you up when phone rings.
4. TTY/TDD - see definition at the beginning of this page.
5. IP relay - you can call anyone using your puter and you are connected to the Net making relay call very similar to the way you would use your TTY/TDD but using the puter instead sort like Instant Messenger.
6. Amplified phones - phones that amplifies incoming voice up to certain level of loudness. Even with this type of amplification; some people may have trouble hearing on the phone at times. It all depends on the model of phones on the market and phone lines as well the voice or tone of person who is speaking on the other end.
7. VP relay - Video relay; a relay that deaf/hard of hearing people uses over high speed Internet lines to see a person signing and if they talk to hearing people they use sign language interpreters.
Deaf Culture - deaf community who believe and have similar values about being deaf and knowing deaf people can do anything but hear. In old days, before all technology we have they would just drop by without telling person they are coming to see them. They use ASL for communication as their primary native language.
Cochlear Implants - devices that bypass damaged portions of ear and directly stimulate auditory nerves. It is very controversial in Deaf community.
Still with me so far? :) Well I have a treat for you. :) Ta da! Animated ASL alphabet! Yep! :)
