literature

Deafness and Hearing Privilege

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Deafness

The inability to hear. People can be born deaf. Or can damage or lose their hearing in later life.

Deaf Culture exists. People who embrace their deafness and use ASL, American Sign Language. A unique language that needs to be recognized, not put down by others.

In some ways a blessing.

Deafness means not hearing the annoying barking dog next door.

Deafness means not hearing loud irritating music from your neighbors.

Deafness means not hearing annoying noises in general.

Deafness means understanding the pain of others with disabilities more easily.

Deafness means viewing captions and subtitles as helpful instead of annoying and being in the way.

Deafness means having access to a thriving rich international community, deaf culture. And having access to American Sign Language and other forms of sign language.

Though it can be considered not a blessing for many reasons.

Deaf people suffer from discrimination. Audism. The notion one is superior based on one's ability to hear, or to behave in the manner of one who hears, or that life without hearing is futile or miserable, or an attitude based on pathological thinking which results in a negative stigma towards anyone who does not hear.

Another is Hearing Privilege. Meaning societal privileges that benefit people who can hear, and those privileges are beyond reach for those who are deaf and hard of hearing people in the same social, political, and economic circumstances. Which many hearing people take for granted.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear fully naturally and clearly without the need of a cochlear implant or hearing aids.

Hearing Privilege is assuming hearing aids or cochlear implants provide the same access as “typical” hearing does.

Hearing Privilege is assuming that turning up the cochlear implant or hearing aids allow for better hearing. When actually it increases background noises as well.

Hearing Privilege is being able to communicate with friends freely over a Xbox headset, without the need for a social media site for communication with the one who is deaf. And therefore quicker reaction times.

Hearing Privilege is not wondering if the person heard or understood you over the Xbox headset while playing on the Xbox.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear announcements being made, such as on a plane or in a building.

Hearing Privilege is getting to decide whether providing accessibility options such as captioning, interpreters, etc, is “in the budget” or not.

Hearing Privilege is being able to use the drive thru with ease.

Hearing Privilege is being able to see your doctor when you need it most, not when an interpreter is available.

Hearing Privilege is having access to other people's conversations when you pass them on the street. And the possibility of making new friends.

Hearing Privilege is being ale to know today's specials at a restaurant when the server shares them at your table.

Hearing Privilege is the ability to respond to a customer's request to move your cart instead of crashing theirs into yours for not responding.

Hearing Privilege is being able to have a conversation with your family.

Hearing Privilege is not when your Uber ride cancels out on your because the driver keeps calling you, not answering your texts.

Hearing Privilege is being able to buy a mobile phone contract and use the inclusive call minutes and listen to voicemail too.

Hearing Privilege is not worrying about group calls or dim lighting when talking with someone.

Hearing Privilege is being able to call 911 in an emergency.

Hearing Privilege is not being in additional danger when swimming because you have to remove your hearing aids or cochlear and thus miss any shouted warnings.

Hearing Privilege is being able to go see the latest movie without worrying about if the movie theater will make it accessible with subtitles or closed captions.

Hearing Privilege is being able to enjoy any translated media such as Naruto DVDs, Ninja Scroll, and more without needing captions. And not being upset by the fact there's English subtitles for Japanese audio, yet no English subtitles for English audio.

Hearing Privilege is being able to access older media which may lack captions completely.

Hearing Privilege is signing up to join the US Army, Navy, or Marines.

Hearing Privilege is not being questioned on your ability to care for and raise a child.

Hearing Privilege is when you aren't accused of child abuse for having your deaf child learn American Sign Language instead of getting a cochlear implant.  

Hearing Privilege is not missing out on language development and ending up behind your peers on language.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear the words of your parents, brothers, sisters, and family members as an infant and keep up with your peers in developing language.

Hearing Privilege is doing a presentation and worrying about looking stupid because you weren't prepared, not because of a bad interpreter.

Hearing Privilege is hearing your child's first words, and hearing your mother's final words.

Hearing Privilege means being trusted to sit at the exit row on a plane. You are automatically considered capable of being heroic.

Hearing Privilege is being able to watch almost any video on the internet, captioned or not.

