ASL vs Hearing Aids

[msfantastico87]

Ok, so I was having a conversation with a friend of mine over twitter. I said that I haven't been practicing my American Sign Language and she asked my I signed. I told her that I was born with my left ear drum shattered and my right ear drum is partially shattered. So in reality, I am 75% deaf. Because of my hearing loss, I had trouble paying attention in school and getting picked on and kids calling me retarded and what not. My parents decided to force me to learn sign language and I hated everything about it. While I learned, they also got me a hearing aid for my left ear, since I could still hear faint sounds with my right. Anyways, when I got to high school, I stopped signing as much and stopped wearing my hearing aids. I started to learn how to read lips and that helped me most of the time, although I admit I could have really used the hearing aids.

Right now, I am re-practicing my ASL and it's helping not only me, but a lot of deaf kids go to rent movies at my job, and have trouble communicating with my co-workers, so my ASL definitely helps out a lot. Also, I went to go and apply for a loan for hearing aids about a year ago, and they ran tests and everything and when they put sample hearing aids on, I wanted to cry. I never knew what the sound of my hair rustling in the wind sounded like! Unfortunately I couldn't afford them. They were $6k a piece!

Dang, trailed off...

So I have a few questions:

1.Does anyone on this board have some kind of hearing loss?
2.If not, do you know anyone that is deaf?
3.Do you know sign language?
4.Do you wear a hearing aid?

and most importantly...

Which do you think is more important/more effective-hearing aids or sign language?

 

[xfivebyfive]

I've always wanted to learn sign language. I tried to teach myself when I was younger and I knew quite a bit but fogot it over time I really only remember the alphabet (not even every letter at that lol) But I think it should be taught more. I think it would be cool to be taught in schools just like they teach spanish or french.

I couldn't say which is better hearing aid or ASL because I'm not deaf and I'm not in that situation but I would think that learning ASL would be useful because like you said hearing aids are very expensive.

 

[msfantastico87]

I've always wanted to learn sign language. I tried to teach myself when I was younger and I knew quite a bit but fogot it over time I really only remember the alphabet (not even every letter at that lol) But I think it should be taught more. I think it would be cool to be taught in schools just like they teach spanish or french.

OMG yes. I agree that it should be taught as a second language. I never really "got it" when I was younger, but now I appreciate my parents making me learn it. Also, speaking it with other deaf kids, or actually, anyone that knows it, for some reason makes me super giddy because only like 10% of America's population knows it. So if they do, I get super excited 😛

 

[Tillow4ever]

1.Does anyone on this board have some kind of hearing loss? I (sometimes unfortunately) have excellant hearing. That doesn't stop me from miscontruing words though.
2.If not, do you know anyone that is deaf? I know one boy in my ASL club who is deaf. His name is Michael.
3.Do you know sign language? Yes, I'm in ASL 2 at my school.
4.Do you wear a hearing aid? No

Which do you think is more important/more effective-hearing aids or sign language? I think that if you have some hearing, it'd be nice to use a hearing aid. I have read about a lot of deaf kids and people using them. This girl in a book we are reading in ASL class has hearing aids because sh has partial hearing. But she also reads lips and knows sign language. I think Sign Language is very important though. I am very glad it is taught at my school. 🙂

 

[Big Damn Hero]

I do signing with the kids at work but we use Makaton as they have learning difficulties as it's "easier" and a lot of it it what you'd use for a sign anyway - although finger spelling is the same as BSL. I don't know much about ASL because I live in England but I hear it's really different.

I also use other communication tools with the Young People at work such as PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System); objects of reference (so if they want a drink, we teach them to give us a cup; for example); and hi-tech aids.

Obviously using communication aids with Learning Difficulties is a totally different kettle of fish to what you're talking about, but I find it works to re-inforce what I'm saying if I sign when talking to people in normal conversation (not consistently, but if I'm saying "I don't want X", for example, I'll also naturally sign "no" along with this).

 

[randiann]

I am not deaf, although I'm a bit hard of hearing (too much loud music). My 2nd cousin is deaf though, and my uncle (his dad) taught at the deaf school here for years and years (he's retired). I know very few words, and can't really communicate all that well through asl. I can say turtle, I love you, thank you, and sign the alphabet. So unless I'm thanking you for my new turtle that I love, I'm sol.

I think asl is very useful, but if it were me, i'd have to want the aids too. won't insurance help?


Wait, ignore that last part. Of course it won't help. It's insurance; why would they help with medical expenses?
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[Lyri]

I have always wanted to learn sign language (It's not ASL for us...is it BSL? I know there's a difference between the British sign language and the American) but I could never afford it, and right now, with the way things are for me, it's not considered important enough for me to learn.

I remember being at work about two and a half years ago. There was a woman who came to my check-out and she as deaf, but she could read lips, and she thanked me for being such a clear speaker because she could understand everything I said. Unfortunately, I had to do a credit check on her credit card, and when I phoned the company, they asked to speak to the costumer. I explained that she was deaf and I couldn't put her on the phone, so they started asking me all these complicated questions that I had to repeat to the customer. She was already flustered because she was embarrassed about the credit check, and couldn't really understand what I was saying because *I* could barely understand the questions.

She ended up leaving without her items, because I wasn't able to properly speak to her about what the man on the phone was asking of her. It's one of the things that has always bothered me, that, in a building where we had probably close to 700 employees, no one knew sign language.

