Mailbag: Please consider the needs of the hearing-impaired

Please consider the needs of the hearing-impaired

Please Be Patient.

These are the words that are most likely to be inscribed on my gravestone.

For the last 30 years, I have been hearing-impaired. So I know a little bit about this subject. In an article published by the Los Angeles Times in 2012[, I described the challenges facing the hearing disabled community. I received more than 300 responses from people who thought they were alone.

No, we are not!

Four years have passed, and more of my Baby Boomer friends are starting to deal with hearing issues. So, it because of you, and others of our generation, that I was prompted to write this letter.

To My Hearing Friends:

We know you get frustrated when we ask you to repeat what you said. But we are not doing it on purpose. We value what you have to say and want to hear it accurately. Our hearing aids are helpful, but do not take the place of normal hearing.

We know you are perplexed when we answer or respond inappropriately. But it means that we “missed some words,” and filled in the blanks incorrectly. It’s embarrassing to us when we realize our mistake. Please feel free to correct us without being obvious.

We know you think you have to speak very loudly and slowly when in our company. Yes, we love that you care, but loud doesn’t mean shout, and slow doesn’t mean crawl. If you project well, speak clearly, and face us, it should do the trick.

We know you enjoy our company, as we do yours. But when we are out together, we will try to maximize our hearing ability. That means we may try for a front row seat at an event, and request a quiet table in a restaurant.

If we are in a large group setting, we may stand away from the most crowded areas, where multiple conversations are taking place. If we go to a movie together, we will probably suggest a theater that has the latest in hearing assisted devices, like closed captioning glasses.

We are used to making accommodations for ourselves, and do the best we can. All we ask is that you have patience with us. Our self-esteem may depend on it, as well as the quality of our friendship.

To quote Mark Twain, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

Terri Goldstein

Newport Coast

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Fairview center belongs in public hands

I trust you will report the real reason behind the closure of the Fairview Developmental Center facility, which is that the property is wanted for real estate purposes.

Just as closing the motel up the road was not about getting rid of the riff-raff, but to build more housing. This is about helping the real estate developers, and not the implicit reason of improving the care for the seriously disabled.

At least they could hide their real intentions a smidgen better. Especially since the land may not be repurposed for the people of the city, county or state, but could pass into the private sector (real estate developers) instead of a different type of facility to benefit the people.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s “austerity program” is simply a front for selling off government land, and a beautiful piece of land it is.

Peggy Rogers

Costa Mesa