#hearing privilege

to those who say ‘i wish i could turn off the world just like you do’, please stop. Its offensive.. like really..

you dont know how it feels like wanting to just hear properly, to be able to listen to music without turning it so loud other people can hear it even with earphones. you dont know how stupid and worthless we feel when people just “never mind” us, sometimes being topped off with a strong look of disgust

I’m half deaf, and slowly, my right ear is losing the ability to hear, even with hearing aids. I cant hear the normal range others do and god knows how many times I’d bashed myself up over it, how i grew up to hate myself, hate this part of me because to others, I’m not considered ‘normal’, because i dont know sign language, how i feel like a (financial) burden to my family or just to people in general and just so much more

So you’re in the midst of a conversation, and somebody has asked you to repeat what you just said. They may have said “Excuse me?”, “Pardon me?”, “Can you repeat that, please?”, “What?”, “Huh?”, or some other confused inflection. They may have done this because: a) They are Deaf or hard of hearing. b) They are not fluent in, just learning, and/or speak English as an additional language. c) They are a hearing, fluent English speaker who simply didn’t catch what you said.

So what do you do now?

Step 1: Do not act as if this is an inconvenience to you. Do not sigh heavily, groan, roll your eyes, or make any derogatory statement such as “What are you, deaf?!” Step 1.5: Do not say “Never mind”, or “It wasn’t important”. Especially in Deaf culture, these statements are like swear words. They are rude, alienating, and representitive of hearing privilege. Step 2: Repeat yourself. In the following section, I will go over the dos and don'ts of this task:

DO NOT: -Speak at the exact same volume, pace, and tone of voice you just did. -Keep repeating yourself over and over in an identical manner as the first time you said the thing, even after the person has not gotten it 3 or 4 times. -Speak. Like. This. And. Over. Enunciate. Each. Word. As. If. The. Other. Person. Is. Stupid.

DO: -Speak slightly louder. -Speak at a SLIGHTLY slower pace. -Speak in a clearer tone of voice. -If necessary, try rephrasing your sentence. -If requested by the person you’re conversing with, switch to a different form of communication (ie. writing/typing it down, signing)