Don’t Tell Me What to Call Myself

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Gael Hannan
October 27, 2015

Have you ever been tossed on the stormy seas of hearing loss nomenclature?

That’s the term or terms applied to someone or something, and in the hearing loss and deaf worlds it’s what you’re called if you have it, if you are it, if you have some of it, or if you ain’t got none of it.

Deaf. Deafened. A little deaf. Legally deaf. Late-deafened. Oral deaf.

Hard of hearing. Hearing-impaired. Person with hearing loss. Hearing aid user. CI-user.

Hearing.

If things are too calm at meetings of people who are deaf or have hearing loss, stand up and say, “Hey, just wondering. Why don’t we just get our act together and agree that we’re all hearing-impaired.”

Then quickly leave the room and jump into a waiting car.

Nothing gets people more riled up—particularly those whose deafness plays a significant role in their everyday life—than having an undesired label slapped on their forehead. Most people, especially those with milder hearing losses, pick a description and stick with it. For them, there are no political overtones, social agenda or disability awareness attached to any term they use. It’s simply how they’re used to describing someone with the issue, or perhaps they adopted it from their hearing care professional.

But advocates tend to be passionate about using accurate descriptors that reflect their self-identity. I’m Deaf. I’m a person with hearing loss. This same zeal can cause them to condemn choices made by other people.

Hearing-impaired is not a popular term (this is a supreme understatement) with members of international deaf and hearing loss organizations. It smacks of brokenness, defectiveness.  I’ve never used the term, but I have been guilty of pulpit-preaching that this is not a preferred or even acceptable title for any self-respecting person with hearing challenges. Others have been more vocal in their condemnation.  “You shouldn’t call yourself that, it’s wrong and/or discriminatory.”  It is, however, the term that many audiologists, hearing instrument specialists and health professionals describe their patients, although there is a trend to using more positive terms and away from the contentious “impaired”.

Yup, the subject of what we call ourselves is always good for some heated discussion. Writing this blog is like wading through a verbal minefield; it’s very easy to insult somebody who feels that this or that term is derogatory and that there oughta be a law.

There’s only one easy, non-debatable term (I think) and that’s what we call people who can hear. We call them hearing people, differentiating them from those of us who don’t.

So many of our descriptions use negative terms. Hard. Loss. Impaired. Challenged. Different. (I won’t dignify the other terms that include the words stone, post and dumb.)  The only title that doesn’t contain a negative word is DEAF.  People who belong to Deaf Culture are proud of being deaf; it’s their identity, culture and language. Most hearing people think of Deaf as something that is not good to be—they don’t understand how anyone would not want to hear.

But many of us who have hearing loss and use spoken language, want to hear. It’s our life and our choice to seek hearing through hearing aids and cochlear implants.

The term that really confuses me is LEGALLY deaf.  Although I fit into the medical definition of legal deafness (66 to 85 decibels of hearing loss), what does that label get me? Free hearing aids? A sticker that allows me to park in the ‘handicapped’ parking?  Lower taxes? And someone who has less of a loss, say 60dB loss—are they less than legal, perhaps illegal?  Maybe it just means that they can’t call themselves ‘deaf’.  They have to call themselves…oh, here we go again.

Many Audiologists refer to us as patients. In recent years I have argued against that term, resisting what smacks of the medical model that says that I am broken and need to be fixed.  Many people, especially Deaf people, don’t feel they need to be fixed—and that’s OK.  Personally, I am concerned about my hearing.  It’s not where I want it to be. I want to hear and communicate better – and to do that I need help. So yeah, I’m all for some fixing-up—and there’s no shame in that!

Someone told me recently that ‘patient’ is a term of respect.  I can’t quite get the connection myself, especially since I know that the word comes from the Greek for ‘one who suffers’.  But hey, professionals, if respect is what you feel for me, then you will have no problem with involving me in decisions related to my own course of care.

I use many terms to describe myself but I can tell you what I’m not: a broken person, or a lesser person than someone who can hear.  And I no longer care what term anyone uses to describe themselves. Who am I to say, “you’re not supposed to use that term—it’s so yesterday.” What I do care about is that the person has the strength to identify in, some way, their communication needs. That’s more important than finding a single, accurate word that fits all of us.

