RetroReview: Bionic Ear Blog

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: N/A

WEB ADDRESS: http://meryl.net/ci/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: She writes about living life as a deaf person. Her numero uno priority-a is de familia. You can find the southpaw not wearing 10-gallon hats and cowboy boots in the Lone Star State.

MY REVIEW: This blog is not available for subscription via the Kindle, but I think it's a worthwhile one so I'll review it here.

I was watching Law and Order: CI, which took place in the deaf community. Of course one knew immediately that the scriptwriter was a Leftist, there was a thinly veiled dig at Rush Limbaugh in the script (such references have become more overt since then!) as someone who'd need a cochlear implant after abusing oxycodone.

I think several of the actors and actresses in the episode actually were deaf. From there I thought back on other TV shows with a deaf-community role...there was one in the original CSI, for example.

About ten years ago, I used to work with a deaf woman. Prior to that, I actually took sign-language class for a few weeks, but like so many of my attempts to learn a different language it fell by the wayside. And several months ago I wrote a blog entry (at my youflygirl blog, about Nellie Zabel Willhite, and I continue to get hits from that from people who read about it on another deaf community blog, http://fookembug.wordpress.com who had also done an entry on her.

Anyway, this is an excellent blog - and gives one to think. I was particularly struck by her entry about reading a story to her daughter who was in second grade, and having the other kids tease her because of her mother's deaf accent - I hadn't thought that kind of cruelty happened until kids got into their teens.

Anyway, check it out.

Sample post:

Everyone with hearing losses uses sign language and reads lips. I know a drop of sign language, which I’ve picked up here and there like I’ve picked up words in other languages. My dad and grandmother lost their hearing as they got older. Neither knew sign language nor how to read lips.

Talking louder will help a person with hearing loss to understand. No, it puts us in an awkward situation. It is possible to talk too loud to me, but I can’t be sure if it’s someone’s normal volume or trying to do me a favor. Either way, I don’t want to risk hurting anyone’s feelings. It’s all about annunciation.

Hearing aids and cochlear implants restore hearing to normal. I wish! I’ve used both and I still cannot hear a conversation on the phone, from behind me or on TV.

People with hearing loss are stupid, mute and unsuccessful. I run a successful full-time freelance business. Before doing this, I had a great career in both the government and in telecommunications. A recent article discusses two employees at a large local company, one is an engineer. Unfortunately, if we dare ask “What did you say?” or don’t look like we understand, we’re perceived as stupid.

People with hearing loss tend to be older adults. I was born deaf. ‘nuff said. I’ve met many deaf kids my age over the years.

People with hearing loss are defined by their hearing loss. Hardly. I’m a wife and mother first. Then a writer and volunteer. Being deaf does motivate me to work harder. I’m as much as a lefty as I am a deafie.

Having hearing loss is shameful. Some folks who lose their hearing as they get older do struggle with the loss just like we all struggle with different things that come with aging. But as a person who was born deaf and never experiencing hearing like the average person, it’s not shameful. However, it’s true that some folks are in denial about their hearing loss.

When people with hearing loss miss something, it’s OK to tell them, “It’s not important,” or “I’ll tell you later.” Yeah, my brother did this to me all the time as closed-captions weren’t around until I was a teen. But I know he did it because it’s easier. It’s no different than when kids ask their parents what they were talking about to each other. They just don’t need to know everything.

People with hearing loss are rude and pushy. From my view, I don’t like lose track of the conversation or force myself not to care what people are talking about. So in my anxiousness to stay on track, I might come across as pushy when I don’t mean it.

People with hearing loss mostly hang out with other people with hearing loss. I’ve had very few deaf friends over the years. The only ones I know are from social networking. However, it’s true that some folks do all they can to be active in the community with other deaf people. It’s no different than Jewish people interacting with each other, Blacks and so on. You’ll find this in every race, culture and creed.

Everyone who needs an assistive listening system can use ear buds or headphones. I can’t use ear buds at all. They’re not loud enough and they don’t reach my hearing aid. I use headphones and switch my cochlear implant to T-Coil to shut out regular sounds and only hear what comes through the headphones. The T-Coil has been around since I was a kid. Great invention.

The wheelchair symbol represents universal access. It represents people who need to know if there’s access for someone with mobility challenges.

Hearing access isn’t needed because it’s so rarely requested. “Many people with hearing loss are so accustomed to there being no accessibility accommodations that they don’t inquire about it unless it is publicized.” Very true. I’ve gotten to the pint that if someone tells me about a video, I don’t bother to check it out unless they say it’s captioned or has no words.

People with hearing loss read braille. My husband ran into this when he was moving to Washington, DC, and I hadn’t yet joined him. Riding in an elevator, a coworker, who knew I was deaf, asked if I could read braille. Sure, I can rub my ear all over it and know what it says. Not really.

Providing access for people with hearing loss is very expensive. I can caption my own videos for zero cost. (OK, we won’t go into the fact you need a computer and Internet connection.) We can also access relay services online.

Deaf, hearing impaired, handicapped or disabled one is as good as the other. Even I get lazy and say “deaf person” referring to me. But it’s true that the correct way is “people who are deaf or hard of hearing.” Using “deaf person” or “blind person” implies there’s nothing else to the person. Some deaf people (see?) prefer to be known as “deaf person.” I also get lazy and say “hearing impaired” instead of “hard of hearing.” I’ve used all three terms. The only thing I don’t like is “handicapped.”

Companies or accessibility experts with no background with hearing loss can know what best meets the needs of people with hearing loss. Not all companies have the ability to hire someone to be an expert. That’s why you do research, ask questions and contact experts.

RECENT ARTICLES:
--You Tube Captioning
--Links: Captioning, Olympics and 508
--FCC Announces New Closed Captioned Complaint Rules
--Olympics Continue to Falter with Web Site
--Two Difference Experiences in Talking to Children
--Hearing Aid Tax Credit
--Employees with Disabilities Think outside of the box daily
--Cowboys Stadium Kicks off New Assistive Service
--17 Misconceptions about People with Hearing Loss

Here's her biogaphy:

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is the author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook and the co-author of Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites. She has written and edited for AbsoluteWrite, ECT News Network, The Dallas Morning News, Gamezebo, Lockergnome, MarketingProfs, PC Today, O’Reilly, Pearson, Sams, Web Worker Daily, Wiley, and WROX. Meryl has written copy for businesses ads and games including Fib-or-Not? and Meet, Mix, and Mingle.

Meryl writes and edits content for businesses and publications. She helps business build and maintain relationships with clients and prospects through content. She’s also a long-time blogger who started blogging on June 1, 2000.

She is the original Editor-in-Chief of Shavlik’s The Remediator Security Digest, a popular newsletter on computer security that started with a few thousand subscribers and climbed to over 100,000 subscribers during her tenure. She’s also the editor of Professional Service Journal, an email newsletter for business-to-business (B2B) service providers and Intel Solution Services’ Connected Digest.

Want some CSS inspiration? Check out the CSS Collection, which she handed off to talented folks who promised to keep the site strong.

Meryl has worked as an educator with New York University’s online graduate program where she continues to help students with their theses. She has worked for two Fortune 500 telecom companies, federal government in Washington, D.C. and IT consulting. A native Texan, she lives a heartbeat north of Dallas in Plano, Texas with her husband and three kiddos.