Abstract: The objective of this study was conducted in order to see if deaf individuals display both better and worse visual skills than having the ability to perceive sounds. Also, to determine if it is possible that early auditory deprivation would cause vision to enhance. The data for this study was collected and analyzed in this way by using bulk of literature on deafness reports; describing the deficiencies in deaf individuals. The subjects undergo three different studies: selective effects on deafness on visual cognition, deafness alters the spatial distribution of visual attention, and neural correlates of cross-modal plasticity. The results showed that in hearing individuals, central distractors are more distracting than peripheral
The researchers proposed that the aspects of vision are attentionally demanding and to use auditory-visual convergence to benefit the deaf community. The study provided that auditory deprivation leads to enhanced peripheral visual attention putting deaf individuals at risk in academic settings. Academic settings usually rely on central attention in distracting environment. The three findings of previous relevant studies were that there were “no change in or worse performance by deaf individuals on a variety of tasks as compared to hearing [2, 3].” The bulk of the literature described deficiencies in deaf individuals where recent evidences documented that enhancement of a few perceptual and cognitive skills following congenital deafness [4, 5]. Also, the “discrepancies in the literature might be largely explained by the fact that most studies reporting deficient functions typically include deaf subjects with heterogeneous backgrounds.” The goal of this study was to determine if deaf individuals have enhanced perceptual
Also, the “subjects were warned that either a square or a diamond would appear in one of the six rings, and they were to decide as fast and as accurately as possible which shape was presented.” On every trial, the outside of the target rings appeared as the distractor shape and the shape could be the same shape as either the target or the alternative target. The study found that hearing individuals showed greater distractibility from central than peripheral distractors, while deaf individuals showed the opposite. Another findings were that “in hearing individuals attention is at its peak in the center of the visual field, deaf individuals show greater attention at peripheral locations.” Lastly, the “auditory areas in the superior temporal sulcus, caudal to the primary auditory cortex, showed greater recruitment in Deaf than in hearing individuals when processing visual, tactile, or signed stimuli [23, 24,
Tanner, D.C. (2003). Chapter 6: Hearing Loss and Deafness. In Exploring communication disorders: A 21st century introduction through literature and media (2nd ed., p.192). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
Through Deaf Eyes is a documentary conveying various aspects of Deaf life, such as school, culture, and deaf history. It was filled with information and provides a great overview. Although my reactions varied throughout the movie, I really enjoyed it. The parts about how segregation impacted the black and white deaf communities interested me; I hadn’t considered how that would affect deaf culture.
Rago, C. (1994, Nov 04). PETER COOK'S `YOUR EYES MY HANDS' PUTS DEAFNESS IN SPOTLIGHT. Chicago Tribune (Pre-1997 Fulltext). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/283834665?accountid=26459
My response to this question is two-fold. Firstly, I believe that (for the most part), Deaf people actually like being deaf. While observing my neighbor (who happens to be deaf), I realize, he is never unpleasant, he keeps an unceasing smile on his face, is eager to help us hearing neighbors whenever applicable, and in general, he always looks for the silver lining in the clouds. I don’t think that I could ever work up the nerve to ask him if he’d desired the ability to hear. I’ve never seen him preoccupied with his inability to hear, so why should I. His deafness is a part of who he is. In our book, it mentions that being Deaf is a part of the individuals’ personality, an attribute just as important to a person that is right or left-handed. Why would Deaf people want to be hearing? If a person is born deaf, such as my neighbor, they don’t find themselves missing what they never experienced. Our book lends to us the illustration of someone who is
The effects of perceptual load on the occurrence of inattentional blindness were demonstrated clearly by experiment. In an experiment conducted by Finch and Lavie in 2007, participants were given identical series of central cross-targets with two arms of clearly different color (blue and green) and slightly different length. Participants were split in two groups, one performing an easy task (low load condition) and the other a harder task (high load condition). The group performing the easiest task only had to make color discrimination between the tw...