Hearing Privilege is being able to understand what is being said on a video, TV, or video game without the need for captions.

Hearing Privilege is being able to listen on the radio clearly.

Hearing Privilege is not needing a stranger as an interpreter present while giving birth to your child so you can understand the doctor and nurses.

Hearing Privilege is having the choice not to listen.

Hearing Privilege is not having one's intelligence or work ability questioned based on language modality.

Hearing Privilege is being able to choose your friends more freely, and can make friends with other hearing people, instead of only the ones willing to communicate with you.

Hearing Privilege is being educated in your own language alongside people you can actually understand.

Hearing Privilege is faith accessibility. To be able to walk in and fully participate and fully understand everything.

Hearing Privilege is being able to find and meet with mental health professionals who speak your language.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear the 'loud and verbal commands' given by cops before they shoot.

Hearing Privilege is not having to deal with the various forms of Audism many deaf people have to put up with. One form is not assisting communication,

Hearing Privilege is not having peers or family members saying things such as 'never mind” or “its not important” or something like that if one misses a conversation. Or assuming deaf or hard of hearing people can't do things that they could do. And more.

Hearing Privilege is not worrying about something being inaccessible due to being voice software and lacking captions.

Hearing Privilege is not being told to stop using sign language because someone said it was distracting.

Hearing Privilege is not having to work much harder to achieve the same outcome, deaf people have to often work much harder to achieve the same outcome as hearing people.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear your name called for your food at a restaurant.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear your name or your child's name at a doctor's office.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear your number to pick up your item you paid for.

Hearing Privilege is being able to comply if you're injured or pronounce your name as it sounds like so you can have someone find you.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear the fire alarm or smoke detector.

Hearing Privilege is not worrying about having qualified interpreters in the right classrooms in school.

Hearing Privilege is not missing bits and pieces of conversation and not wanting to intrude because there will be a simple 'never mind'.

Hearing Privilege is being at ease at airports as they know should anything change they'll hear an announcement.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear a lecture, consult a lawyer, or go to the doctor's office and knowing the words are accessible if they speak the same language. And not having to worry about the hassle of getting an interpreter and about who will pay for the interpreter.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear someone knocking on the door when they don't use the doorbell.

Hearing Privilege is not struggling so much with dialogue in writing due to easily being able to tell good dialogue from bad dialogue via audio means.

Hearing Privilege means going to any movie theater, even the ones that don't have captions on their movies.

Hearing Privilege means not being considered “less than” due to their audiological status.

Hearing Privilege means being able to apply to any university they choose without discrimination and not having to worry about whether an interpreter will be available when they attend.

Hearing Privilege means not having to worry about funding for interpreters.

Hearing Privilege means having direct communication with peers and teachers in a classroom without the use of an interpreter.

Hearing Privilege means getting to have full communication with parents and family in their first language.

Hearing Privilege means getting to share the same cultural values as their family.

Hearing Privilege means not having to defend and fight to have their language recognized and respected.

Hearing Privilege means being able to apply at any job they choose without fear of discrimination.

Hearing Privilege means being able to watch almost anything on TV, movie theaters, internet, video games, etc without needing captioning, even if the material doesn't have them in the first place.

Hearing Privilege means being considered a part of “normal” society.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect fair customer service at stores and restaurants.

Hearing Privilege means being able to easily communicate on the telephone and not be hung up on because the person on the other side of the line doesn't want to deal with them.

Hearing Privilege means being at ease at restaurants, on buses, ferries, trains, and airplanes because if anything goes wrong, they'll hear a warning being announced.

Hearing Privilege means having auditory devices easily accommodated to them such as doorbells and alarms.

Hearing Privilege means being able to easily and freely engage in conversation with family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and strangers.

Hearing Privilege means being able to go to a museum or special events without needing an interpreter.

Hearing Privilege means not having their intelligence automatically questioned as soon as someone meets them.

Hearing Privilege means not having people come up to them and try and be funny by mimicking their language.  

Hearing Privilege means being able to go out without making sure they have paper and pen on them at all times in case they need to communicate.

Hearing Privilege means not having to worry about whether they are lip-reading someone properly.