And you can call me whatever you want, as long as it’s delivered with respect. My humanity does not need to be fixed.  But I do want to hear, so I will graciously accept all the help that is respectfully offered.

  1. At least they did away with “Deaf and Dumb” As usually very good article. Thank you.

  2. Another great article! I agree with David^ that at least they don’t say deaf and dumb but I sometimes feel that’s what many think!

  3. I’ve always used “hearing impaired.” It fits me fine. My hearing is impaired, and the rest of me is more or less quite dandy. I say we each have our own choice. Go get ’em, Gael.

  4. lots of people tell me that they hate the word impaired . it makes them feel like they need to be fixed. great article!!

  5. Great article Gael! I ponder what the best terminology is for many conversations in our clinic. I assist persons with hearing impairments, loss of hearing or hearing loss. Whether or not each of these individuals is impaired is another issue (blog topic suggestion?). The question for the aural rehabilitation portion of my comprehensive exams when completing my Masters of Clinical Science in Audiology was “When does a hearing impairment become a hearing handicap for preschoolers, school-age children, adults and geriatrics?” Interesting question to which there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer. Love your articles – thanks and please keep them coming!

    1. I assume by using the term ‘geriatrics’ you are referring to me, as I am 84 years old. That term bothers me as it doesn’t include me along with your other terms for various ages. My suggestion is to include me as an ‘adult’, which I am, or if you need to use another category to make a distinction in age, ‘elderly.’

  6. I very rarely use one label… I mix and match to fit the situation, and most often use no label at all. This is my ‘go to’: “I read lips, I need to see you speak.” Short, straight to the point, and tells the person exactly what they need to know about me. Labels leave so much unknown.

    If I need to inform on a flight I use this: To the first flight attendant I see, “I need you to know I’m deaf. I do read lips, but it doesn’t work 100% of the time. If you need to speak to me, please tap me on the arm or shoulder to get my attention before you speak. I’m a frequent flyer, so I know the drill and don’t need anything in particular other than for you to know I won’t hear any announcements, so if there is an emergency I’m depending on you or one of your crew tell me face to face.”

    It’s not hard, simply tell people what they need to know about you and what you need, and that often can’t be done by using a label.

    Also, what you say to one person won’t be appropriate for someone else in a different situation, and there might even be times when informing really isn’t needed. Because we all know when you’re out and about on a busy day, coming into contact with dozens of people, you’ll get tired of constantly informing. It’s okay to pick and choose the need to inform. Other, less busy, days you’ll probably tell everyone–if they don’t already know–you can’t hear and what you need.

    I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts with someone who was very upset by a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center that changed their name to “Hear “. They thought the old name was all-inclusive, but the new name had more of a “all Listening and Spoken Language facility” ring to it. My comment made them think differently, and here is what I basically said:

    “Here’s a different perspective from someone who is not part of the Deaf community. I don’t consider this name change to reflect an “all Listening and Spoken Language facility”. Don’t we ‘hear’ in different ways? I’m almost totally deaf (began losing my hearing in childhood and have never found benefit with hearing aids) and I hear through lipreading and captioning. Those who use Sign Language or Cued Speech hear in that way. I guess I equate ‘hearing’ with ‘communicating’ in whatever way you can take in or convey information in lieu of the traditional way, through your working ears.”

    The person responded that they had never considered that explanation and that I had opened their eyes. Yes, I think we get too hung up on the labels and words we use to describe ourselves… it’s not a big deal. ~~Michele

    1. I very rarely use one label… I mix and match to fit the situation, and most often use no label at all. This is my ‘go to’: “I read lips, I need to see you speak.” Short, straight to the point, and tells the person exactly what they need to know about me. Labels leave so much unknown.

      If I need to inform on a flight I use this: To the first flight attendant I see, “I need you to know I’m deaf. I do read lips, but it doesn’t work 100% of the time. If you need to speak to me, please tap me on the arm or shoulder to get my attention before you speak. I’m a frequent flyer, so I know the drill and don’t need anything in particular other than for you to know I won’t hear any announcements, so if there is an emergency I’m depending on you or one of your crew tell me face to face.”

      It’s not hard, simply tell people what they need to know about you and what you need, and that often can’t be done by using a label.

      Also, what you say to one person won’t be appropriate for someone else in a different situation, and there might even be times when informing really isn’t needed. Because we all know when you’re out and about on a busy day, coming into contact with dozens of people, you’ll get tired of constantly informing. It’s okay to pick and choose the need to inform. Other, less busy, days you’ll probably tell everyone–if they don’t already know–you can’t hear and what you need.

      I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts with someone who was very upset by a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center that changed their name to “Hear _____”. They thought the old name was all-inclusive, but the new name had more of a “all Listening and Spoken Language facility” ring to it. My comment made them think differently, and here is what I basically said:

      “Here’s a different perspective from someone who is not part of the Deaf community. I don’t consider this name change to reflect an “all Listening and Spoken Language facility”. Don’t we ‘hear’ in different ways? I’m almost totally deaf (began losing my hearing in childhood and have never found benefit with hearing aids) and I hear through lipreading and captioning. Those who use Sign Language or Cued Speech hear in that way. I guess I equate ‘hearing’ with ‘communicating’ in whatever way you can take in or convey information in lieu of the traditional way, through your working ears.”

      The person responded that they had never considered that explanation and that I had opened their eyes. Yes, I think we get too hung up on the labels and words we use to describe ourselves… it’s not a big deal. ~~Michele

      1. Ugh, I thought I was editing and I was reposting. My apologies. Need. More. Coffee.

    2. hahaha-Nashville had a similar problem a few years ago. Several organizations merged and the new name was chosen ‘Hearing Bridges’

      What the actual (your choice of expletive here)?

      There was a huge outcry, a public meeting and eventually, they settled on ‘Bridges’ which is pretty self explanatory, right??

      They assured everyone that Deaf people had been consulted on the name change, not just the most-if-not-all hearing board members. This, I did find offensive and just plain thoughtless. (Especially since it was in Nashville, not so far from the Country Music Hall of Fame-.probably most people driving by thought it was a musical reference)

  7. Great post! Years ago, I was (verbally) interviewing someone for a magazine article, through an ASL interpreter. The man I was interviewing suddenly corrected my language: “I don’t like the term ‘hearing impaired.'” The thing was, I hadn’t used the term – the blame rested entirely on the interpreter for misrepresenting my words! I was too polite, or perhaps too inexperienced, to point out the error. I’ve never forgotten that!

  8. Great piece as always Gael. Thanks! People have the right to self-identify and nobody ought to judge.
    Just a small, teeny, weeny, not even very important comment- You mention that audiologists like to call you patients. But audiologists don’t all think the same. Personally, I am always at a loss to know what word to use. How about “service seeker”?
    By the way, I think your blog should be required reading for all graduate students in audiology.

  9. I use “hearing impaired” not just because “I am a person with hearing loss” sounds more like a poster at a rally, but because the phrase – however much we disparage it – gets faster attention from strangers: people on the phone, people in restaurants, etc. Frankly, the term doesn’t bother me as much as people who will not slow down, speak up, or stop mumbling.

    1. I’ve never seen the moniker “sign language user” as a separate way to describe oneself. Always Deaf. In my experience, iit is more the organizations that claim to speak on behalf of all deaf and hoh – not individuals.

    2. Me, too!

      I would LOVE it if all the effort and time put into arguing about the ‘proper’ moniker could be piut into seriously educating people who continually discriminate even after being told “I CANNOT HEAR.”

      I had a post it stuck to my desk with that phrase on it- and still, my supervisor would come to the desk and start talking even before I realized she was standing there.

      Last straw? My coworkers were told verbally to evacuate the building. I guess I didn’t hear that. I think THAT is a bigger issue than someone calling me Hearing Impaired or Deaf. (And on my very last day, I was forced to attend a meeting with no accommodations for people speaking- even though I had asked for an interpreter. Twice.)

