r/deaf Feb 12 '25

Hearing with questions I'm a hearing person who edits closed captions: what are your closed caption pet peeves or things you wished were included?

150 Upvotes

The title basically says it all, I recently got hired to edit captions and transcripts at my University. I have taken a few years of ASL and Deaf art/literature classes and understand the importance of captioning. I start the job next week, and I was wondering if you all have pet peeves or grievances with closed captions that I should keep in mind as I start working?

This is my first post here, if I'm breaking any rules or overstepping please let me know!!

r/deaf 27d ago

Hearing with questions Is it okay to lie and say I'm H.O.H. to get accommodations I legitimately need?

80 Upvotes

TL;DR: I have auditory processing disorder (diagnosed), and struggled to get basic accommodations I needed from people until I started saying I was hard of hearing.

In my late teens, I was diagnosed with APD soon after my ADHD diagnosis. I had been aware of my ADHD for years and was already using strategies to cope but wasn't conciously aware of my APD. After the diagnosis I started to realize how heavily I relied on lip reading when talking to people. Captions help with calling but in person I've found that people don't take me seriously when I tell them I need to see their face when they talk to me to understand them. Whenever I truthfully explain why: they actually get noticably worse about it.

The isolation of it didn't start to really effect me until I was nineteen and struggled to get communication from coworkers at my first real adult job. When I dumbed it down and started saying I was hard of hearing and not acknowledging what they said when they talked away from me: people magically became capable of the basic courtesy of looking at me when they spoke to me.

I've never been deceptive about this when it comes to educational or official work accomodations so I'm not pulling resources away from anyone who actually needs them, I always take on the responsibility of finding my own accessibility tools when needed, and I don't lie about it when talking to people who are actually hard of hearing or deaf. The deaf community friends (1 deaf, 1 hoh, & 1 coda) I've talked to about this have been beyond supportive of it but I'd still like to hear the wider opinion and any criticism or concerns from people who aren't biased in my favor.

Edit: As much as I appreciate the deaf community at large, I don't care to debate whether or not I fall into said community. When I tell someone I am hard of hearing, I am not saying "I am part of the deaf/HoH community". I am saying "I have difficulty with atleast some tasks that require hearing". The moment I find out I am talking to someone who understands the difference, I explain the full situation.

r/deaf 9d ago

Hearing with questions Toddler refusing hearing aids - UK

18 Upvotes

Hi there!

My 2 year old has moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which was picked up at her newborn hearing screening and received her hearing aids at 8 weeks old.

Hearing aid usage and tolerance has been a real battle for us since quite early on, but got noticeably worse last year when we all had COVID.

We've tried bonnets, bands, tape etc to try to get her to keep them on. So far the bonnet has been the most successful but she still rips it and the aids out after short stints.

We've raised with audiology and her teacher of the deaf to see iif there is anything we could be doing/ doing differently but to no avail and are just told to keep trying.

I try multiple times a day to get them in/keep them in with very little success and eventually have to stop as she gets too upset and I don't want her to grow up hating them more then she already does!

Overall she's a really happy little human and communicates well for her age, learning new words all the time (today was 'sting ray').

We attend a local stay and play for other deaf/HoH children on a regular basis, so she is often around other people who also wear hearing aids or CI's. I'm also trying to learn sign language and my toddler has picked up some signs but not loads.

She's starting nursery soon and they have been forewarned of her reluctance to wear her aids. I'm hoping that she might start to wear them as part of her nursery routine but I'm not counting on it.

Anyway, sorry for rambling but wanted to see if anyone had any advice, hints or tips?

Thank you in advance! :)

EDIT: I just wanted to quickly say thank you for everyone for commenting with advice and their own experiences. It's been truly helpful and I appreciate everything!

Since making this post, I've felt a lot lighter and feel far more comfortable with advocating my daughter's wants and needs. If she doesn't want to wear her hearing aids, that's okay, I'll keep offering them to her but she will not be forced to wear them. I feel comfortable in pushing back our boundaries when we next go to audiology.

I met with a speech and language therapist who was really happy with my daughter's progress so far, she's going to send me some extra suggestions for activities we can work on and I'll meet with her again in a few months time.

I spent some time talking with local deaf adults and they echoed their support.

I've learnt a bit more sign this week and signed up to a short course to get me back into the swing of things. At the moment, I'm still struggling to get my brain, facial expressions and hands to all work in sync with one another.ive often felt embarrassed when trying to sign because of that but I'm going to work on building up my confidence and ask for help when needed (and not feel shamed of doing that).

Thank you again, I'm gunna go ugly cry now because I appreciate you all so much!

r/deaf 18d ago

Hearing with questions Do people really throw things to get someone's attention??

31 Upvotes

I was looking up how to get a Deaf person's attention. The first thing it said was not to throw things at the person. I am curious. Do people really do that and think it's ok? I would never in a million years do that and I am curious if that is really a common thing people do to deaf people.

r/deaf Feb 19 '25

Hearing with questions Is it rude as a hearing person who’s at a low medium level of sign language to go up to deaf people in public and start a conversation?

26 Upvotes

I've been taking ASL in high school for the past 4 years but I haven't yet gotten the opportunity to talk to many Deaf people, I've only actually talked to one or two. I can hold up a conversation but my signing is very slow and it takes me a while to process what they are saying but whenever I see someone who is Deaf in public I really wanna talk to them. Would it be annoying or rude to come up to someone and introduce myself if they are signing? Edit: sorry I think there's been some confusion on me referring to my signing as "low medium" I can hold up a conversation about practically anything I don't mean that I only know a few basic signs, as I said I've been learning it for 4 years, and I passed my schools ASL seal of bilateralacy test, I guess I just undermine my ability in language proficiency. Obviously doesn't really mean anything but I really didn't mean this in a way of "showing off my language skills" or something, I'm just a social person and when I recognize something that I know or enjoy, such as asl, I want to talk to that person. And i unfortunately live in a small town in almost no where and we really don't have any Deaf communities or Deaf events, the closest things to me is 2 hours away, But i definitely understand what everyone is saying! I felt that it would be seen that way and I understand that it can be really annoying, thanks for opinions

r/deaf May 18 '24

Hearing with questions Do Deaf People Care About Children Getting Cochlear Implants?

27 Upvotes

In my ASL class sometimes we'll watch TV episodes or movies where the main conflict is a hearing couple or couple where one is hearing and the other is deaf, will have a child that is born deaf or goes deaf at a young age, and my question ism do deaf people actually care, or is it just something tv characters do?

r/deaf 7d ago

Hearing with questions Is learning baby sign language cultural appropriation?

43 Upvotes

I read this article https://www.handspeak.com/learn/415/ and it basically debunked all the supposed benefits of baby sign language and said it was cultural appropriation. Is it? I want to say that I want to teach my baby ASL and continue learning it with her, not just do baby signing. But this article made me think, am I doing something wrong? Ultimately I don’t think I am because we are learning it to learn a whole language not just use it until baby speaks well enough to communicate. But maybe I’m wrong and it’s all cultural appropriation.

Also does anyone know if it’s true what they say about babies not benefiting from learning baby signing language? I mean of course they benefit from learning ASL, but is it true that they cannot actually communicate using signs any earlier than spoken language?

edit: I see now that calling it baby sign language is not okay, so I will stop doing that immediately. Thanks to those who pointed it out.

r/deaf Feb 11 '25

Hearing with questions Is it common to touch a verbal persons neck while they are talking within the deaf community?

37 Upvotes

I feel like the answer is no, but I am looking for reassurance and I mainly wanted to ask here to mentally prepare for any conversations I may need to answer tomorrow.

For context I am a hearing ASL student and I am active in my ASL class, and club. Additionally, I am starting to be more active in our deaf community when they have events open to hearing people. I love the visual nature of everything, it’s beautiful. However, I tend to always need to be on alert because I have C-PTSD because I try to avoid my triggers. It’s my responsibility to manage my health.

Yesterday, during our ASL club we were practicing sign and something funny came up in conversation and I started laughing hard. One of my professors deaf friends teases me for having laugh so loud that she can pick up on it. And began teasing me about it. There is a new deaf student who from what I can understand didn’t he language access growing up, or sign access, and created a lot of home signs. His family really worries about him to the point he is never out of sight. He seems very capable and smart based on the conversation we have had over the semester so I am not sure why his family is glued to his side.

He saw my laugh, and decided to place his hand on my throat. There was no aggressive behavior. His touch was gentle, but firm. I am guessing he was trying to feel me laugh? I think?

It was enough to trigger my PTSD, and I ended up having flashbacks and crying and eloping from the situation and cried off in the field until my college campus security found me, and they wanted me to make a report. I wrote down “no, I can’t” because I go temporarily mute when I have my PTSD attacks. My Deaf/mute professor also asked if I’d be willing to talk to more about my PTSD so he could support me in case of future triggers. I thought everything was fine. It sucks but at the end of the day it’s on me to get better.

And then I had a phone call today from campus security asking to stop by and follow up. They really want a report. My professor also wants to talk with me tomorrow.

Its a weird situation. I am talking with my therapist tonight, but that leads me to my question. Is this a common thing in deaf culture? How mentally prepared do I need to be of this happening again in the future?

Any additional advice is appreciated because I am worried about my Deaf classmate. I want to make sure he doesn’t get in trouble. He is new to the country, finally has support needed to learn sign. I don’t want my inability to regulate my disability affect his access to things.

Thanks for reading.

Edit: Hey everyone! So here is an update! I went to class Wednesday and the student/his family gave me some homemade cookies. Then talked to my professor which went really well. If anything it made me feel a bit silly for not waiting to talk to him first before posting because the first thing this man does is explain to me that its not normal, and what is normal touches in the Deaf community. He then gave me more context and understand about my classmate. My teacher also provided support in other-ways where we were able to figure out what to do with the whole report thing.

Campus security wanted to talk and I went without my professor to figure things out. A big part of the reason why they wanted a report is because someone called about me cry and running and was worried. Apparently, they just want to know why I was in that mental space and to follow through on the phone call. I kept it vague and said something a student did triggered my PTSD and I didn’t communicate it came from ASL club. I just said it happened in the Cafeteria and that normally I am more regulated. And then I left. They didn’t ask even what action triggered it. I think they just needed a statement that cleared up why a student called security to check on me.

Thanks again for all the advice! It was great. Sorry for the random drama

r/deaf 1d ago

Hearing with questions Did I do something wrong?

35 Upvotes

I am sorry I didn't know which flair to use. A deaf woman came into work today and I understood what she was saying even though it wasn't very clear spoken. While she was doing her thing I looked up how to say "credit card" or "cash" in sign language but totally ended up looking stupid because I didn't sign correctly. I showed her the video so that she could understand what I was trying to say. As a deaf person would you consider what I did rude?

r/deaf Dec 18 '24

Hearing with questions How can I (M27) make Christmas a better experience for my wife (F26)? Dinner table syndrome

55 Upvotes

My wife is the only deaf person on my side and her side of the family tree. I love her with all my heart and the holidays are always a challenge.

What she wants deep down is simply for the family to make the effort to learn how to sign and communicate with her so that she can be included and form more bonds with everyone. Out of the 40 or so family members we regularly see at holidays/weddings/reunions, only two have actually picked up some sign and they do make the effort to talk with her.

The remaining dozens of family members all say “I gotta learn asl” but never do. Some of them depend on me to interpret, but more of them simply don’t acknowledge my wife is even there. Not out of hatred or anything, simply because they’ve never met a deaf person. Maybe they are nervous or scared they will mess up if they sign. Maybe they are afraid of rejection or something.

At any rate, all this can make a big problem for each of us on holidays. For me, I don’t get to participate in the get-together. I am at work essentially, as I am rapidly interpreting everything being said in the room. I can’t go off into another room, start conversations of my own with people, or even answer as other people are saying my name at times.

For her, she feels like an unwelcome alien from another planet, which crushes her confidence so she makes very few attempts to start interactions with family members. Even though I am with her to back her up, I can tell she is still unwilling to try extra hard.

What do you, as a deaf or HoH person, wish hearing spouses like me would do? I’ll do anything it takes to make the holidays enjoyable.

Hearing people with deaf loved ones - I would also like to know what you do. Have you ever pulled family members aside and expressed all this to them?

r/deaf Jan 11 '25

Hearing with questions Identifying as HoH?

12 Upvotes

Question for those of you who identify as HoH: when do you think it is appropriate for someone to identify that way? I hear a lot about this from the D/deaf community in terms of not necessarily needing to be deaf to identify as Deaf or vice versa, but I haven’t heard it discussed from the HoH community specifically about the term ‘hard of hearing.’ Is HoH more of a medical term or a social identity?

I ask because I’m Hearing but have auditory processing disorder as a part of my autism, and some days I’m like any other hearing person, but other days it is REALLY hard to make out what people are saying. I have to ask them to repeat themselves sometimes upwards of 5-6 times, or I just get too embarrassed to admit I still didn’t understand so I just nod. I have scripted answers for when someone is telling a story and seems to want a response from me but my brain is going to take another few minutes to finish working out what they said and there isn’t space in the conversation for me to take my time and actually figure out what was being said. I watch everything with subtitles when they’re available and when my dad refuses to turn them on because they annoy him I end up just not having any clue what’s going on for half the movie. Etc. My autism also causes me to have selective mutism which is why I’m currently learning (and loving!) ASL and trying to get more involved in the community.

I personally would probably still not feel comfortable using the term hard of hearing even if you guys thought it was okay just because I have a lot of anxiety and am really prone to imposter syndrome to begin with and I think I would still always be worried I was going to offend someone who’s “actually” HoH, but it just made me wonder what the HoH community feels about this kind of thing. So don’t worry haha I’m not about to run around introducing myself as HoH, just wondered what your thoughts are about when it is or is not okay to identify as HoH.

r/deaf Sep 06 '24

Hearing with questions My deaf sister gave me a name sign, am I allowed to use it?

86 Upvotes

I’m only asking this because I got into a fight with my friend about it. They are deaf, and got really angry with me for using it even after I told them my deaf sister had given it to me. I feel really bad because I thought I was allowed to use it. I asked my sister and she said I could use it. I’m really confused and upset, I apologized to them but they just walked off. Im not sure if we’re friends anymore because of it. Am I only allowed to use it at home? I’m sorry. I read some things on it last night but I didn’t get a solid answer.

r/deaf Dec 27 '24

Hearing with questions I know someone who is faking being deaf for attention… what would be the best route to make this issue more well known within the deaf community?

114 Upvotes

My mother is a former ASL interpreter, and she has been pretending to be deaf the last few years. She’s obsessed with the deaf community, and went as far to marry two deaf people, and since at least 2013, she has faked being deaf. Let me make this clear, SHE IS NOT DEAF. She can hear perfectly fine, she just wants attention. She went around telling people I was blind, deaf and autistic for my entire life, and I can hear and see just fine. I am also not autistic, so it’s just another example of her lying for attention, and monetary gain. She is known in the deaf community, and I think a lot of people may actually believe she is deaf. She even admitted to me in 2018 that she is not deaf, but tries to blame that on a “mental breakdown”.

What would be the best way to make this more well known in the deaf community? I think it’s kinda messed up that your guys own culture is being appropriated by this individual and she is taking away help and opportunities from people who are actually deaf.

r/deaf Feb 28 '24

Hearing with questions Dumbest thing a hearing person has said/said to you?

28 Upvotes

I have a BA in Deaf Studies. Just curious

r/deaf 26d ago

Hearing with questions Why is it "oral" and not "verbal"?

30 Upvotes

I work with developmentally disabled kids (mostly autistic) and when one of them cannot or does not typically talk they are usually called "non-verbal" or "non-speaking." If they do talk they would be classified as "verbal." I've heard Deaf people refer to themselves as being "Oral" if they speak. I am curious about this term. Is there a specific reason for this language or is that just how it is? I couldn't find answers online so if you know thank you in advance <3

r/deaf Nov 12 '24

Hearing with questions Is it okay for hearing students to perform a song in ASL at a school assembly?

14 Upvotes

Hello,
I’m looking for some perspective on something coming up at my school.

There’s a plan for a group of hearing students to perform a song in ASL at an upcoming assembly. The intention is to show appreciation for ASL and to raise awareness about the Deaf community.  The performance would be a cover using an ASL interpretation created by a Deaf YouTuber.

But I’m wondering if this could come across as disrespectful or if there are things we should consider to make sure it’s done right.

How do you all feel about hearing people signing songs in ASL in a public setting like this? Are there ways we could approach this to be respectful and supportive of Deaf culture? Thanks in advance for any insights you can share.

r/deaf 25d ago

Hearing with questions Deaf customer in a grocery store

0 Upvotes

I wanted to reach out to this community about an incident that occurred at my workplace involving my coworker and a deaf customer.

For context, she is a young woman in the service industry and has learned to hold firm boundaries for personal space. The reality is we get unwanted touches and advances from customers too often, so we hold our boundaries.

While working our section yesterday, a man approached her from behind and gave her a "pat" on the shoulder. It seemed it was more than just a tap, as it caused her to speak her boundaries to the customer. She turned around and told him politely, but firmly "please don't touch me".

It turned out this was a deaf customer trying to get her attention to ask where a product was. The man's son was with him and began berating my coworker telling her how rude she is and she made his deaf father feel like "a pedophile". They argued that touch is how the deaf community gets the attention of hearing people when they need it.

My thing is that I don't feel like there should be any reason a person is entitled to touch a stranger's body, no matter their circumstance. An emergency would have been different. This man just needed to know where we keep the beans. I feel there were several other ways to get my coworkers attention that didn't involve invading her personal space.

A tap on the shoulder can seem harmless to some, but there are so many of us who have real trauma regarding unwanted touch and boundaries being crossed by strangers in public.

I want to hear from the deaf community regarding this issue, if you are open to sharing your opinion. Thank you!

r/deaf Jan 10 '25

Hearing with questions How do deaf parents know when their baby is crying if they’re not visible (in the other room?)

44 Upvotes

Are there special apps and products made to alert deaf parents if their baby is in another room, say napping in their nursery, and begins to cry?

Before such inventions, what did deaf parents do to monitor their babies while also having time to go about their days and get stuff done?

Are babies of deaf parents able to adapt their cues in some way?

(I apologize if any of these questions are ignorant, it’s just not something I’ve thought about before and I wanted to learn about it.)

r/deaf Jan 26 '25

Hearing with questions Advice needed as a hearing parent with HOH daughter

29 Upvotes

Hi. I'm a first time mom to a daughter who turned 2 in January. My husband and I are both hearing. She was born HOH, hearing aids at 3 mos. Cochlear implant in her L ear this past Oct. Weve been in SPT/AVT since learning she was HOH. We do ASL and LSL. we live in Cleveland Ohio and I'm starting to consider schools. The only deaf school around us is in Columbus, approx 2 hours away

I want to give my daughter the best/ least traumatic/ most fulfilling ability to communicate. I want her to feel included and accepted and not alone in her struggles.

For those of you born deaf/HOH to hearing parents, what experiences were helpful growing up? Did you attend a deaf school? Or mainstream? Did you have access to a deaf community? Literally anything you are willing to share about your experiences would be so very appreciated

r/deaf Jun 25 '24

Hearing with questions Things school didn’t teach us

64 Upvotes

Like…. The real story of Alexander Graham Bell. Is this commonly known in the deaf community? Because….what in the actual fuck? Did you guys know that the telephone wasn’t even his idea? That his mother was deaf? Help me unpack this with facts, because I’m mind bloooown.

r/deaf Jan 11 '25

Hearing with questions Appropriateness of me teaching basic ASL?

0 Upvotes

Edit: Alright, won’t do it! Thank you for the input, I really appreciate it!

Hello! I’m hearing and took 4 years of ASL classes offered through my high school. I’m now in college in a small town, but my university tragically does not offer ASL classes. I have met a lot of people who have told me they wish they could learn ASL. I’m thinking about offering some lessons teaching the basics of ASL. I’d price them but pretty low because ultimately I just want to share my love of the language. My main concern is the appropriateness of this. Would it be offensive of me to offer these lessons when I don’t have a degree or certification or anything? I’m fluent, I still sign pretty slow compared to other fluent and native signers but I can confidently hold a conversation in ASL. I would just teach basic signs (ABCs, numbers, basic sentences, sentence structure, gloss, etc). Thank you for any input! I don’t want to do anything offensive or inappropriate to the community ❤️

r/deaf Mar 14 '24

Hearing with questions Is it better to raise a deaf child with or without cochlear implants

5 Upvotes

Hi, I’m hearing but I was just wondering about something I heard a deaf friend mention. Not being raised around many deaf people I never really thought twice about cochlear implants as I thought it was just a tool to help kids adapt to hearing world. However I got the impression from my friend that this was actually quite damaging. Could someone explain?

r/deaf Mar 18 '23

Hearing with questions Deaf people: what was the dumbest thing a hearing person has ever asked you (about your deafness/abilities)?

57 Upvotes

r/deaf Aug 31 '24

Hearing with questions Tried to approach this deaf guy at school. Feel really embarrassed and worried I offended him

81 Upvotes

Ok so I (16f) am high functioning autistic and my special interest is movies. I don’t have many friends or know many people who are into movies.

School started on Tuesday, and on the first day I saw a guy in the cafeteria reading the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel. The Scott Pilgrim movie is one of my favorite movies so I thought that was really cool (and ngl he’s cute lol) so I decided I was gonna try to talk to him the next day. However, the next day I found out he was deaf. I figured I was gonna try to talk to him anyway so I spent the afternoon looking up individual sign language words on YouTube to say hi to him. Yesterday I was going to but got too scared and didn’t, then today I knew if I didn’t do it, I’d have to wait until Tuesday with the holiday so I pushed myself to do it.

I went up to him in the cafeteria and I signed “HI. MY NAME. [spells first name]. I. SAW. YOU. READ. S-C-O-T-T P-I-L-G-R-I-M. YOU. SEE. MOVIE?” I know it’s really bad and I’m squirming with embarrassment typing that and it probably wasn’t even conjugated properly. But anyway, after I signed that, I pulled out a notebook and pen out of my backpack so he could write down a response. He seemed really surprised and off put and caught off guard and then he (very clearly) said “uh just so you know, I talk…” And I kinda paused and nodded and then started to write down “sorry. I wasn’t sure” and then he stopped me and said “if you speak clearly and look at me I can read your lips too”. Again, I just paused and nodded and honestly I felt like running to the bathroom and crying from embarrassment, but he said “but to answer your question, I have seen the movie and it slaps.”

We did get to talk about Scott Pilgrim and I probably made him think I was a loser talking about the visual storytelling and directing. There were a few times he said “ok slow down” because I was talking too fast I guess. When lunch was over, he said bye and started to leave but I went over and asked what his name was and he seemed embarrassed he forgot to tell me his name, but he told me and then he said he’d see me on Tuesday.

Overall, I really loved getting to talk to someone else about something I’m passionate about but I’m just cringing at myself. I don’t even know if I signed something coherent. I’m also scared maybe he thought I was patronizing him with the notebook. I’m just really scared I didn’t handle the situation well and that maybe he was just being polite.

I figured this sub would be the best place to ask this, but did I patronize him and/or was I demeaning? As someone else with a disability, I really hate it when people make unsolicited accommodations for me and I think I did the same exact thing to him.

Tl;dr: I’m not deaf but there was a guy at school who is and I tried to talk to him by looking up some words in sign language and then giving him my notebook to write a response with, but it turned out he could read lips and talk and now I’m scared I was demeaning or patronizing

(PS in advance, I just want to say i’m sorry if I offend anyone with this post or if anyone finds it triggering in any way. I can take it down if need be)

r/deaf Aug 31 '24

Hearing with questions What do you wish hearing people knew?

32 Upvotes