Hearing Privilege means not having to worry about showing up and being singled out as “the only person like that” at an event.

Hearing Privilege means being happy with the way they are and not having to defend their reasoning for not wanting to change anything about themselves.

Hearing Privilege means being able to go any social event without feeling left out because the majority is communicating in a different language on a regular basis.

Hearing Privilege means being able to understand conversations at social events without worrying about missing stuff, asking what was said, and being told “never mind” or suchlike.

Hearing Privilege means being able to feel sure that any social event they choose to attend will be easily accessible to them, and do not feel the need to get in touch in advance to ensure that it is accessible.

Hearing Privilege means not constantly having to explain and defend their very existence.

Hearing Privilege means not constantly having to explain and defend the fact the language they use is in fact a real language.

Hearing Privilege means your parents will share the same culture and language as them.

Hearing Privilege means being able to participate in family conversations without having to struggle to understand the content of these conversations.

Hearing Privilege means not worrying about their parents going to extreme measures such as surgeries and therapies to change who they fundamentally are and how they communicate.

Hearing Privilege means knowing their parents will love and accept them for who they basically are.

Hearing Privilege means they can typically expect to have a loving, supportive relationship with their families.

Hearing Privilege means being able to often look forward to visiting and being with family, and go to big family events and know they are accessible.

Hearing Privilege means being able to turn on the TV and expect to find programming in their language and see themselves represented, and often fairly accurately, on screen.

Hearing Privilege means being able to watch a nationally televised sporting event or suchlike and hear the National Anthem performed in its entirety. When a deaf ASL performer is doing so alongside the hearing performer, we will all too often see only a few token seconds of the singed performance; almost never the enure performance. This happened again during this year's Superbowl.

Hearing Privilege means when something goes wrong with the audio portion of a television show, they can expect it will be fixed immediately. Problems with closed captions often will persist throughout the duration of most, if not the entire, show.

Hearing Privilege means not having to think about whether a show they want to watch will be accessible to them or not.

Hearing Privilege means being able to go to a movie and expect not to stick out like a sore thumb by having weird-looking devices that give captions. They also do not have to waste time getting and returning said devices. And they don't have to worry about them messing up and missing information in the movie. And also can have full access to the soundtrack without having to rely on unsatisfactory halfway measures such as the “Captiview” and “caption glasses”.

Hearing Privilege is getting their instruction directly from teachers and not through a third party such as interpreters.

Hearing Privilege means they can expect their teachers and other educational personnel to be fluent in the same language as theirs.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect to attend school in the same neighborhood as they live in, and with peers who are like themselves.

Hearing Privilege means expecting their educational, and just about any other, environment to be set up for their learning and social needs.

Hearing Privilege means expecting their language to be valued and supported, and without pressure to be changed by forces outside of their linguistic community.

Hearing Privilege means being able to communicate directly with their doctors and other medical personnel without a third party in the room or needing to resort to writing.

Hearing Privilege means if being treated for a condition, they won't be asked by the EMTs why they have not undergone totally unrelated medical procedures, such as getting a cochlear implant.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect to see politicians and candidates for office who look and speak like them.

Hearing Privilege means expecting to see politicians and candidates for office who will discuss issues that are directly important to them.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect to express issues that are important to themselves to politicians without needing to explain why these are important or what the issue is about.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect to run for office themselves without people doubting their capabilities due to lack of hearing and also be seriously considered.

Hearing Privilege means being able to communicate with store personnel directly and without any difficulties in communication.

Hearing Privilege means being able to strike up a conversation with a random stranger in line and expect that person to respond in a similar manner.

Hearing Privilege means being able to have their job application considered without being immediately eliminated for the position solely because they communicate differently.

Hearing Privilege means not having to disclose whether they are hearing or deaf to potential employers out of fear of discrimination.

Hearing Privilege means not having to make decisions on whether to ask for an interpreter at a job interview or risk misunderstandings if they tough it out by lipreading and speak for themselves.

Hearing Privilege means not having to defend their capability for a job by having to explain how they can perform job functions differently.

Hearing Privilege means being able to call and attend meetings at the last minute without worrying if an interpreter will be present.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect law personnel to communicate with them directly and in their own language.

Hearing Privilege means being able to communicate after being arrested and placed in handcuffs. One can't sign with hands with their hands behind their back.

Hearing Privilege means being able to expect the legal system to work for them, since the system is based on the social norms that are shared by hearing people.

Hearing Privilege means expecting to be tried by a jury of their peers, of whom at least a significant percentage share their identity and life experiences.

Hearing Privilege means generally expecting to be treated more fairly in the justice and law system.

Hearing Privilege is not worrying about burdening your class with interpreter requests for meetings/events. No last minute group meetings.

Hearing Privilege is when you can take notes and listen to the teacher at the same time. You can take advantage of incidental learning.

Hearing Privilege is being able to continue to higher levels of education without worrying about interpreters' level of expertise in your field.

Hearing Privilege is being able to choose your class options based on interest, not interpreter availability.

Hearing Privilege is knowing that the language you use is valid, in some school districts American Sign Language isn't considered a language.

Hearing Privilege is having full access to educational and professional resources to advance your career, without fighting for accessibility.

Hearing Privilege is having access to all media and content when a dangerous situation arises, deaf people find out last minute or later.

Hearing Privilege is no having to decide whether to search for a different doctor, or fight for your right to an interpreter.

Hearing Privilege is going to any cultural event, even if you learn about it in the last minute.

Hearing Privilege is being able to see that theater performance when it is available, for deaf people they might have sign language interpreters but it is not guaranteed.

Hearing Privilege means being able to make last minute decisions about going to a seminar/lecture or not.

Hearing Privilege is when people autocratically assume you're so much smarter than all deaf people solely because you can hear and they can't.

Hearing Privilege is assuming all deaf people are mute, or assuming a deaf person can hear normally just because the person speaks.

Hearing Privilege means access to policy, thus power over life in society, education, and work.

Hearing Privilege means being able to speak out against Audism and be taken more seriously than people who actually live with it.

Hearing Privilege is being able to access Facebook Livestreams and webinars Live in the moment and not waiting and wondering if they will have it captioned for the replay.

Hearing Privilege is not having one's own culture negated or questioned in a graduate level cultural diversity course by a teacher who claims to be a culturally competent therapist. This is despite the fact deaf culture is real and deserves to be acknowledged and honored.

Hearing Privilege is deciding against making the extra effort to ensure that any performance in a 4-weekend run of any theatrical production is accessible to deaf audiences, or assuming all audience members are hearing.

Hearing Privilege is when a deaf person requests a live interpreter for an appointment and the receptionist/doctor says that someone else (a hearing person) told them that using VRI is acceptable and that a live interpreter is not needed.

Hearing Privilege is being able to get involved in a social event or sporting event without requesting special accommodations.

Hearing Privilege is suddenly cutting off the conversation with a deaf person when you hear the other hearing person talk to you.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't get hung up on when calling for a job interview.

Hearing Privilege is not having your reading or writing skills questioned or not having someone tell you that you read or write better than expected.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't have to start a due process against your school's special education director to get the accommodations you need.

Hearing Privilege is when your parents don't have to deal with strangers or doctors that try pushing or tried to threaten to sue your parents to get cochlear implants for you.

Hearing Privilege is not having to worry about people telling you “it's not important” or “I'll tell you later” in a group conversation.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't have to worry about getting the wrong information in class.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't have to experience fast food restaurant works get customers behind you to cut in front of you when you are writing or typing down your order.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't have to prove the accommodation laws to the apartments you live in that you need flashing lights for doorbell and fire alarms when they refuse to provide or try to make you pay for it.

Hearing Privilege is when you aren't asked if you read lips or not.

Hearing Privilege is when people don't insult or mock you or be rude in general in comments sections when you point out inaccessible content for deaf people.

Hearing Privilege is not having to have a special channel so you can participate in the election process.

Hearing Privilege is applying for a job and not needing to worry about possibly bumping into the person(s) who decided to decline your application.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't have to worry about accessibility due to the ones developing new technology being mainly hearing people.

Hearing Privilege is not having to deal with people asking you stupid things due to you being deaf.

Hearing Privilege is deciding what is “good” enough for deaf people without first asking them.

Hearing Privilege is when you don't have to struggle as much just to be able to understand when someone speaks in low voice.

Hearing Privilege means not having to search for the script to your favorite radio shows or online interviews, or looking for the captions to turn them on.

Hearing Privilege is not being silenced by your interpreter simply because you were trying to ask a question to clarify something.

Hearing Privilege is being able to travel to any part of the world without being looked down upon because of how some cultures view deaf people.

Hearing Privilege is not worrying about having enough communication access around.

Hearing Privilege is being able to go to any concert without an interpreter.

Hearing Privilege is getting invited to different events or simple friends' gatherings without worrying about accessibility.

Hearing Privilege means not being ignored at the drive-thru, yelled at by cashiers, getting weird looks, etc.

Hearing Privilege means many videos on the internet, social media, etc are accessible despite many lacking captions, and even don't have the option to pick the setting.

Hearing Privilege is not having someone tell your partner they're “screwed up” in the head for being attracted to a deaf person.

Hearing Privilege is being able to go to any concert, even theater performances, or shows and not have to request or argue for rights to language access.

Hearing Privilege is when an interpreter's emotions are being over-valued over a deaf person's when that deaf person has serious complaints about the interpreter's conduct or skills.

Hearing Privilege is being able to place a direct phone call to a doctor's office, bank, school, or other institution and not worry if they will hang up on you because you have to use a third party as an interpreter, and the institution might view that as a burden.

Hearing Privilege is growing up understanding movies, radio, and shows. And not finding out about captions so late in one's development since back then deaf accessible shows and movies were a rarity.

Hearing Privilege is never having to look at the back of DVDs hoping its captioned and/or subtitled and walking away frustrated after a string of them are not accessible.

Hearing privilege is not being frustrated when you get a DVD that is related to your favorite series and it says it is captioned yet doesn't have them when you play the DVD. And getting angry as a result.

Hearing Privilege is knowing when your order is called, it's time to board your flight, being okay with getting calls from your doctor or mechanic, or when a counter is open without any visual cues to help you.

Hearing Privilege is knowing that the fact they're hearing won't affect job prospects.

Hearing Privilege means being able to feel sure any social event attended will be easily accessible, and do not feel the need to get in touch in advance to ensure it is accessible.

Hearing Privilege is when you have deaf friends on your social media and keep posting videos without including any captions or transcripts.

Hearing Privilege is when you hear a song for the first time and can catch around 80 percent of what's being said without needing to use a website.

Hearing Privilege is when a university does not recognize American Sign Language as a world language due to their belief and practice of phonocentrism.

Hearing Privilege is being able to hear someone walking behind you when it's too dark to be able to detect their presence.

Hearing Privilege is not getting mentally, physically, and verbally exhausted finding ways to communicate, or holding a conversation.

Hearing Privilege is going out to eat and understanding the waiter/waitress without extra effort or needing someone to interpret for you.

Hearing Privilege is being able to go to church or public speaking event of your choice, and not worry about if you'll have to “lip read” the speaker or if there will be an interpreter available.

Hearing Privilege is being able to listen to, understand, and enjoy a brand new song on the radio without looking up the lyrics.

Hearing Privilege is not being shoved out of the way in an elevator, bicycle path, or smacked hard by a shopping cart at the grocery store or otherwise manhandled without consent or a heads up when you don't respond to “excuse me.”

Hearing Privilege is when you can hear teachers of the deaf discussing in spoken English how they think a deaf child's question is “stupid”.

Hearing Privilege is knowing the car started without having to check the rpms.

Hearing Privilege is knowing the microwave popcorn is done before you smell it burning.

Hearing Privilege is knowing the water is still running or the vacuum is still on when you walk away.

Hearing Privilege is being able to go to any even last minute and understand without having to request an accommodation at least a week in advance.

Hearing Privilege is being able to call your phone to find it and locate it by sound as you get closer or farther away.

Hearing Privilege is hearing your phone ring from the other room, not missing calls because you didn't see the light flash.

