Life beyond sound

                       One day, a boy was riding his bike to his home. He was happy as it was the last day of his academic year. But, he met with a horrible accident on the way. Somehow, people rushed him to a nearby hospital. After getting treated at hospital, his injuries could recover but,  to his shock, the in-charge doctor, citing his scan reports, concluded that his auditory nerve was severely damaged and there was no cure for this damage. He lost his ability to hear. For a moment, he felt like everything was over. But, he is the kind of a person who never gives up on anything so easily, no matter what. He gained knowledge about about the Deaf community and established contacts with deaf healthcare professionals who help the  Deaf community to be independent in a world full of working ears. After joining as a new member in the Deaf community, the professionals educated him about tools of communication like sign language (ASI-American sign language), teletype machine(TTY), voice carry over telephone(VCO), video remote interpreting(VRI). These are immensely helpful for the Deaf people to communicate with others. A few months later, he was able to communicate with others using sign language. This improvement filled him with the strength he needed. He washed off all sorrows, studied a lot and started his journey with a newly invented hope. Meanwhile, he developed himself into a professional artist. The motive behind telling his story is to make all those helpless Deaf person to realize that there is still light at the end of the tunnel and the Deaf healthcare professionals go extra lengths to help fight their challenges.

              In today's fast-paced world, we all are busy with our own schedule to such extent that we forget personal as well as social health issues. Deafness is one among it. Thus, the Deaf and their community often go unnoticed. Some of us are not even aware of the difference between the words 'Deaf' &'deaf'. "Deaf" (note the upper case D) means those who are culturally deaf i.e. permanently deaf and they are actively engaged with deaf community. Whereas "deaf" (Lower case d) means those who have impaired hearing which can be manageable either with hearing aids or biconic ear (cochlear implant) which is a neural prosthetic which is framed to produce hearing sensation by electrically stimulating nerves. 

              Deafness is nothing but a hearing impairment. A person who is not able to hear sound with normal threshold frequency about 25dB fall into the category of 'Deaf'. Hearing impairment may be temporary or permanent, depending upon the cause. Among these two, temporary deafness resolves itself within one or two days, if not then it can be managed with hearing aids. However in permanent ones, it is unmanageable due to damage of the auditory nerve. Moreover, there is no healing tool available for any kind of neuropathy so far. So, we can help those Deaf persons through the Deaf healthcare system/professionals. Awareness regarding deafness is all about promoting the positive aspect. Healthcare system celebrates World Deaf Day every year on the last Sunday of September. This article is nothing but intended to generate the same awareness and to commemorate the World Deaf week. The aim behind this Deaf awareness week is to get public attention to deaf issues, understanding difficulties  associated with  it as well as education on deaf culture and good manners.     

                 The help of healthcare professionals and aforementioned communication tools make everyday routines easy to Deaf. As we all know the sign language is expressed by movements of the hands and face. Teletype machines(TTY) are specially framed electronic device for text communication over a telephone line for the sake of Deaf.  Along with Deaf community, surrounding environment and normal people also plays major role in their life. 

Some common do’s and don’ts – 

If somehow you meet any Deaf person, treat them as nice as you like to be treated, give him/her respect by maintaining eye contact. Secondly, express that you know about sign knowledge as it makes them comfortable. Speak slowly and, if needed, repeat so that they can lip-read. Kindly avoid being harsh to them. 

"You are not be able to hear what others are saying, but that doesn't mean you can't understand them."

             

By Prajakta JK