Deaf-Friendly Cities in the U.S. Online Report Is Now Available

By Deaf411 | August 7, 2009    http://www.deaf411online.com

[Deaf411] Are the cities we live in doing a good job for deaf people? Should we be satisfied with our lives, or can our lives be better? Should we speak out, fight discrimination and demand improvements?

As deaf people, we try to get along with the hearing world. But does the hearing world try to get along with us? This should be a two-way street; the hearing world should also work with us!

Deaf411 asked people to rate the cities they live in, and has released a report listing cities that ranked highly as deaf-friendly cities. This online report, called “Deaf Friendly Cities in the U.S.,” outlines what makes these cities different from others.

Top Cities in U.S.
The online report is based on survey responses from thousands of deaf people. The report identifies top cities in four regions of the U.S. and also includes in-depth reports on four cities. The in-depth reports are interesting reading, with an overview on the city, deaf businesses, deaf events, and the role of deaf residents in local government.

Deaf Accessibility
The online report also has a cool Deaf Accessibility section with photos of examples to give cities and hearing people ideas on ideal accessibility. Check out Austin, Texas – the city has some neat solutions ranging from something small enough to hold in your hand, to something that is 100 feet large!

Helpful Information
Deaf411 found that some cities are at the cutting edge of deaf-friendly accessibility, while other cities are way behind and offer little or no services for their deaf residents. Hearing people’s attitudes to deaf people also vary greatly from city to city.

Some cities are great places for deaf people to live; other cities are not. Where are those cities? What are these things that make a city a great place for deaf people? Those answers and more can be found in the report.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your government remembered deaf people in events of emergency? How about including deaf people on planning committees? And we all want a bigger variety of events in the community that are accessible to deaf people.

Publicize the Report!
The key thing is to encourage more cities to become deaf-friendly! We all want better lives. You should read the “Deaf Friendly Cities in the U.S” report and let others know about the report. Spreading word about this free report would increase awareness of all of your needs as a deaf citizen.

You could get ideas on how your hometown could be a better place for a deaf person. As more cities set examples of themselves as being deaf-friendly, it becomes easier for other cities to follow and do the same. Please do your part.

To view free Online Report
A new signed + captioned video has been posted with link to the “Deaf-Friendly Cities in the U.S.” online report at http://www.deaf411online.com/12.html.

I had a follow-up visit today with a man I fit with Phonak Nios III’s. I was a little nervous; he and his wife were a bit of a challenge and were very skeptical of everyone they meet. To help you understand a little bit better, let me back up and give you a brief history about this couple. He is 97 and she is a young 80. Both are very intelligent (almost too much for their own good). When I first met them it was at one of our hearing clinics in 2006. They would come by once a month and have his ears checked for wax and get his hearing aids cleaned. His wife would always state “he can’t hear” and “he never talks when we go out to eat with friends.” His wife would never allow us to test his hearing; they were always too busy to have this done.

Now his wife would always complain about how he can’t hear and they can’t do anything fun, but she would never do anything about it. Finally about a year later she let us test him and his hearing was indeed very poor. He did need new hearing aids as his were old and not appropriate for his current level of hearing loss. Well, his wife did not want to proceed and her husband didn’t have a say in the matter. So, every month it is the same thing…she says “he can’t hear” but they (she) won’t do anything about it.

Okay, so let me fast forward to 2009. He and his wife came back to the clinic and wanted to just speak with me in private. I talked with them for awhile and they decided to get him tested again. To make this long story short, they decided they would finally proceed with getting him help with his hearing.

At the delivery of his new Phonak Nios IIIs he did phenomenal. I was working with an almost flat 65db loss but sloped down at 4k and 6k to about 80db and his word recognition was 64%. I started to make some minor adjustments and after I finished and re-tested him, his word recognition he was at 84%. I believe the key is Sound Recover shifting the high frequencies over to an adjacent frequency for better understanding. I was really excited for him but his wife was not satisfied yet. She was still very skeptical of the new hearing aids, even though he did very well. I said “let’s get him out into the world and give them a good test.” She agreed.

Well, today was the day…his one-week checkup. Being a little nervous about how things were going, I walked into their home and the first thing that his wife said was “he is doing exceptionally well.” My mouth about hit the floor! He said, “I could never hear anyone in the car and now I can hear everyone.” He also said, “We went out to dinner and I could actually hold a conversation with our dinner companions.” His wife interjected and said, “I told the couple who we usually go to dinner with that he just got new hearing aids.” She also stated that after the meal was over their friends said “it was nice to be able to talk with the both of you and have your husband be part of our conversations.” His wife was so happy because she says he always just sits there and can’t join in.

I was very happy for this couple. The most ironic thing is that his wife looked at me and said, “he can be a poster boy for these new hearing aids.” Wow! Would have thought that this could be possible, considering the history we have had with one another. It now seems like all her skepticism and distrust is gone! Amen.

I was working with a couple last week who decided they both needed hearing aids. Robert is 96 years old and Maria is 92; you would never believe it by looking at them. Now Robert’s hearing is really bad, he has a flat loss of 90db straight across and Maria’s is about 50db, also a flat loss.

Robert’s word understanding is about 20% with amplification and Maria’s is 60%. So now that I have set you up on how bad their communication skills are, you will understand the challenge that I was going to have.

Maria really didn’t want the hearing aids after I started to talk with her about getting used to the new world of hearing again. She just wanted to get them so she wouldn’t lose her automobile license. She was pretty tough in the beginning but after a bit she started to relax. After about an hour of working with her, she was hearing pretty well with her new Audeo Yes V’s. So now it was her husbands turn!

We started working with Robert and he didn’t care if he had to wear hearing aids, he just wanted to hear! Robert is wearing the Naida V hearing aids also from Phonak. He caught on to everything we were doing right away. I was so amazed. It didn’t take him any longer then 10 minutes to learn how to put the hearing aids in his ears. One of the girls I work with was teaching Robert everything he needed to know about the hearing aids and he did awesome! We worked with him for awhile and he was able to communicate with all of us. It has been so long since he has been able to hear and communicate with his wife and friends.

Robert and Maria were doing really well hearing us talk to them. One of the physical therapists came into the room and was so thankful that she could talk to both of them without having to yell. Everyone that they have had contact with were so happy to be able to talk in a normal tone to Robert and Maria. So, now comes the big test. I looked at Robert and said, “Say something to your wife to see if she can hear you.” Robert looked up at his wife and said, “I love you” and she looked up at him and said, “I love you too.” Wow! what a moment. This is the first time in years that they both could actually hear those precious words.

What a great moment to be able to see and hear.