Hearing Privilege is not being asked by many others what the game score is as they walk past you leaving church because you were using headphones with an FM system that looks like a radio in order to hear the sermon.

Hearing Privilege is not going to a movie, concert, or event with friends, that you planned in advance for, only to be told when you arrive that the sound system (CART/captions/interpreter) is unavailable.

Hearing Privilege is not being in the middle of a contentious court case when the judge says no one needs to speak your language (interpret) anymore because the other party's attorney says you understand fine without it.

Hearing Privilege is hearing the travel announcement that something changed before you missed your flight or passed the last subway station you could have transferred from.

Hearing Privilege is when you meet a deaf person who can use ASL to communicate and ask them way they haven't tried getting cochlear implants and be “cured”.

Hearing Privilege is when someone calls your office to leave a bomb threat and everyone gets the alert to get out of the building immediately. The deaf keeps working, not knowing.

Hearing Privilege is going to urgent care or the DMV without an appointment and being helped. And not turned away because they don't have an interpreter available.

Hearing Privilege is knowing institutions of education are well prepared, informed, and educated in how to teach and develop natural skills/abilities.

Hearing Privilege is when a hearing person knows someone is deaf and still talk in their face, using the advantage they can't have.

Hearing Privilege is when every school is required to have 4 SLPs and every school is seeking for funds to find an ASL therapist.

Hearing Privilege is when you applied for the federal government jobs through Schedule A certification for people with disabilities, they hired people with disabilities who can hear and use the voice. The government claimed “we are hiring targeted disabilities.” Actually, they are hiring targeted disabilities who can hear and use the voice.

Hearing Privilege is when the federal government employers say they chose applicants who have veteran background over applicants who have no background in the military, the military's policy says they cannot hire deaf people.

Hearing Privilege is when parents don't need to worry about fighting for their rights to place they hearing/deaf children in a specific/local school, and have to fight for their rights to place their deaf children in a deaf school.

Hearing Privilege is when hearing children are allowed to learn Spanish and ASL in public schools. While listening-spoken language parents allow their deaf children to learn Spanish, and forbid their deaf children from learning American Sign Language.

Hearing Privilege is when big companies such as CI, VRS, and Hearing Aids have few deaf employees.

Hearing Privilege is when the education system measures your secondary language in English for the admission for college and the passing score for the certification.

Hearing Privilege is when there is a new opportunity, they are able to move to anywhere, promoting with no problems.

Hearing Privilege is when the governor or state senate/representative wants to close a deaf school, there are many more public schools.

Hearing Privilege is not wrapping themselves into their books, magazines, laptop, or phone when left out of family events.

Hearing Privilege means not feeling entirely alone at big holiday meals with extended family members. It means exchanging more than just obligatory pleasantries with loved ones.

Hearing Privilege is when a hearing person gets to decide what is or isn't important for deaf people to know.

Hearing Privilege is having full access to wedding toasts and funeral eulogies.

Hearing Privilege is being able to talk to family overseas on the phone in their native language.

Hearing Privilege is being able to competitively job hunt purely based on your skill set without worrying about whether or not prospective employers are able/willing to accommodate you. Even though it's the law for them to do so.

Hearing Privilege is being able to make a cup of tea or make something in the oven, etc. without nearly burning down the house from an unheard boiling kettle or a beeping timer alarm unheard.

Hearing Privilege is being able to utilize passive learning modalities such as books on tape, podcasts, etc.

Hearing Privilege is not having to constantly visually double check yourself that the water/newfangled super quiet car motor/fan/etc is turned off.

Hearing Privilege is not having to worry when you need an interpreter to attend local festivals, free classes, workshops, training, and much more.

Hearing Privilege is when they have attitudes to deaf people when they have to use their phones to communicate at the fast food drive thru.

Hearing Privilege is being able to take long walks, runs, or bike rides and listen to podcasts, TED talks, or audio books to pass the time.

Hearing Privilege is the ability to watch videos from any source without worrying about not having captions or how accurate they will be.

Hearing Privilege is being able to decide to attend an event at the last minute without thinking about whether there will be interpretation or if interpreters have already been hired.

Hearing Privilege is not having extra people (interpreters) at a medical appointment.

