Funny stuff - Why don't you listen....

Book - A Quiet World

A Quiet World: Living with Hearing Loss

by Professor David G. Myers

I like that the cover has a fence on it. HOH life is like being on the fence between a hearing world and a Deaf world.

This is one of the first books I read about what it is like to experience and live with hearing loss. The memoir is set in an academic environment.  Instructive, insightful and also great to read that others experience the same issues with hearing loss as I do.

Book - Hands of My Father

Hands of my Father

Myron Uhlberg’s memoir tells the story of growing up as the hearing son of deaf parents—and his life in a world that he found unaccountably beautiful, even as he longed to escape it.

This book was recommended by someone on the AQ Hearing Forum. I recommended it to my local library and they generously added it to the collection. I'm really enjoying it so far. It is a look into Deaf culture that I had never experienced before. I find it fascinating to see it from a hearing child's perspective and to read it from a 1940s perspective. One of the first things that struck me is the deep and nurturing love Myron's father has for his son.

Telephones - UGH!

Whenever I make an appointment with my doctor or dentist or ophthalmologist, etc I must phone them. Most of the time I drive over to make an appointment so I can see the person I'm talking to and read their face/lips. It's so inconvenient. Sometimes after leaving a message on an answering machine, which includes asking if they would email me instead of phone me back, they phone me back. Sigh.

I hate the phone, I have to concentrate to grasp the words and piece the conversation together. My digital hearing aids have an automatic telecoil setting but if the phone moves from the "sweet spot" the telecoil system automatically shuts off. So most telephone sessions sound like...."Yes, we have an .........  You'll be seeing Dr. [name inaudible]. Bring ........ We don't ...... If you must cancel an appointment ....... 

Such a pain.

With today's new web and cell phone technology, would it be so difficult to provide alternative contact options for customers? Email and chat are godsends. Also it comes with the added bonus that we have something in writing, which means there's less room for mis-interpretation. 

I found a great blog entry about the Fear of Phones..... people who insist you use the phone even when you tell them you can't hear. It can be annoying, frustrating, embarassing and an obstacle.

Book - If You Could Hear What I See

If You Could Hear What I See
By Kathy Buckley

I forgot that I had read this book awhile ago. I was searching the web for books on hearing loss and it popped up.

It's an autobiography of the author Kathy Buckley, a hearing-impaired comedian and  motivational speaker.

She certainly is a survivor but I didn't connect with the humour and the tough things she went through in her younger life.

Documentary - Sound and Fury

Check your local public library, they may have these DVDs - mine did.

Sound and Fury - 2001 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature.

Cochlear implants may provide easier access to the hearing world, but what do the devices mean for a person's sense of identity with deaf culture? Can durable bridges be built between the deaf and hearing worlds?

6 years later....what happened to the families?

Documentary - Through Deaf Eyes

Check your public library, they may have a copy.

	Through Deaf Eyes - PBS documentary about Deaf history in America. Very informative, eye-opening, educational and entertaining.

HOH/deaf related book

Deaf Sentence
by David Lodge

Found this book on the library shelf while looking for another of David Lodge's books (something I saw on the web). Seemed like serendipity that I should see this newer book next to the book I was looking for. I had not heard about this author before and had no idea he is HOH.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing style was interesting, jumping from first person narrative to occasionally 3rd person narrative. I could relate to a lot of what the main character goes through in terms of the complications of life with a hearing loss.

This is the 2nd book I've read where the hard of hearing author is a professor. The other was "A Quiet World". This one is however fictional but draws upon the Lodge's life and experience. The book deals with an often exasperated wife, an early -- due-to-hearing-loss retirement, an aging stubborn parent, and a manipulative unstable grad student.

Some ASL online resources that I've collected

Thought I'd share some ASL resources that I've found handy:

ASLpro.com dictionary

'Quiz me' exercises from aslpro.com

Sign Savvy - an online video sign language dictionary

Anyone else have an favourites?

What someone should invent

I have a deep kitchen sink so it takes a few minutes to fill. I often turn the water on then get doing other things. Then suddenly, with a jolt, I remember the water. Good thing there's an overflow to the other sink basin. About a couple of times a month the sink overflows. I'm almost always in the same room, most often doing something on the stove. But because of my hearing, even with aids on, I don't hear the water running.

I've been thinking of what someone could invent to make my life easier. I'd like a tap that I could program to release a certain amount of water and then stop. Or maybe some kind of sensor in the sink that would shut the flow of water.

An overflow device is wonderful, but it wastes so much water and if something plugs the other sink or overflow catchment (such as in a single sink or tub) there's potential for serious water damage.

Seekgeo

I enjoy Seekgeo's daily video blogs. Seekgeo is deaf. He's the first deaf person on Youtube that I found to be inclusive, i.e. he includes closed captioning while he signs his message.

I had enrolled in a beginners sign language course a few years ago and was hoping to supplement what I learned. All the Deaf sign language videos, at the time, did not include CC, they were geared to the those people who were fluent in sign language.

The first of his videos that I saw back in 2008, was like a warm hug. He talks about the divide and pooh poohs it. Finally, I found a video blog that welcomed and catered to Deaf/deaf/HOH. Here's that video that got me hooked on Geo:

Disclosure

A good blog entry about disclosure from the "Face Me, I Read Lips" blog.

I often work with the public and must disclose my hearing impairment on a regular basis, in order to have a successful interaction. I've been pleasantly surprised that 99% of people behave in a courteous and respectful way. Many speak up a little without being too loud - most don't (or can't) change their voice level but they are quick to write what I can't hear when I offer them a pen and paper. Only occasionally does someone with too soft a voice, or too thick an accent, or a mouth that's obscured by a mustache or veil come to the desk, then I find a colleague to help. Again I am very fortunate to have understanding colleagues.

Funny stuff - Bob's House

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