McLachlan, N. M., Phillips, D. S., Rossell, S. L., & Wilson, S. J. (2013). Auditory processing
The deaf and hearing cultures express their individual styles in similar ways, through art, music, literature and even language. It is a common misconception that the deaf are unable to truly understand music, however Christine Sun Kim argues that the deaf understand it more than any one else. The deaf understand music and language through movement, wether it be through dance or even a drawing. Kim explain how deaf understand music by showing a musical staff which lacks notes. She explains that the deaf understand the slight movements in the hand drawn staff are perceived as a small slight sound and that to the deaf and in the hearing world their is no such thing as silence. Only very subtle noise. Kim then explains that sign language and
Individuals who are deaf or are hearing impaired are faced with many problems in today’s world. There are so many tasks and activities that are done today that deaf or hearing impaired people may have difficulty doing because of there handicap. There handicap used to stop them or inhibit them from doing something that they are interested in or there friends and neighbors would do. However in today there are new and different technologies, that help the deaf and hearing impaired in the activities in which they want to participate in which is hard for them to take part in because of there handicap. Technology is used to help with everyday tasks in the lives of deaf and hearing impaired individuals. With out this new technology which is being invented everyday, deaf and hearing impaired people may be considered to have a handicap which prevents them from certain activities, but this is not the case anymore, now these people just have different obstacles which through the use of technology they are learning to over come. They can do anything that regular normal range of hearing individuals can do, due to the new technology being invented everyday.
The documentary of “Through Deaf Eyes” has open my eyes to the deaf culture. The movie has made it “click” that deaf people are just that people and individuals like me. Deaf community has its struggles just like everyone else. They struggle with growing into who they are as a person, harmful situations, and feeling a sense of belonging. They just speak a different language like Italians and Hispanics. Communicating with a different language does not make them lesser than a hearing person. When able to learn to communicate, the deaf are able to learn and gain knowledge just like a hearing person. The only difference is they have to learn more and work harder to achieve their goals and gain knowledge, which a hearing person learns just by hearing their surroundings.
The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007). The deaf culture and hard of hearing have plenty of arguments and divisions with living in a hearing world without sound however, that absence will be a starting point of an identity within their culture as well as the hearing culture (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007).
What’s the difference between the deaf and the hearing? There is only one thing that separates the two, the ability to hear. In the Movie see what I’m saying four talented deaf individuals try everything they can to increase the fame and deaf awareness.
Today’s society consists of numerous individuals who are diagnosed with disabilities that prevent them from partaking in their everyday tasks. Not everyone gets the chance to live a normal life because they might have a problem or sickness that they have to overcome. Deafness is a disability that enables people to hear. All deafness is not alike; it can range in many different forms. Some people like Gauvin, can be helped with a hearing aid, but some can’t because of their situation and health reasons. In society, hearing individuals consider deafness a disability, while the deaf themselves see it as a cultural significance. In the article “Victims from Birth”, appearing in ifemnists.com, Founding Editor Wendy McElroy, provides the story of
Deaf Culture is often misunderstood because the hearing world thinks of deafness as a handicap. The Deaf are not given enough credit for their disabilities even though they are unable to hear. Being misunderstood is the biggest reason why they are not accepted in the world of hearing. The learning process for them may be slower and more difficult to learn, but they are still very bright individuals. The problem at hand is the controversy of trying to “fix” the Deaf when they may or may not want to be “fixed”. The hearing world should give Deaf people a chance to show their true talents and abilities of intelligence before rushing to assumptions, such as hearing aids will fix all Deaf people, because Deaf are dumb, have social problems, and
So today, I have shared with you my journey in deafness. Being deaf can be hard, but it is not the end of the world. I can do what anyone else can do such as talk, play sports and hang out with friends. Every person’s journey is different. For me the key to success is perseverance.
Hearing is known to be an automatic function of the body. According to the dictionary, hearing is, “the faculty or sense by which sound is perceived; the act of perceiving sound,” (“hearing…”). Hearing is a physical and involuntary act; therefore, unless one is born with a specific form of deafness, everyone has the natural ability to hear sounds. Sounds constantly surround us in our everyday environments, and because we are so accustomed to hearing certain sounds we sometimes don’t acknowledge them at all (or “listen” to them). The dictionary definition of listening is, “to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing,” (“listening…”). This differs from hearing in that this is a voluntary action, and we have control over what we choose to listen to. As stated by William Seiler and Melissa Beall, “You don’t have to work at hearing; it just happens… Listening, on the other hand, is active and requires energy and desire,” (145).