Hearing Privilege is when glasses are covered by insurance but having to pay up to 5,000 dollars out of your pocket for hearing aids to help you hear since they are not covered by insurance.

Hearing Privilege is when a hearing person tells a deaf person that pursuing their dream in the entertainment industry is unrealistic and a waste of time.

Hearing Privilege is going to a family dinner and not having to wonder what everyone is saying or ask again and again what they said.

Hearing Privilege is making effortless small talk in elevators, trains, and waiting rooms; and people feeling comfortable with you being around.

Hearing Privilege is being able to understand and participate with your family's conversation in their spoken language with ease, not feeling left out.

Hearing Privilege is saving more on the water bill due to being able to hear if the water faucet is turned off or the toilet is still not running after flushing.

Hearing Privilege is being able to easily have close and meaningful relationships with your extended family members because communication is not an issue.

Hearing Privilege is not having to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on hearing devices, speech therapy, and tutors for English. Not having to miss out on certain classes throughout the 12 years of primary education because of speech classes. Not having to miss out on social opportunities. Not having to constantly get in a fight with family for equal access to communication.

Hearing Privilege is not having to use your hair to hide your hearing devices.

Hearing Privilege is being able to get any job without fear of discrimination.

Hearing Privilege is having to not hear “never mind” or “I'll tell you later”, “It's not really that important”, or “You don't need to know.” if one misses a conversation or parts of it.

Hearing Privilege is being able to meet with anyone, anytime at work without having to schedule your time around the interpreter's availability.

Hearing Privilege is being able to access any urgent care, emergency room, or hospital without having to scramble for an interpreter last minute and advocate for your own basic right to communication access.

Hearing Privilege is not understanding that the unemployment rate for deaf/hard of hearing is ridiculously high.

Hearing Privilege is being able to go to conventions and conferences on business and not feeling lost in conversation between others.

Hearing Privilege is knowing what the video premieres will be saying without needing accommodations.

Hearing Privilege is not having to ask the person interviewing you for a job to stop turning their head from you when talking.

Hearing Privilege is being ignorant about deaf culture and American Sign Language, until it happens to you personally.

Hearing Privilege is communicating with others without having to ask them to please look directly at you while attempting a conversation and not having to master the art of gently but firmly letting strangers know that no, it is not okay to be deliberately ignored.

Hearing Privilege is not dreading family events or any events in general just because of communication barriers.

Hearing Privilege is having the choice not to listen.

Hearing Privilege is reading all the Hearing Privilege hashtags and seeing all the stories and going “I never thought about that!”

Hearing Privilege means being able to move along in society on a daily basis without ever having to think about how their hearing has privileged them.

Hearing Privilege is either intentionally or unintentionally making decisions for the deaf without their involvement or participation.

Hearing Privilege is not having everyday communication barriers be the norm.

Hearing Privilege is your roommates, family, etc. not understanding the stuff you go through on a regular basis.

Hearing Privilege is where all deaf people live in a world that accommodates hearing people and forgets about deaf people.

And so much more. To list them all would take many weeks, if not months.

Basically, we live in a culture constructed by and for the hearing majority. The ability to hear naturally offers many advantages and inherent opportunities. We cannot move towards a just and equal society until everyone recognizes this oppressive bias.
I needed to get it off my shoulders, vent. As a person who has a cochlear implant and is completely deaf without it, and dealing with Audism, my feelings needed an outlet. Much like how an artist expresses through artwork, I've done the same through writing.

I also went through sites such a post on Steemit.com, a post in Huffingtonpost.com, as well as the Hearing Privilege page in Facebook.  Some are from things I've heard about, while others are from my own experiences. The Hearing Privilege awareness thing was going on for some time, it was a real eye opener, and I thought of spreading it via writing.

This is not meant to be mean to anyone, I, like many others, wanted to increase awareness of the issue. And I know that not every hearing person has every privilege on the list, obviously some don't for various reasons. And not trying to accuse hearing people, but raise awareness for the daily energy suckers for deaf and hard of hearing people.

