Deaf woman hears herself for the first time

[LA Ute]

As some of you know, my father was deaf and so I have an interest in deafness and the lives of the deaf. Here's a video of a woman, age 29, who was born deaf and is hearing her own voice for the first time:

[YOUTUBE]LsOo3jzkhYA&feature=player_embedded[/YOUTUBE]

[TripletDaddy]

Are you fluent in ASL? That is really amazing.

[LA Ute]

Are you fluent in ASL? That is really amazing.

No, my dad grew up in the pre-ASL era and learned lip reading instead. ASL is much better.

[LiveCoug]

How can she speak so well having been born deaf? How did she understand the other person when her head was in her hands? I don't get that....

[wuapinmon]

How can she speak so well having been born deaf? How did she understand the other person when her head was in her hands? I don't get that....

Exactly.

[Northwestcoug]

Sloan Churman, 29, was born deaf and had never heard the sound of her own voice—until last week.

Eight weeks ago, Churman underwent surgery for a hearing implant called The Esteem Implant by Envoy Medical. Though she'd been wearing hearing aids since the age of 2, she says they “only help so much.” She had her husband record the activation of the implant.

Churmman uploaded the video on YouTube and responded to touched commenters, “Thanks guys! I kind of wish my hubby would have recorded a little longer but he was crying and wanting to bounce around the room : )”
In response to how well she speaks having never heard her own voice, she said she'd gotten by in life by reading lips. “My whole life I've been complimented on how well I speak,” she wrote. “I don't really have an answer for you other than I have always had a passion for reading, grammar, and English. My hearing loss was/is considered severe to profound. I've worked very hard to be able to interact and blend in…only thing I can say is ‘God is good.'”

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/30/tearjerker-alert-deaf-woman-hears-herself-for-the-first-time/#ixzz1Zk8fJvf6

That's such a cool video. Nice to see pure child-like joy in adults.

[jay santos]

That's very touching. I bet Tex wishes that kind of thing would only happen through an authorized priesthood blessing performed by a worthy, Melchizedek priesthood holder.

[wuapinmon]

Sloan Churman, 29, was born deaf and had never heard the sound of her own voice—until last week.

Eight weeks ago, Churman underwent surgery for a hearing implant called The Esteem Implant by Envoy Medical. Though she'd been wearing hearing aids since the age of 2, she says they “only help so much.” She had her husband record the activation of the implant.

Churmman uploaded the video on YouTube and responded to touched commenters, “Thanks guys! I kind of wish my hubby would have recorded a little longer but he was crying and wanting to bounce around the room : )”
In response to how well she speaks having never heard her own voice, she said she'd gotten by in life by reading lips. “My whole life I've been complimented on how well I speak,” she wrote. “I don't really have an answer for you other than I have always had a passion for reading, grammar, and English. My hearing loss was/is considered severe to profound. I've worked very hard to be able to interact and blend in…only thing I can say is ‘God is good.'”

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/30/tearjerker-alert-deaf-woman-hears-herself-for-the-first-time/#ixzz1Zk8fJvf6

That's such a cool video. Nice to see pure child-like joy in adults.

But that she would be able to understand questions asked, in such a natural manner, having never heard them before, even though she could speak, makes me skeptical of the video. It would be a lot like hearing a foreign language for the first time. How do I make sense of these signifiers that I've never encountered before? I could speak, but I could never hear what I was saying. It doesn't follow that I would know how to process and interpret them so quickly the first time. There's a problem of interaction with the symbolic universe in the video that I can't say I believe.

[LA Ute]

But that she would be able to understand questions asked, in such a natural manner, having never heard them before, even though she could speak, makes me skeptical of the video. It would be a lot like hearing a foreign language for the first time. How do I make sense of these signifiers that I've never encountered before? I could speak, but I could never hear what I was saying. It doesn't follow that I would know how to process and interpret them so quickly the first time. There's a problem of interaction with the symbolic universe in the video that I can't say I believe.

My dad got by reading lips too, and also had some hearing (about 15%, with nerve deafness, so he could hear sounds but they were mostly unintelligible to him - EDIT: he wore a hearing aid too). His speech was as good as the woman's on the video. So your skepticism, although understandable, doesn't seem well-founded to me.

[Northwestcoug]

My wife has experience with deaf people, and she was skeptical as well. I assume she wasn't completely deaf at birth. At any rate, in the spirit of general conference, I choose to believe

[falafel]

But that she would be able to understand questions asked, in such a natural manner, having never heard them before, even though she could speak, makes me skeptical of the video. It would be a lot like hearing a foreign language for the first time. How do I make sense of these signifiers that I've never encountered before? I could speak, but I could never hear what I was saying. It doesn't follow that I would know how to process and interpret them so quickly the first time. There's a problem of interaction with the symbolic universe in the video that I can't say I believe.

There's very little actually speaking by her in the video. Are you sure there's enough evidence for you to decided that its fake?

[Green Monstah]

LAUte,

Is it true that the deaf community looks down upon efforts to hear? I worked for a small time with an ASL branch on my mission (in a minor role), and I was shocked to learn that many of the deaf members who wore hearing aids were frowned upon, and some people even took offense to the notion that they'd be "hearies" when they were ressurrected.

It may have been a vocal minority, but it was eye opening, though short, experience for me (and somewhat difficult not to inadvertently offend people).

[wuapinmon]

There's very little actually speaking by her in the video. Are you sure there's enough evidence for you to decided that its fake?

That's not what I said. Skepticism does not imply, necessarily, that something is fake, false, or fraudulent.

[falafel]

That's not what I said. Skepticism does not imply, necessarily, that something is fake, false, or fraudulent.

... then what are you saying? That she exaggerated her [in]ability to hear? What are you skeptical of?

[wuapinmon]

... then what are you saying? That she exaggerated her [in]ability to hear? What are you skeptical of?

Yes. I'm skeptical that someone could so naturally respond to a question like after 0:55 in. She understands immediately when asked if she can hear her own voice. She even is able to distinguish between "does it sound loud?" "No, not really."

Hence, skeptical that she's hearing her voice, or anyone's, for the first time [ever].