Hi there. I've had the opposite experience. I was hearing and then woke up deaf! There is not an easy answer to this, but I would imagine, deaf people who woke up hearing would go through a grief process as I did.
Not all who grieve arrive at acceptance. I'm glad I did though. I have been deaf longer than I was hearing. My identity is wrapped around my being deaf now. I'm not interested in trying to hear again.
However, if I could have one day of being hearing again, I would put on some headphones and listen to music all day long. It's the hardest part and the greatest loss for me.
But I now enjoy being deaf. There are many blessings.
First thing, I would call my mother , I mean NO VRS :) to tell her that God had listened one of her prayers :) I probably would like to listen the music and wondering why hearies love music so much! I'd probably can be CIA to read people's lips because I am oralist :)
Mike - so don't you consider Sign Language a gift from God?
What will I do if I became hearing overnight? I would use it to my advantage to push for legislation to recognize ASL as natural language for Deaf people.
Joey, of course, SIGN LANGUAGE IS GREATEST GIFT FROM GOD, TRUE BIZ! I prefer to vlog. I was going by the irony shared by Ryan C. about bilingual and English that deaf students grow up learning English and speech while hearing students learn ASL.
I agreed with Joey's point of view. I rather being nature as DEAF, if i unexpectedly become Hearing. My first language is my own ASL, Hearing might bother me at all or short fuse.
I personally don't believe in god, but this is just food for thought:
With all due respect, since you are Deaf, isn't that god's gift to you? Isn't wishing for hearing going against god's wishes? Wishful thinking is the temptation of the Devil.
That's just what the bible says. By no means do I subscribe to that, but if you do.. Then you know?
Erick Ketcham
P.s. I agree with Joey, I'd take advantage of it and get legislation passed... And after it has been done, then I'd ask my doctor to surgically make me Deaf again. If he refuses, then I'd buy one of those air horns and blast both my ears Deaf.
Definitely would need to go to therapy to deal with the sudden changes...
I know one person who grew up Deaf, went to Deaf school, married to a Deaf man and raised 2 children.
After 25 years of marriage, her husband left her. Suddenly she has become single mom to 2 teenage girls. When she was sick with head cold, she went to doctor. The doctor noticed something in her ears and asked her to see an ear specialist. After the testing, the specialist told her that her deaf can be reversed. She was shocked and thought "What a cool idea!" Bear in mind, that was back in early 1970's. After the surgery on one of her ear, she was able to hear perfectly clear. She said she heard so much and resulted constant headaches and she gets very jumpy at any type of noises. Then the second surgery on her another ear failed, she decided to use one ear. After months of hearing therapy (learning how to listen and ignore sounds, a paradox for people who just become hearing! HA).
She also said the Deaf community in her area who she was very actively involved prior to the surgery shunned her out from the community and that was the biggest loss she experience all of her life.
Throughout the years, she became interpreter for one university and was well known for her work. I remember meeting her during her later years, she was telling us the students about her experience and how the noises affected her life.
It takes a LOT, I mean A LOT of courage to deal with this change. This applies for people who lose any sense suddenly. Even though she spoke how lucky she experienced both worlds, she did not encourage us to try this.
She now is no longer with us, her story I will always remember and I thank the Big Man Upstairs for the gift He gave me--Deaf identity.
A similar question would be "what would you do if you won the big lottery?"
Wow. One would not know where to begin to evaluate all the possibilities. It would change life, certainly...some changes would not be welcome, like changing one's friends and relationships.
Immediately I would need a counselor to help me chart my paths and cope with the feelings that come with it. I'd have to drop all contacts for needs in the Deaf community...interpreters, teachers, relay services, videophones, TTYs, flashing lights, and rely entirely on sound instead.
Daily I'd have to be reminded that life is different and that I must do things differently. A loss of self would tend to take place.
But strengths would also be there and soon I'd be able to step more comfortably into my new identity and new life and look back on the "when I was deaf" times with the same feelings as "when I was married".
Nah. It is with relief that I remember it is impossible in 99.99% of the cases.
And my full time job would be bugging bands to tag along as an interpreter 'cause of my passion for music and rock out with the deafies!!
