Deaf Voice

How does one learn to talk when he cannot hear himself talk? I don’t think anyone except a deaf person would be able to understand. Since Steve became deaf at seven years old, I believe it was not as difficult for him as it would be for someone who is born deaf. He talks well and most of the time people have no trouble understanding him, except for when he pronounces a word exactly like it is spelled. I have learned to understand everything. I visualize the word in my mind and figure it out that way. Usually when we communicate, he talks and I sign. It seems a little backwards that the deaf person talks and the hearing person signs.

His natural deaf voice is deep and loud. He is unaware of course except for the first time we went to church together and he spoke in the chapel just before church started. Most adults in church didn’t notice or they ignored it, but the children around us looked at him, all at the same time. I told him his voice was a little too loud. Now he does not talk at all in the chapel and just signs to me. I’m not sure if it would have been better to not say anything because it embarrassed him.

When he is talking to someone one on one, he does not worry about what his voice sounds like. He has received plenty of feedback from people that tell him he talks well. Plus he likes to joke around and people love that about him. His deaf voice is part of his charm.

When he is in a crowd, he talks more quietly because he does not want to be embarrassed like he was that one time in church. Funny thing is though, this is usually when he needs to talk loud. But how would one know when he can’t hear?

For example, we went to a restaurant a few days ago. The waiter leaned over several times and asked him to repeat what he said. Steve asked me why the waiter could not hear him. I told him it was because of all the noise in the restaurant; the people talking, the noise in the kitchen, and the music playing. For most hearing people, our brains are so use to filtering out background noise that it didn’t even register to me how noisy the place was until he asked me that question.

Since the waiter could not hear him, Steve wrote notes or pointed on the menu what he wanted. Neither of us used our voices for the entire meal. We only signed to each other, and I was pleased with myself that I understood almost everything he said (signed). It was also nice to not have to yell in order to be heard above the background noise. That was a fun meal.

Fortunately, there was enough light in the restaurant so it was not difficult to see each other. If we had been eating by candlelight, it may have been difficult to communicate. Now you might ask, “How do you two communicate in the dark?” The answer is simple. We don’t or Steve does all the talking. When the lights are out, communication is done�- unless I painted my fingernails with glow-in-the-dark enamel. Maybe not.