One would think with one in eight Americans above the age of 12 having haring loss in both ears, that more effort would be made into making things accessible. And about 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, which means hearing people still lack an understanding and awareness of deaf accessibility challenges and the social isolation surrounding hearing loss.
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IzzyMarrie's avatar
I think this needed to be said.  I'm really sorry for all the crap you have to go through.  In my intro to sociology class fall semester, there was a woman in my class who was completely deaf and without a hearing aid.  She had an interpretor in class with her, and she was really nice.  She'd often talk about deaf culture.  Even when I was in high school, I tried to learn ASL as a second language, but I guess part of me back then wasn't very ambitious, and because of my memory issues that I've had for years now, I wasn't as interested in learning when it didn't come easy to me.  I actually regret that now.  It's a pretty cool language when you think about it, because it's a lot more intimate than speaking with words because you're relying a lot more on reading facial expressions.

I used to not be as expressive of a person when I was younger until moving to South Carolina into a small town with absolutely no friends.  Well, with that aside, it wasn't completely horrible or anything, but going to work for your only social interactions (or the grocery store..post office..etc) not because that's the way you want it, but the only way you can get it, I pretty much started to pick up on people's emotions a lot more over time and was even able to become more empathic, too.  Another reason I mention this is, is because it relates to what I said about the intimacy of language and empathy.  I'm not deaf by any means, but I have hearing loss in my left ear and it's a mystery as to why I have it.  I speculate personally that it could be due to the multiple ear infections I got in that one ear when I was a kid, so perhaps it is scar tissue, but basically.... I read lips a lot, and sometimes I have a difficult time telling which direction a sound is coming from.

Up here in Maine, I've actually met quite a few people through work that use ASL on a daily basis, and quite honestly... even though I don't have that much of hearing loss in comparision, and again, I can hear quite well despite my one ear, it kind of makes me sad that I never learned sign language, especially when there's a larger group of people around where I live that would've been nice to talk to comfortably in their own language.  I mean, I get a lot of smiles and treat the deaf people who come through my check out lane as I would anyone else, although, smiling and speaking a little slower at times if I notice they can't understand me, using a lot more facial expressions (apparently, I'm told this is good by people?), but since I struggle with depression a lot and pretty much feel awkward half the time, I'm pretty sensitive even when I think I shouldn't be.  So when I struggle to hear someone, myself, and I ask the person to repeat what they said and get strange looks or the person seems frustrated, I can feel sympathic towards someone who's in a much more difficult situation than me hearing-wise.  Again, I have no reason to complain, but it keeps making me that even though I do enjoy hearing, maybe I idealize the idea of language being much more expressive and that's another reason I regret having never learned ASL.

Even though I'm told by people that I'm one of the most patient people they've met, that I'm really nice (don't know where people get that idea XD), and yada yada... well, just because I'm sensitive to mood changes that other people don't seem to catch onto, it doesn't mean I completely understand if I'm accessing the situation right, and it always makes me feel like the odd one out for questioning everything.  What someone says can completely contradict what I see in their subtle facial expressions or actions or their tone of voice, but for all I know, maybe I'm reading into it all wrong.  For someone who over analyzes everything somebody says and constantly questions everything silently and is overly sensitive wondering whether what someone says is actually matching their expressions, the few times I have seen someone using sign language makes me feel like there is a definite advantage that most hearing people take forgranted or possibly don't even think about.  Forgive me if I'm wrong, but from someone on the outside, it's a little less confusing speaking with someone who is also deaf who wears their emotions on their face.  I make it sound a little more idealistic than I probably should, and I know it's a generalization that couldn't ever apply to all in the deaf community, but that's personally one of the reasons why sign language in of itself is appealing to me.  I respect it, and I don't know, it makes me wonder that if I were to learn it one day, if maybe it'll be easier to connect with certain people without feeling that strange bit of detatchment.  Since you have to look at the person, it's much harder to get distracted by everything going on around you, and on one hand, that sort of attention is terrifying for me, yet it makes me feel like perhaps that sort of conversation with whoever I would be speaking with at the time would feel more real to me, and I wouldn't think so hard about it  lol  That and from a little farther away, I wouldn't have to get annoyed straining to understand the mumbled pieces of dialogue I'm hearing and guessing at what to say to it XD