 

[xaphania]

I would love to learn sign language. My mum's a teacher in a special needs school so she uses Macatan (sp?) and has been doing a BSL course in her spare time. She's taught my sister and I a few of the basic signs, but I don't know very much.

She does say how hard it is to learn, though, and the courses are pretty expensive.

It'd be a useful skill to have.

 

[msfantastico87]

Out of curiosity, how many of you would like to learn?

 

[Lyri]

Out of curiosity, how many of you would like to learn?

*Raises hand*

Definitely.

 

[prophecygrrl]

Out of curiosity, how many of you would like to learn?

Me! It's actually offered at my school, but I took French instead because there's a possibility that some colleges don't recognize ASL as one of their language requirements. I am a dork for not taking the opportunity when I had it. *sigh* One of my friends took it for over 2 years though, and she's nearly fluent now. 🙂

 

[msfantastico87]

*Raises hand*

Definitely.

Hmmm but for you guys it's BSL and I don't know BSL. I wonder much different it is from ASL. *googles*

I was thinking that if enough people were interested, I could teach you guys. Video tape myself signing, and post it here. That is, if enough people were interested 😛

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Not deaf, but my ears have been plugged for the past 2 weeks, so at times I can barely hear. I need to ask everybody, "what? what?"
I don't know anyone who's deaf. But I saw what it's like in Survivor season 6, there was a deaf girl there and I really felt bad for her because she was left out, because she couldn't hear, couldn't understand what was going on. It was horrible seeing her like this. Because she's a great person and didn't deserve the other players' behavior.
I could totally see what she's been through, what deaf people are going through.

I would love to learn sign language. Along with Latin and Italian.

 

[Lyri]

I wonder if it's very different? If I knew the basics of ASL would it be easier to learn BSL?

I should look into that.

If you do it, I might just play along anyway, it might come in handy to know both, lol.

 

[brinkster130]

I don't know anyone who is deaf but I took five years of ASL and passed fluency tests. I loved my ASL courses, I thought they were so interesting and fun. Although, I haven't used it in probably three years now so I have forgotten a lot. 🙁

It's actually really useful to know. I have run into people who were deaf on more than one occasion and was able to use sign to communicate with them. It's too bad its not recognized as meeting language requirements in a lot of schools.

 

[randiann]

I would be interested! I love languages of all kinds.
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[Professor Walsh]

I was thinking that if enough people were interested, I could teach you guys. Video tape myself signing, and post it here. That is, if enough people were interested 😛

I wonder if it's very different? If I knew the basics of ASL would it be easier to learn BSL?

I'll definitely play along. Even if ASL isn't all that relevant to me, I suppose the principles of signing are the same so that it would make it easier to learn how to sign in Norwegian if I get around to that later.

 

[likefireworks]

1.Does anyone on this board have some kind of hearing loss?
I don't. Although I often don't hear people properly if I'm not concentrating - like, if someone talks to me when I'm not expecting it or when there's a lot of background noise, I have to ask them to repeat themselves!

2.If not, do you know anyone that is deaf?
Two girls in my grade at high school were deaf, and wore hearing aids. I think they mostly communicated with most of the kids by reading lips, I don't think they could hear much of anything.
I know one woman here in L.A who is deaf in one ear. She wears a hearing aid sometimes, but in terms of her speaking with people it's not noticeable (I've never seen her have trouble understanding anything, and her voice sounds like a non-deaf person's voice)

3.Do you know sign language?
I know some version of the alphabet. But it is not the standard ASL alphabet.. it uses 2 hands. Not sure if it is the British one (my friend and I taught ourselves from a book in elementary school in Australia) or what.

4.Do you wear a hearing aid?
No, I don't.

 

[Ianigsy]

My friend Eric (who's 65) has hearing aids and although he doesn't need them every minute of every day, he does have progressive hearing loss but has never needed to learn sign language. His wife also has some hearing loss and they joke between them that it's saved them the expense of a divorce because they can just mutter away at each other.

Otherwise, I work with a woman who also wears hearing aids but is very self-conscious about them and deliberately styles her hair to cover her ears. Again, I think her hearing is good enough with them that she hasn't had to use sign language. Then again, I did once meet a girl of about 12 who was the only one in her family with a good level of unaided hearing and she had a lot on her plate signing to her parents and her sister.

 

[msfantastico87]

My friend Eric (who's 65) has hearing aids and although he doesn't need them every minute of every day, he does have progressive hearing loss but has never needed to learn sign language. His wife also has some hearing loss and they joke between them that it's saved them the expense of a divorce because they can just mutter away at each other.

Otherwise, I work with a woman who also wears hearing aids but is very self-conscious about them and deliberately styles her hair to cover her ears. Again, I think her hearing is good enough with them that she hasn't had to use sign language. Then again, I did once meet a girl of about 12 who was the only one in her family with a good level of unaided hearing and she had a lot on her plate signing to her parents and her sister.

See, I'm kinda glad that my parents forced me to learn ASL. I didn't like learning it at the time, and yeah, it was a hassle on top of my already piling homework assignments. However, I personally think that if you have really bad hearing, like me, then going both ways would be perfect. There is no point in me wearing a hearing aid in my left ear. But on my right ear I still would. But there are so many deaf people who can't afford them, like I can't at the moment, so signing is a great way to communicate. I'm kind of torn between the two and can't decided which one I want to keep using.