Oh, I'd love to have at least one entire section full of deafies rocking out!!!
And go to every hearing school and preach the benefits of ASL for children to become visually smarter!
Seriously...with my experience of my CI, which I totally love, I can see being myself pissed off at times for hearing 24/7 and not having the option to turn it off!
I love the fact that I can turn it off if I am not in the mood to hear annoying noises!
That would be a grief process I'd be going through...getting mad at people for treating me differently!
Get mad that I got promoted so fast...feeling all of the hard work I had put into as a deaf person had gone to ashtray.
Then I'd be crying because of the "special" moments I have with hearing people just because I'm deaf - the way they have changed their perspective as human beings because of hands.
Teaching hearing people sign language do bring them smiles because they enjoy learning something new! And they get excited because they get to use them when they see me.
If I woke up hearing one day, I would curse at G-d for doing that!
However on other hand, if I could be given a gift where I could easily turn on or off my ears when I wanted to hear my hearing children's voices or sweet sounds and then turn off horrible sounds. Also having a gift of perfect speech would be great but at same time have excellent command of ASL. I believe we all should be able to use ASL -hearing or deaf so that the world can communicate with each other.
Anonymous - "Isn't wishing for hearing going against god's wishes?"
The question was what would you do if you woke up and suddenly found out that you could hear. My reply to that question was that I'd thank God for the gift of hearing. I didn't say I wished for it even though I am hard of hearing. The question wasn't on what you would wish for. It was what would you do if you found yourself you could suddenly hear. So, let's not twist words here, ok?
We often encounter deaf people who have a hard time accepting their deafness for some myriad reasons. They fight against their deafness, wishing that they could have been hearing, or strive to try to fit in the hearing world as much as possible and reject the deaf world.
So of course, when they are asked if they became hearing overnight, they will be excited and so happy that they could hear.
For us who have embraced our deafness, our culture and ASL, if we were to become hearing overnight, it would be a very drastic and sobering change, even maybe a sad thing. We would lose our deaf culture, ASL and our identity as a deaf person.
John Lestina --- lol I just realized that your shirt says ...... Boiler ..... and you mentioned boiling water pour into your ears . I am not sure if you notice that.
I think it'd be a catastrophe for me. I am profoundly deaf and had always hated hearing aids because the noises were annoying to me. I like my silence. I don't even like sound of music - my sons are always blasting their music in our family van!
It would be a traumatic experience for me to hearing everything - a colossal headache all day long.
My parents gave the portable piano to my oldest daughter. When my hearing husband came home from work, he got frantic and scolded her for using so much noisy around the house. Know what she said to her Dad? She said to him "Dad, I am glad that my Mom is deaf and she is here without you!" (Actually, I am the stay-at-home Mom.) Then, her Dad got quiet. I never forget the moment what she said.
Is that sweet, huh? I laughed so hard. My oldest daughter was 5 years old at that time....
33 comments:
Wow, that makes for a cool story idea!
I like you will go mad because I am profoundly deaf :).
Instead of auditory-speech therapy, I'll have to take ASL classes. ;)
mikes
I will run to doctor and ask for "deaf" CI. Ha Ha!
You tend to post an interesting question, please keep it up.
Never thought of that. Hmmm! Maybe I would run to buy the ear plugs to stay sane. :)
Ted Henry
Hi there. I've had the opposite experience. I was hearing and then woke up deaf! There is not an easy answer to this, but I would imagine, deaf people who woke up hearing would go through a grief process as I did.
Not all who grieve arrive at acceptance. I'm glad I did though. I have been deaf longer than I was hearing. My identity is wrapped around my being deaf now. I'm not interested in trying to hear again.
However, if I could have one day of being hearing again, I would put on some headphones and listen to music all day long. It's the hardest part and the greatest loss for me.
But I now enjoy being deaf. There are many blessings.
Fun question, and poignant, too. :)
~ LaRonda
www.earofmyheart.com
I'd thank God for the wonderful gift.
I'd be thrilled as I love music. I would become Sign Language Interpreter for Concerts, Plays, etc...
