Educating the 'hearing world' about deafness sounds exhausting to those who experience deafness. There is so much to understand and it's so difficult to get people to understand.
I feel that some people 'listen to hear' but don't 'listen to understand' when I'm educating them about deaf awareness. If that makes sense? They hear what we're saying but they're not really understanding from our perspective. We need to help MAKE people understand, that is why I'm so passionate about deaf awareness. Although some people are more understanding and open minded than others...
One person that has restored my faith in mankind is my lovely boyfriend. It's quite difficult to get people to understand in a short period of time, but he has really shocked me (in a good way) and took everything on board, lip reading, my inability to hear in the car etc. I loved particularly how we went shopping today and he helped me out a great deal when it came to getting served in a noisy shop. I hate having to rely on people, but I know he is more than happy to help me out! I always feel vulnerable in situations like that. Just knowing he has my back makes me feel safe and protected. I love him to bits! I'm so so lucky to have him he's absolutely gorgeous in my eyes, but what makes me love him even more is how accepting he has been about my hearing. He treats me like a totally normal human being (rare for me to be treated the same) It's taken me this long to find him and I intend to keep hold of him! I just hope he knows how much he means to me!
The reason I post this 'lovey dovey' post is because I feel it is relevant to my deaf awareness campaign. He is actually one of my main motivations to keep campaigning.
There are some lovely open minded people out there. Rare to find but if you look hard enough you'll find them. This guy is one example of a lovely kind hearted person you would be extremely lucky to meet. He deserves all the happiness in the world.
Hello, I've read a couple of your posts from time to time but this is the first time I've properly read your blog. This post really resonated with me as I am fortunate enough to have several friends who not only have listened to me when I explain about difficult listening situations, but have also observed when I've struggled and what helps. They make sure to be as easily understood as possible, are patient when I don't understand something, and make the effort to include me in [rare] group situations.
ReplyDeleteI also worked with a man who surprised me - I'd never told him about my hearing, but once when briefing some children for an activity session led by us, he made a humorous remark about me not being able to understand if a person covers their mouth while speaking. It was a complete surprise that he had noticed that I lip-read, and made me feel a worthwhile human being!
I think the nicest reaction I've ever had when disclosing my hearing impairment (I have auditory processing disorder, no actual hearing loss) was 'oh, I wondered why [xyz], and thought that was probably the reason' :)
That is lovely you have someone who is open minded and willing to learn about your deafness. Brilliant!
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