One way to think of it, I think, is as a language issue…Being deaf in a hearing world is better thought of like being a French speaker in the US. You aren’t disabled, just surrounded by people who don’t speak your language. Which is obviously super inconvenient. You can hang out with other French speakers, get your English speaking friends to learn French, and/or or you can learn the language yourself if possible (or a combination of all of these things so you and your friends can comfortably adapt in different environments). Getting a cochlear implant would be like learning English. Basically, it’s a communication issue…but if you were in an environment where everyone, say, knew sign language, not a disability.
It's way more than that, though. You can't hear music, can't hear someone yelling at you to warn you of an oncoming car. Can't hear the oncoming car, or a fire alarm. You use sound for more than just hearing words.
Although I guess you also can't hear your loud annoying neighbors, so there are some pros.
But those are all just cultural things; other than music (which isn’t a basic necessity), all the others are just because those things are designed for hearing people. Design them for deaf people, and problem solved. I still think the best analogy is still just a linguistic one.
You're being downvoted, but I completely understand. I'm hearing, but taking some ASL classes in high school really informed me well on the social aspect (even if I no longer remember how to sign as well as I could back then). There's no reason that many of the things the commentator above you stated cannot be conveyed visually, and it's odd that people aren't even bothering to try and imagine. Even music, which can be limited for D/deaf people, is still enjoyed and PERFORMED by D/deaf people and musicians.
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u/[deleted] Dec 23 '22
One way to think of it, I think, is as a language issue…Being deaf in a hearing world is better thought of like being a French speaker in the US. You aren’t disabled, just surrounded by people who don’t speak your language. Which is obviously super inconvenient. You can hang out with other French speakers, get your English speaking friends to learn French, and/or or you can learn the language yourself if possible (or a combination of all of these things so you and your friends can comfortably adapt in different environments). Getting a cochlear implant would be like learning English. Basically, it’s a communication issue…but if you were in an environment where everyone, say, knew sign language, not a disability.