The past half-century has brought about substantial shifts in the day-to-day experiences of people who are deaf or hard of hearing (HOH). Although many problems have been solved because of changes in government policy and technological advances, certain obstacles continue to exist.
Successes for the Deaf Community
The Americans with Disabilities Act made it possible for hearing people and deaf and hard-of-hearing people to communicate. The 1990 law was a significant turning point for the American deaf community.
Equal Access
By mandating public and private organizations, including schools and telecommunication services, to make accommodations for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, the ADA aimed to level the playing field for people with disabilities. The effect was enormous.
Equal Rights in the Workplace
Employers are no longer permitted to discriminate against deaf or hard-of-hearing employees. Relay services allowed some people to place their first phone calls, eliminating the need to rely on hearing their friends and neighbors contacting their cable provider or scheduling an appointment with their doctor.
Closed Captioning for TV
During the nightly news, captions appeared underneath the anchors, and hospitals and schools began offering American Sign Language interpreting services. The gap in communication between hearing and non-hearing people started to close.
Internet Advancements
The internet and other modern technologies continue to revolutionize how deaf and HOH people interact. Speaking and hearing are no longer necessary to do commonplace tasks like placing a takeout order or contesting a bill as email, internet messengers, texting, and cell phones become more widespread and widely available.
It is now much simpler for sign language users to communicate with one another or for distant interpreters to support interactions with hearing friends and coworkers, thanks to video conferencing platforms like Skype and Zoom.
Social media has made it easier for deaf and HOH people to locate and connect, particularly those who live in remote regions. This has helped them establish a community and develop support networks.
Economic Challenges
The deaf population is no longer restricted to the job of a factory worker or hard laborer thanks to the enactment of legislation like the ADA. However, unemployment and underemployment still disproportionately afflict them.
The same disparities exist in schooling. Despite ADA requirements, there aren’t many higher learning institutions specifically designed to support deaf and HOH students in their academic endeavors.
Health Insurance
The majority of Americans with insurance obtain it via their jobs. Adults who are deaf or HOH and are unemployed or only working part-time sometimes rely on public assistance programs like Medicaid, which vary greatly from state to state.
This doesn’t mean all underemployed deaf and HOH people will have serious health problems. Still, the financial and emotional struggles frequently connected to not being able to find enough jobs shouldn’t be disregarded.
In the United States, 20% of working-age persons who are deaf or HOH live in poverty, compared to 10% of their hearing counterparts. Families with deaf or HOH working-age adults make, on average, around $15,000 less per year than families without disabilities.
Social Challenges
People from all types of backgrounds can have trouble hearing. Some people are born deaf or hard of hearing, while others have lost their hearing because of a medical condition, illness, time, or an accident.
Some people can improve their hearing slightly through the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants, but those devices don’t work for everybody. No matter what their hearing level maybe, deaf and hard of hearing people have the same needs, desires, and wants as hearing people.
ASL Interpreters
The Americans with Disabilities Act says that public places and schools must have ASL interpreters for people needing them. ASL is not just a translation of English through hand gestures. It is a separate language with its grammar, sound, and rules for how words go together. Like in English, how and what people say can change depending on who is translating.
ASL users often don’t get to choose their interpreter. Nor do they have the option to ask for the interpreters they like best. This can make it harder for deaf or hard-of-hearing people to communicate with others or understand important information.
Even when there is an interpreter, it’s not always enough. In some places, like a doctor’s office, a certified deaf interpreter may need to work with the ASL translator to ensure all the details are shared.
Even though many deaf people are also skilled in written English, writing things down might not be the best way to talk to them, especially if sign language is their first language. Also, family members who speak American Sign Language shouldn’t be used in place of trained interpreters.
Although many circumstances still call for interpretation assistance, members of the deaf and HOH communities are now more independent than ever. However, even though the playing field may be leveling, ongoing problems still exist.
Public Health Issues
Few studies have been done on the health needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. For example, health polls are often done over the phone, which means deaf people can’t take part. Also, most large-scale public health studies don’t have ways to separate data about people with hearing loss or blindness.
Many deaf and hard-of-hearing people don’t know things that hearing people may take for granted, like their own family’s medical history or even basic medical terms, because they don’t have the chance to overhear their relatives talking about health or other things in the background.
ASL users can have trouble finding skilled interpreters, and medical organizations can have difficulty getting paid for offering these services. For everyone involved, it can be a stressful time. One way to reduce stress is to use Unspoken Language Services for all your interpreting needs. Our professional interpreters work hard to help bridge the communication gap between the hearing and non-hearing worlds to create an inclusive environment.
Conclusion
A lot has happened over the years, but to continue making genuine progress, it will need a concerted effort on the part of everyone at the local, state, and national levels. Hearing people may assist in supporting these initiatives by making more of an effort to seek out and form connections with deaf and HOH people in their communities. In doing so, they can contribute to bridging the social gap between the hearing world and the world of deaf or HOH people.
Thumbnail Photo Credit to: “Musicians and ASL interpreter at San Francisco Tranch March 2016” by Pax Ahimsa Gethen is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
