CSD 3000DEAFNESS IN SOCIETY

Topic 1DEAFNESS & HEARING LOSS

Definitions, Prevalence, & Myths

Deafness and Hearing Loss

What is deafness?What do you think it

means to be deaf?

Write a 1-2 sentence definition

Definitions of DeafnessWebster’s dictionary defines deaf as totally

or partially unable to hear

Professionals in the field of hearing; audiologists, ear, nose, and throat physicians, or hearing aid dispensers, normally address the term deaf or deafness to mean someone who is not able to hear and understand speech no matter how loud it is.

Definitions of Deafness

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines deafness as "a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification."

Definitions of Deafness

From Office of Special Education:

“Deafness is a hearing impairment which is so severe that the child's hearing, with amplified sound, is nonfunctional for the purposes of educational performance”

Definitions of Deafness

This is a disability that is multi-dimensional

Depending on the author of the definition and their perspective (educational, medical, audiological, etc), the definition will differ.

Prevalence

National Center for Health Statistics in 1999 reported about 22 million people in the United States have some degree of hearing loss

Prevalence Rate By Age

PrevalenceFrom the 1999 National

Center for Health Statistics:

Severe to profound deafness affects about 0.5% of the general U.S. population

0.1% of these are kids

PrevalenceIn the 1996-1997 school

year:

1.3% of kids who received special ed services were hearing impaired

25% of kids who are deaf have another disability

Myths and Misconceptions of the Deaf

1. Deaf People Can’t Hear Anything

The degree of hearing loss is a continuum

Deafness has a cultural perspective

2. Most Deafness is Caused by a Fever or

Sickness

Most causes of deafness are due to genetic factors

Nonsyndromal recessive genetic inheritance

3. All Deaf Children Have Deaf Parents

Deaf children having two deaf parents comprise about 3-4% of the deaf population

Over 80% of children born to deaf parents have normal hearing

4. All Deaf People Can Read Lips

Drawbacks to lipreading:

1. Only 50% of English speech sounds are visible

2. A lot of speech sounds look alike on the lips

3. In order to benefit from speechreading, you need to have a good command of the language

4. Speechreading is really tiring

5. All Deaf People Know Sign Language

Many deaf people are oral only

There are a number of (different) forms of manual communication

6. All Deaf People Are Mute

The speech production ability is really varied

7. Deaf People Can’t Read

Reading is a language-based skill

Most deaf adults achieve an average reading ability comparable to a 4th grade level

8. Deaf Children Don’t Attend School

Before the 1970s, at least half of all deaf children attended state residential schools for the deaf

By 1984, 74% of all school-aged deaf children attended day classes while living at home and 15% of deaf students attended regular classes with normal hearing kids on a full time basis

Today 30% of deaf school-age kids attend special schools

9. Deaf People Aren’t Intelligent

Intelligence and language level are closely connected

“Deaf and dumb”

10. Deaf People Have More Mental Health

Problems

Cultural differences

11. Hearing Aids Allow the Deaf to Hear Speech Normally

What do hearing aids do?

Cochlear implants

12. All Deaf People Wish They Could hear Normally

Is deafness really a “disability”?

Deaf--with a capital “D”

13. Deaf People Can’t or Shouldn’t Drive

President’s Advisory Committee on Traffic Safety in 1968 found that deaf listeners were involved in 1/4 as many traffic accidents as hearing people

97% of warning signals are visual

14. Deaf People Can’t Work

American With Disabilities Act of 1990

15. Deaf People are Quiet and Antisocial

Please!!