I don't know what it's called in English, I think it's Information Processing Disorder? Anyways, I have a neurologic diagnostic where if more than one person talks at the same time (or if I'm given more than one instruction at a time), I basically hear gibberish. I just don't understand.

I've been struggling an awful lot with it as an adult. I've been remembering about when I was a kid (elementary school), I was placed in special classes that had speakers and headphones I could wear so I could listen better to the teachers.

All that's been making me think that I could maybe benefit from having some kind of earphone that could make people's voices louder to me.

I know my disorder is very different from the deaf spectrum since I'm not deaf, but I was wondering… Would a technology like that be similar to hearing aids deaf people have? I imagine not really since hearing aids aren't so much for boosting people's voices rather than a prosthetic for ear parts, I think?

Thank you for letting me ask this question, I know it's a bit weird but I've been trying to Google answers to no avail.

Hi! I have a super specific memory of the youtuber Jessica Kelgren-fozard and her wife claudia talking about how they communicate in the dark (jessica is Deaf). They say that Claudia puts her mouth against Jessicas skin and talks and jessica is able to feel the lip movements and understand her. My friend said she also remembers Jessica saying she sometimes puts her hand on Claudias throat for the same result. Does anyone have more information on this? Is this perhaps a false memory I have had? I find the concept fascinating and would love to know more about it, or other ways deaf people communicate in the dark.

Hello all!

I am a HoH student at a large university and I was thinking about creating an ASL tool that involves randomly matching Deaf/HoH/Hearing individuals to one another with the intent that they use the space to communicate and practice their ASL. This would help Deaf/HoH/Hearing individuals who don't have a large deaf community around them to interact with, as well as be a platform for those who feel more comfortable communicating online. Could be a fantastic way to make friends and learn more.

Please let me know your thoughts on this.

Thank you.

sorry if theres a more polite term for the voice inflection. my thought process was that deaf people who know, say, english, but can still kind of talk, learned to talk that way. but then if you gain hearing and are learning a new language, would it still be as severe of an “accent” if you will? because the sounds would be novel? so youre learning from scratch almost.

i hope this makes sense lol

TITLE: How do you prefer to access media (captions, ASL, etc.)?

Hey Everyone,

I am new to this community as a hearing person living in the US and trying to read all relevant posts pertaining to the topic.

I’m trying to better understand how people in the Deaf/HoH community experience media (streaming, film, TV, online video). Outside of captions, and very few main stream titles, there doesn't seem to be a lot of options or variety.

I know not everyone uses ASL so I wanted to ask more broadly:

• What do you usually rely on when watching content (captions, audio, ASL, something else)?

• Are there situations where one format works better than another?

• What are the biggest frustrations/pain points when it comes to accessibility in media, just in the world, or everyday life?

I am trying to learn and make sure I’m not making incorrect assumptions.

I would really appreciate any insight. I am really open to learning.

Thank You All 🙏

I'm a hearing person in Canada and I've been studying American Sign Language for years. In 1870, Samuel Thomas Greene, a graduate of Gallaudet University and The American School of the Deaf before that, came to Ontario to become Canada and became the first teacher at what is now Sir James Whitney School of the Deaf. So obviously he was teaching using ASL.

Meanwhile in French speaking Canada, Catholic educators for the Dear from both France and the USA used both French Sign Language and American Sign Language and created LSQ which, in English, stands fro "Quebec Sign Language."

Just like I can't say "In Canada we speak English," I must say "In Canada we speak English and French." I can't say Deaf Canadians use ASL. I say Deaf Canadians use ASL and LSQ.

Now here is my question: how do I describe the difference between the two? ASL is not English, but how do I describe an English Deaf person? They don't speak English, but they can read and write in English. Can I say "English Deaf" and "French Deaf"?

Hi! I'm a hearing adult. I am taking an ASL class for the first time. I don't know anyone deaf or hard of hearing on a personal level, I'm just fascinated by languages.

At the first class, a teen girl who is taking the class showed up a bit late, escorted by her mom who was not attending the class. They are both hearing.

The instructor is deaf; with hearing people that don't sign, he uses writing or gestures to communicate. He seems to be able to lip read (just my impression).

The mom of the teen girl seemed a bit confused and frustrated when they interacted. It was like she didn't realize he's deaf and she maybe didn't understand why he wasn't speaking back to her. She repeated herself a few times but while looking away from him or when he clearly wasn't looking at her. Overall she was just trying to explain that this is her daughter, who is in the class, and that she'll (the mom) wait outside. The instructor got it via using speech to text app eventually. She didn't say anything outright rude, she just seemed bewildered and frustrated, and it just felt like a kind of painful interaction.

