In the American society we tend to see deafness as a disability. According to Webster's dictionary, the definition of disabled means, "a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities." Going off this definition, being deaf or hard of hearing should not be classified as a disability, because it does not limit one's physical or mental abilities. Beethoven composed some off the greatest music in history, Helen Keller was a humanitarian who inspired blind and deaf people all over the world, and Kathy Buckley is a comedian and inspirational speaker all over the world. So what do all these people have in common you ask? They, along with many others, did not let their loss of hearing limit or get in the way of the things they love to do. So, even though Beethoven composed some of the greatest music would you still classify him as disabled?
I have had four surgeries to remove a Cholesteatoma, which has left me with 27% hearing in my left ear as a result. Most people would consider this a hearing disability, but I have done just as well in school and in all my extracurricular activities as all my peers. So, being hard of hearing myself, I know that not being able to hear is more of a culture/unique community rather than a disability, and in my opinion, people who are hard of hearing share a special connection. The deaf culture places emphasis on physical contact; hugging is far more common than shaking hands (especially when parting), good-byes are drawn out, and not taking time to chat for a few minutes when passing someone is considered rude (Carla Halpern 1996). As Helen Keller once stated, "Blindness separates people from things; deafness separates people from people." To me, Keller is say their are different worlds separating people who can hear with those who can't. In one world people are talking with visual language and theater and in the other people are talking with verbal language and humor. So, which ever language you speak, it shouldn't determine your capability to be 'normal' because we are all human and it doesn't matter how we interact and take in the world around us.
Sources:
Listening in on Deaf Culture
Reema Patel: Growing up deaf in a hearing world
My own experiences
I agree with you. I think that it would depend on the range of hearing you have. You could be considered impaired if you were completely deaf and couldn't hear anything. Having it to that extend would probably have you under impaired. I dont think people who can hear fine, but just have difficulty sometimes should be considered impaired.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete