Deaf Awareness

Diagnosis I first noticed my hearing problems after a particularly nasty flu virus at the age of 12. I remember distinctly watching The News with my parents and the voices of the presenters sounding distant and bubbly — as if I had placed my head in the bath. …

Sign language. Deaf Culture. Language Acquisition and Deprivation. — Sign languages are beautiful and an important part of Deaf culture and the Deaf community. Communication should be a two-way street. Learning a few simple Signs and how to fingerspell can go a long way in making communication easier for Deaf people. Sign language is not a universal language. Just…

How it all started… — ­­­­­Hi! I’m Ria and am 19 years old. I was diagnosed when I was around 18 months old with congenital bilateral sensorineural severe hearing loss, caused by Connexin 26. I have a twin sister, Karissa, who is also Deaf. …

The Simpsons’ Season 33 episode 17, titled “The Sound of Bleeding Gums” is noteworthy for using American Sign Language (ASL) and for its casting of Deaf actor John Autry II in order to voice the Deaf character Monk. Through this role, Autry has become the first Deaf performer to voice…

For their performance on the UK television show Strictly Come Dancing, Deaf TV star Rose Ayling-Ellis and her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice won the Must-See Moment BAFTA. The music was turned off for a few seconds during their ballroom dance to Clean Bandit’s song “Symphony” as the pair danced…

After 3 years of “Silently” visiting the hospital, Mrs. Bolu (pseudonym) who was identified Deaf died due to cancer of the colon. It was reported that the woman had no way to bridge the communication barrier between herself and the doctor. …

It’s 2022, and virtual engagement has now become a norm. Though connectivity issues occur, the convenience of a virtual platform still outweighs frustration. Common glitches disappear with a single click transition to video-off. Conversations still continue after the briefest pause. Unfortunately, such low-friction workarounds aren’t always available for all users…

One of the themes of our recent Capability Building Event was ‘The impact of Emergencies on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities’. It is thought that between 11 and 12 million people in the UK have some form of hearing loss, with between 900,000 and 1.2 million of these people…