First thing, I would call my mother , I mean NO VRS :) to tell her that God had listened one of her prayers :) I probably would like to listen the music and wondering why hearies love music so much! I'd probably can be CIA to read people's lips because I am oralist :)
Good question,
Maybe I am thrilled or confused (Mixed feeling).. Maybe it is a miracle. Who know?
Mike - so don't you consider Sign Language a gift from God?
What will I do if I became hearing overnight? I would use it to my advantage to push for legislation to recognize ASL as natural language for Deaf people.
Joey, of course, SIGN LANGUAGE IS GREATEST GIFT FROM GOD, TRUE BIZ! I prefer to vlog. I was going by the irony shared by Ryan C. about bilingual and English that deaf students grow up learning English and speech while hearing students learn ASL.
mikes
Joey, any use of our 5 senses along with our ability to use our brain for communicating is a gift from God.
Oh that Mike. (Eyes roll)
mikes
I agreed with Joey's point of view. I rather being nature as DEAF, if i unexpectedly become Hearing. My first language is my own ASL, Hearing might bother me at all or short fuse.
Mike,
I personally don't believe in god, but this is just food for thought:
With all due respect, since you are Deaf, isn't that god's gift to you? Isn't wishing for hearing going against god's wishes? Wishful thinking is the temptation of the Devil.
That's just what the bible says. By no means do I subscribe to that, but if you do.. Then you know?
Erick Ketcham
P.s. I agree with Joey, I'd take advantage of it and get legislation passed... And after it has been done, then I'd ask my doctor to surgically make me Deaf again. If he refuses, then I'd buy one of those air horns and blast both my ears Deaf.
If I become hearing, I would have the same person as ME! Nothing changed.
There is a BIG but......I would have been afraid of the sounds where I would not have used to it......
White Ghost
Oooh a loaded question!
Definitely would need to go to therapy to deal with the sudden changes...
I know one person who grew up Deaf, went to Deaf school, married to a Deaf man and raised 2 children.
After 25 years of marriage, her husband left her. Suddenly she has become single mom to 2 teenage girls. When she was sick with head cold, she went to doctor. The doctor noticed something in her ears and asked her to see an ear specialist. After the testing, the specialist told her that her deaf can be reversed. She was shocked and thought "What a cool idea!" Bear in mind, that was back in early 1970's. After the surgery on one of her ear, she was able to hear perfectly clear. She said she heard so much and resulted constant headaches and she gets very jumpy at any type of noises. Then the second surgery on her another ear failed, she decided to use one ear. After months of hearing therapy (learning how to listen and ignore sounds, a paradox for people who just become hearing! HA).
She also said the Deaf community in her area who she was very actively involved prior to the surgery shunned her out from the community and that was the biggest loss she experience all of her life.
Throughout the years, she became interpreter for one university and was well known for her work. I remember meeting her during her later years, she was telling us the students about her experience and how the noises affected her life.
It takes a LOT, I mean A LOT of courage to deal with this change. This applies for people who lose any sense suddenly. Even though she spoke how lucky she experienced both worlds, she did not encourage us to try this.
She now is no longer with us, her story I will always remember and I thank the Big Man Upstairs for the gift He gave me--Deaf identity.
A similar question would be "what would you do if you won the big lottery?"
Wow. One would not know where to begin to evaluate all the possibilities. It would change life, certainly...some changes would not be welcome, like changing one's friends and relationships.
Immediately I would need a counselor to help me chart my paths and cope with the feelings that come with it. I'd have to drop all contacts for needs in the Deaf community...interpreters, teachers, relay services, videophones, TTYs, flashing lights, and rely entirely on sound instead.
Daily I'd have to be reminded that life is different and that I must do things differently. A loss of self would tend to take place.
But strengths would also be there and soon I'd be able to step more comfortably into my new identity and new life and look back on the "when I was deaf" times with the same feelings as "when I was married".
Nah. It is with relief that I remember it is impossible in 99.99% of the cases.
Response to Squ65: CLICK HERE
I am with Joey Baer on the same thing...
And my full time job would be bugging bands to tag along as an interpreter 'cause of my passion for music and rock out with the deafies!!
