LoriPA's Journal

Deafness and other hearing impairments are more than a medical conditions and physiological phenomenon; they are a way of life.

The definition of deaf culture is “a set of learned behaviors of a group of people who have their own language, values, rules of behavior, and traditions.” (Carol Padden, 1988)

Those who are deaf or hearing impaired belong to a group of their own —a culture. Like Hispanic or even African-American cultures, there is a strong sense of pride among members of this culture.

It is interesting how many humans in the “hearing” world either do not know that the deaf culture exists or if they do, have little or no actual knowledge about it.

In his book, Mask of Benevolence, Harlan Lane writes on a fierce group loyalty among this group of people, its values extending to being protective of its own community‘s culture and language.

In the United States, the main language is American Sign Language (ASL). They share a common sense of pride in mastering this language as well as the outstanding ability to overcome obstacles and adversity as both individuals and groups.

In addition to mastering ASL, skillful storytelling is also embraced in the deaf /hearing impaired cultures. In recent decades, sign language has played an increasingly central role in the cultural unification of these communities.

However, there are both deaf and hearing impaired individuals that had also been raised in what is termed “the oral tradition.” These people usually used little or no sign language but instead were highly skilled in lip reading.

This tradition was more common throughout the twentieth century, before educators began to both recognize encourage the practice of sign language as an actual language in the 1970’s, but lip reading still continues today, as not all deaf and hearing impaired either are not proficient in sign language or use it at all.

Recent sign language studies have revealed that not only does sign language have a complete syntax and grammar structure of a true language, but it also activates the same neural pathways and brain activities of other languages.

Controversy has stemmed from the result of these findings between the practice of lip reading and sign language immersion. Whereas lip reading encourages deaf and hard of hearing individuals to be a part of mainstream society, making it more acceptable and accessible to “hearing” people to have “normal” conversations with them, the downside is that l-readers are able to reliably understand about 40-60% of what others are saying, and must fill in the blanks for the rest of the conversation despite years of learning the skill.

There are also the obstacles of the person’s mouth being blocked by a hand or their lips not moving clearly for the lip-reader to understand properly, or if a deaf or hearing impaired person’s back is turned to a “hearing” individual, they may not be able to respond at all, giving the wrong impression that the “hearing” person is being ignored.

In any case, whether it is lip reading or sign language, it is important to keep one’s face clear of any obstructions and face the hard of hearing or deaf person at all times when addressing them to avoid any problems in this area.

Another deaf/hearing impaired culture feature is that of marriage and family. Nine out of ten members of these communities usually marry others of the same group and many couples also wish for a child that is deaf to pass on their heritage and cultures. It is not only the language, but also the values; the same values that hearing parents want their own children to learn.

This very much explains the controversy we often hear about deaf parents refusing to let their deaf children receive cochlear implants.

Though these implants could open a new world for such children to a degree, it is their parents seeing being a part of the deaf culture as a source of pride and something to be passed on to their children. Of course, a cochlear implant would have no place in that tradition.

Though other cultures have traditions of dress, cuisine, religion or ethical framework, the cultures of hearing impaired and deaf, there are no specifically Deaf/HoH code of ethics.

They also have no mode of dress. Though the hard of hearing and deaf culture may design their own fashions along the lines of “Deaf Pride” or ASL-themed T-shirts, baseball caps, and badges proudly proclaiming their identities to the world, outside of that, they don’t have a style to which they adhere on a traditional basis.

There are no comparable “Deaf-cuisine” customs, “Deaf foods,” no community-wide “Deaf feasts.” Deaf and hearing impaired people eat what their hearing families and friends enjoy what is popular in American cuisine.

In any case, they too can devise their own meal traditions and celebrate important events such as Deaf Awareness Week or Walk for Hearing, but they celebrate holidays and events such as birthdays and Christmas just like hearing families.

Appreciating the deaf and hearing impaired cultures are important; the strongest points to know that neither are a disability and that the deaf and hearing impaired have integrated themselves into all areas of the world.

They are also more open to people who are willing to learn more about their world and traditions, but also appreciate that important to them that the hearing accept that deaf and hearing impaired cultures as unique and valuable.

Deaf and hearing impaired individuals also tend to put a strong focus on the things they can do, not what they cannot do. Thomas Gallaudet, the namesake of the only deaf university in the United States, has a famous quote—"I can do anything but hear." This is the way that the deaf and hearing impaired communites view themselves in this manner.

It has often been said we tend to fear or avoid things we do not understand. The best way to appreciate the deaf and hard of hearing worlds are to spend time with these individuals as often as possible as well as look into theaters, literature, religious services that use interpreters, study closed captioned shows, and read more resources online, to name a few examples. Another suggestion would be to learn both sign language and lip reading, skills that could help when one least expects to need to use them.

Learning about all cultures is important. It’s what makes our world as a whole more fascinating!