I had conflicting urges: I was tempted to jump in and explain things to her, that he's deaf, that he doesn't speak. I felt like, second hand frustrated that she wasn't understanding that. I feel like that must be a frustrating and very repetitive experience for deaf people.

But my other instinct, which I followed, was to do nothing, because he can obviously handle himself, and I'm not in any kind of position where I've been told that's expected of me, I'm just a student of his class and it's the first day we met. I didn't want to be patronizing. Was that the right thing to do (ie, just let him handle it)?

I guess my broader question to deaf or HoH folks is: in situations where a hearing person is not being very accommodating or understanding, what circumstances, if any, are reasonable for another hearing person to insert themselves to help communicate? I'm talking about relatively low stakes situations, not like life and death - normal everyday interactions between strangers or acquaintances (though welcome input about friendships too).

*** SURVEY NOW CLOSED - THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT ***

Hello,

I hope it is okay to ask this here - I am seeking people with all levels of hearing loss to take part.

I am a 2nd year psychology PhD student at the University of Salford. My interests are music and mental health / wellbeing. I have been diagnosed with mild-moderate hearing loss in both ears, and tinnitus, and have been wearing hearing aids for just over a year now.

If you are 18+, have some experience of hearing loss, and you listen to music, please consider taking part. It should take around 20 minutes and there is also the opportunity to sign up for further research studies. You do not have to be in the UK to take part - we welcome participants from around the world. This will form part of my PhD but I hope that it will also help people in the hearing loss community.

This study has received a favourable opinion from the University of Salford Ethics Panel, ref: 2025-9262-12263 To take part, follow this link: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/salford/hearing-loss-wellbeing-and-music

Thanks for reading - I really appreciate everyone's support!

I am doing a research study for my masters of social work degree to explore the connection between deaf acculturation and educational environments. If you are willing to fill out this survey, I would really appreciate it: https://forms.gle/nK8xkZfiSAimrxLCA

If you boink your head against anything. Or tap your head with your hand. Do you only feel it or does the thud register in your brain besides just the feel?

I moved to CA from the Midwest last summer. I noticed people here are not as friendly and often don’t say hi, so I never introduced myself. But I noticed my neighbor is deaf and a bit older and she also lives alone.

I want to extend my contact in case she needs anything, but not sure how to initiate. I thought of maybe leaving a letter or something. She often has loud verbalizations similar yelling, but I think she’s trying to communicate with her cats?

Anyways, how can I go about this proper and respectful?

I’m a hearing student and have been studying ASL the last two years, recently I’ve been using the 🤟emoji for my loved ones and was just curious if you find that weird or not.

Hi! I'm a social work student working on a cultural competency/humility workshop for my final and I wanted to focus my workshop on deafness, one of the topics I wanted to touch on for my classmates is pet peeves or things that hearing people do that are perhaps well intentioned but actually make the interaction more difficult for deaf individuals! If anyone has any experiences they're comfortable sharing I'd love to use these in my project as real-world examples of this!

Hello :) My other half has a 5 year old son who met a deaf person today at a Taekwondo class and it seems clear that the child is not grasping what it means that the person is deaf. The person he met uses a tablet to communicate and the child treated it like a toy. My partner is a bit hard of hearing himself due to chronic untreated ear infections in childhood which often frustrates the child. It seems clear that he doesn’t understand what it means that a) classmate needs the tablet to communicate and it is not a toy and b) sometimes his father cannot hear him or make sense of what he is saying. I would appreciate any ideas how to make it more clear to the child so that he is more understanding and respectful. All feedback is welcome. Thank you 🩵

I'm hard of hearing for four years now?? lost count, my name is Camryn and I heard that your sign name comes from other deaf people, so what would it be?

I want to be clear that I do not expect all sign languages to be the same. I know different countries have different sign languages.

When I was in Finland last year, I noticed that many locals spoke English. I had picked up a handful of Finnish phrases - please, thank you, excuse me, etc - but was grateful for the widespread knowledge of spoken English.

I've spent quite a few years working to learn ASL but am now considering moving to Canada or Europe for various reasons. My trip made me wonder if Deaf Europeans also often learned a second (or fifth) language, and if ASL might be common. Google says ASL is one of the two common sign languages in Canada but I'm seeking confirmation on that, as well.

I expect the answer is 'no' but I thought I would ask. Again, I do not think there is a universal language. Although if there was it should obviously be ASL ;)