  10. Fabulous summary of this Gael. We’ve stepped into many discussions on this topic, and while we always aim to say the mouthful of “deaf, deafened, or people with hearing loss” we also find the following seriously important:
    a. Some groups insist on Deaf instead of SLUser – sign language and culturally deaf groups, and this is fine if it also was not suggested by their descriptions that they represent all “deaf and hoh.” This colors the public perception of most of us who need public understanding of our needs for other resources (captioning, etc.).
    b. Change toward hearing loss or deafness, over time, for many of us, as some argue -and we’re very sympathetic here – is a uniquely challenging condition to talk about., because it’s communication, it’s human relationship, and it’s darn confusing how many varieties we have. All “disabilities’ have varieties, yet human communication is what makes us human.
    Being human, we will probably always talk about “nomenclature” yet there is a way forward if some open and honest dialogue someplace can happen, among all our groups, it’s past time.
    Lauren, CCACaptioning.org – don’t care what term is used really, just care hugely about quality captioning inclusion for all media and live events too

  11. Good points, and kudos for raising the issue. I have felt for a long time that I should get to pick how I refer to myself. It’s unnerving to get corrected when I use the descriptor I want. When referring to myself.
    thanks!

  12. Always love reading your blogs. Thanks for speaking to a touchy subject which leaves many wondering what is the “right” terminology in an effort to remain politically correct. I’ve found myself in conversations with deaf / Deaf people arguing about what to call themselves. I think your title says it all.

  13. Thanks Gael.

    One other thing about this entire discussion and topic is that it eventually becomes downright silly.

    We all have words and descriptions that we use to describe ourselves for our own reasons, political and otherwise. And that can be an interesting and valuable exchange and viewpoint. At some point however, this conversation can become more of a distraction then a real help and I believe when it reaches that point,it loses its value.

    I consider myself deaf. I speak and read lips. If someone asks me if I am hard of hearing or deaf, I will shut down the conversation or continue it by saying “both!”

    One thing I will not do however is say that I am deaf when talking to a potential employer who doesnt know me. Instead, I “have a hearing loss”. Separate issue – or not.

    1. For those of us who have talked about ithe issue for some time, it can reach a tipping point into irrelevance. Which is why I wrote this. However, when one is first dealing with hearing loss, the identity issue is more important.

  14. I wait and watch in wonder to see how many DIFFERENT aspects of hearing loss will come out of your pen/keyboard. Your brain seems to overflow with ideas.

  15. Respect, respect, respect. Yup, that’s the key. In fact, friend, it would seem to be the solution to so many of the difficulties we face in the world today. Thanks for making the point.

  16. It took me many years to come forward and advocate for myself as seriously hearing impaired as mine is a lifelong neural deficiency. No one knew until I was middle-aged when diagnostic technology caught up. Then there was the shame (why?). My family was ashamed of me (it was not their fault). Then the difficulties of managing an instructional career that required some accommodation on the part of my learners and my administrators. When your job is on the line, it is not the time for political correctness. That is a luxury I can only now afford in retirement. In short, it is easier for the general public to understand “hearing impaired” than other terms. I am not ashamed and I need people to understand my needs. Thanks for pointing out that the term used should convey respect for self and others.

  17. Great discussion.
    I have a severe hearing loss and have taken the road to speechreading very seriously. As hearing declines, I find myself in communicative situations that have been appalling. It would seem that my introduction to my hearing challenges and my coping strategy of speechreading which requires me to delicately ask individuals to speak slowly to accommodate my needs for communication falls short. This approach has been met with frustration and a feeling of abandonment as it has been my experience that individuals will actually verbally decline my request for slower speech. My immediate reaction is to refuse any further communication and leave the situation without any further words.
    At one point, I felt compelled to contact the Department of Human Rights and filed a formal complaint regarding the refusal of a customer service person denying to speak slower. My case was followed-up by the Department of Human Rights and the management of the individual who denied to engage in slower speech was contacted with a directive to inform the customer service representative that he had denied a Human Right and further measures would be taken if this occurred again in the future.
    After being informed that my complaint was taken seriously by the Department of Human Rights, I felt a sense of “being heard”. On the day in which I was informed of the positive outcome of my complaint, I encountered a computer glitch and was asked to provide a new password – at a time when speed to get my message out was imperative. Without any real thought I took the first words that came to mind and typed in “deaf and dumb”…..oh my gosh, the light immediately came on and I realized that subconsciously these words reflected my self-image. The refusals of persons denying me the right to communication had affected me to the point that I had to do some serious work in regaining my personal image.
    Thank you, Gael for the opportunity to vent within a sensitive community.

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