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| Home / News / Deaf Services News / | ||
| Common Myths About Deafness | ||
| Myths about what it means to be Deaf persist everywhere. The facts
behind these myths are clarified below. Check your level of awareness... Myth: Deaf people cannot use the telephone. Some hard-of-hearing people have enough residual hearing to talk on the phone. Deaf persons use a device call a TTY and the Washington State Relay System. Myth: Deaf people are mute. It is incorrect to assume this. Some may choose not to use their voices if they think they will be difficult to understand or have inappropriate pitch or volume. In any case, terms like "deaf and dumb" or "deaf-mute" are outdated and considered offensive today. Myth: Unusual sounding speech means the person is mentally retarded. Speech development depends greatly on one's ability to hear him or herself talk. For the deaf person, the foundation for learning speech which hearing people take for granted is not there. The situation has nothing to do with intelligence. Myth: Deaf people can read lips. Lip-reading is a skill that some deaf or hard-of-hearing people have; others do not. Even with the best lip-readers, it is important to remember that only about 25% of speech is visible on the lips. Some words look almost exactly the same - for instance, the words "paddle" and "battle." Myth: Hearing aids completely correct hearing loss. Hearing aids are assistive devices which improve hearing for some individuals. Hearing aids do not "correct" hearing. A hearing aid may enable a person to hear someone's voice, even though she or he may not be able to understand distinct words. Just because someone wears a hearing aid does not mean the person hears normally. Myth: Deaf people are not very bright or educated because they have not learned to talk or do not use proper English grammar. The primary language, or first language, of the Deaf Community is American Sign Language; English is a second language. Most deaf and hard-of-hearing people learn English usage and have speech training, but naturally enough they may find it easier to use their primary language most of the time. Myth: Deaf people lead totally different lives from other people. Deaf people are set apart by only one thing. As I. King Jordan, President of Gallaudet University has said, "Deaf people can do anything except hear." |
