Common difficulties
Times of Danger
Being a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person in times of danger can be really stressful, scary, and often traumatising; it’s like that for everyone, but when you are Deaf, you might feel even more anxious about talking to another person (first responders, nurses, doctors, etc.) about what happened and what’s going on because you don’t know what to do or how to communicate with them. They might not know you’re deaf, and you might feel ashamed to tell them you have a disability. Some of these dangers include:
EMERGENCY ALERTS
Not being able to hear warning signals: If you are outside, in a noisy environment, or somewhere with a lot of background noise, you can miss many things happening around you and often not hear when there is danger, such as:
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Fire alarms
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Sirens (police, ambulance, fire trucks, natural disasters
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verbal signals
Being unable to hear these warning signals can put a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing person in a dangerous situation.
As a Deaf person, there is reduced awareness of surroundings when out—not because they aren’t focused, but because they are trying to do so many things at once. Listening for things, watching how other people are acting and reacting, etc., sometimes means we just don’t have the same situational awareness as a lot of other people. This means they might not be able to hear approaching vehicles, bikes, and other things coming up behind them; they may not hear people shouting, or hear warnings and hazards that are out of sight. This can happen in streets, busy places, and anywhere with a lot of noise and activity.
FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNICATION
As a Deaf person, calling 000 or any emergency services line can be really stressful and difficult. Communicating over the phone can be unreliable, with calls cutting in and out, creating even more communication barriers. There are alternative ways to communicate, such as text-based services, but these aren’t available everywhere, and response times and access can vary.
In times of danger, Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals may panic, which can lead to them isolating themselves out of fear of having to communicate with First Responders and medical staff. Some communication challenges in these situations might include:
People are panicking and using verbal instructions only, which makes it hard, especially if they are in a rush and moving around all the time.
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Being left out of group discussions and communications.
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The need to rely on other people noticing and helping them.
There are many communication barriers when it comes to First Responders and Deaf or hard-of-hearing people. Communication can be a real problem in dangerous situations, especially because in emergencies, people tend to be moving around, talking quickly, and not being entirely clear about what’s happening. This causes Deaf or Hard of Hearing people to miss out on big chunks of information, not understand what is being said, or not be able to hear at all. This makes it hard for them to follow instructions and sentences, which can lead to them feeling unsure and uncomfortable. Most of the time in these situations, there are no interpreters available, so if someone is nonverbal or doesn’t use any hearing devices, they might have no way to communicate properly with others. Even if there is an interpreter, it may take some time for them to arrive at the scene or place. As you would expect in these types of situations, misunderstandings are bound to happen, which delays the time for people to get help and get out of danger.
NIGHT TIME SAFETY
When Deaf or Hard of Hearing people are asleep, they tend to take off their hearing devices if they use any, which leaves them with limited hearing or none at all. This means they cannot hear alerts or alarms—such as fire or smoke alarms, which will not wake them up. Bed shakers and flashing lights are good solutions for times of danger when they are sleeping, because they wake them up, not sound. If this equipment is not used, alarms may not wake them up until it’s too late.
Overall, anyone can experience these things, but being Deaf or Hard of Hearing in these situations can make people feel very isolated, as if no one cares that they are experiencing trauma and fear, and that they feel left out and uncared for because they have a disability. If there were more awareness and training in the fields for medical staff and first responders, then Deaf or Hard of Hearing people might feel less scared to talk to a medical professional and be able to communicate better. This can be a really stressful time for everyone—just slow down.