Where deafness and hearing are concerned I think there is sometimes a very real danger of friends and enemies, them and us kind of mindset creeping in. And, to be honest I think most of us fall into this way of seeing the world from time to time.
The reality is somewhat different. Now, I’m very aware of the negative people out there, I meet them on a regular basis. I’m deaf and have different communication needs and I experience challenges that hearing people will never fully understand.
But on the whole, I think most times it is more a case of ignorance than malice.
And this can and does happen on both sides.
Deaf people will often assume they know what hearing people are thinking and why they’re acting the way they are.
At times hearing people are not aware that a person they’re interacting with is deaf and has different needs until there is a problem.
When it comes to customer service, the bosses and company owners should make their staff not just deaf aware, but also disability aware. I think it can be just as frustrating for a hearing person suddenly confronted with something new and out of their comfort zone.
Disability awareness should be taught in school. As it isn’t the onus is on us to help educate the hearing community in any way we can.