Oh, I'd love to have at least one entire section full of deafies rocking out!!!
And go to every hearing school and preach the benefits of ASL for children to become visually smarter!
Seriously...with my experience of my CI, which I totally love, I can see being myself pissed off at times for hearing 24/7 and not having the option to turn it off!
I love the fact that I can turn it off if I am not in the mood to hear annoying noises!
That would be a grief process I'd be going through...getting mad at people for treating me differently!
Get mad that I got promoted so fast...feeling all of the hard work I had put into as a deaf person had gone to ashtray.
Then I'd be crying because of the "special" moments I have with hearing people just because I'm deaf - the way they have changed their perspective as human beings because of hands.
Teaching hearing people sign language do bring them smiles because they enjoy learning something new! And they get excited because they get to use them when they see me.
Yeah, there would be a lot of mixed feelings...
If I woke up hearing one day, I would curse at G-d for doing that!
However on other hand, if I could be given a gift where I could easily turn on or off my ears when I wanted to hear my hearing children's voices or sweet sounds and then turn off horrible sounds. Also having a gift of perfect speech would be great but at same time have excellent command of ASL. I believe we all should be able to use ASL -hearing or deaf so that the world can communicate with each other.
michele
Inspired by this vlog, I posted my vlog, No Fingers.
Anonymous - "Isn't wishing for hearing going against god's wishes?"
The question was what would you do if you woke up and suddenly found out that you could hear. My reply to that question was that I'd thank God for the gift of hearing. I didn't say I wished for it even though I am hard of hearing. The question wasn't on what you would wish for. It was what would you do if you found yourself you could suddenly hear. So, let's not twist words here, ok?
Mike,
We often encounter deaf people who have a hard time accepting their deafness for some myriad reasons. They fight against their deafness, wishing that they could have been hearing, or strive to try to fit in the hearing world as much as possible and reject the deaf world.
So of course, when they are asked if they became hearing overnight, they will be excited and so happy that they could hear.
For us who have embraced our deafness, our culture and ASL, if we were to become hearing overnight, it would be a very drastic and sobering change, even maybe a sad thing. We would lose our deaf culture, ASL and our identity as a deaf person.
michele
If I became hearing overnight, first thing in my mind, I probably would say "Am I in heaven?!?" :)
Have a nice Memorial Weekend,
Karyn
I'll go nuts lol. No way do I want to hear all the sounds again, so ABC's idea sounds fab! lol
If I can hear from overnight, I would be thrilled to hear my own children's voice for a moments!
If I became hearing overnight, first thing in my mind, I don't want to hear your farts!! LOL!!
John Lestina --- lol I just realized that your shirt says ...... Boiler ..... and you mentioned boiling water pour into your ears . I am not sure if you notice that.
Michelle,
I know. That isn't lost on me.
I think it'd be a catastrophe for me. I am profoundly deaf and had always hated hearing aids because the noises were annoying to me. I like my silence. I don't even like sound of music - my sons are always blasting their music in our family van!
It would be a traumatic experience for me to hearing everything - a colossal headache all day long.
No thank you. I'd not want this "gift."
Cy--
My parents gave the portable piano to my oldest daughter. When my hearing husband came home from work, he got frantic and scolded her for using so much noisy around the house. Know what she said to her Dad? She said to him "Dad, I am glad that my Mom is deaf and she is here without you!" (Actually, I am the stay-at-home Mom.) Then, her Dad got quiet. I never forget the moment what she said.
Is that sweet, huh? I laughed so hard. My oldest daughter was 5 years old at that time....
White Ghost
Unexpectedly Hearing?
I would not want to be. I would not know HOW to filter all that new sound coming in to my head!
Also, my whole identity of who I am, my limitations.. my strengths.. are all based on my experiences as a PROUD Deaf person!
But.. (heheheh) if I were hearing? I'd probably do the same thing as John Lestina does here. :)
http://johnlestina.blogspot.com/2007/05/worst-asl-vlog.html
He's a GREAT guy! That's why I love this video, LOL!
-- Nick's Corner of the World
Post a Comment