{"id":496,"date":"2021-08-14T00:44:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T20:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jrtwine.com\/blog\/?p=496"},"modified":"2022-07-10T01:36:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-09T21:36:01","slug":"why-do-deaf-noises-make-some-hearies-uncomfortable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jrtwine.com\/blog\/why-do-deaf-noises-make-some-hearies-uncomfortable\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do Deaf Noises Make Some Hearies Uncomfortable?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So this question came up from a Deaf creator that I follow on TikTok<\/a>.\u00a0 She wondered why (hearing) people might judge others based on the noises they make.\u00a0 The specific context here is noise made during communication (ASL production), but can be expanded to any noise that deaf people may be making unbeknownst to them.<\/p>\n

As a hearing person that went though the experience in question (long before I starting learning ASL and learning about the Deaf World) and the things listed below, I believe I am qualified to provide an answer to this.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As hearing people, we are exposed to sounds and noise all the time<\/strong><\/em>, even while in the womb(!).\u00a0 What some deaf people may not\u00a0 initially realize is that just about everything<\/strong> that moves <\/strong><\/em>makes noise!\u00a0 And I am talking about an understanding that goes far beyond that moment where you first learned that farts made a noise! \ud83d\ude1b Other humans, household appliances, vehicles, footsteps, your keyboard and mouse, food cooking, tools, shuffling papers, the ceiling fan, wind… for other people: when someone is putting on clothes, brushing their teeth, sneezing, snoring, etc.\u00a0 \u00a0Some things make loud noises that can be detected further away, some make quieter noises that you have to be close to in order to hear.\u00a0 If we close our eyes and cover our ears, we can sometimes even hear our own heartbeat, pulse, and the sounds of fluids moving through our bodies.<\/p>\n

Because of this constant bombardment of sound, we become conditioned to mentally ignore sounds that are not important in our current environment, but remain alert to those that are.\u00a0 That is, we learn to recognize the “normal<\/strong>” and “abnormal<\/strong>” sounds of our environment.<\/p>\n

Another thing we do is get attuned to the absence<\/em> of sound where there should<\/em> be some.\u00a0 \u00a0For example, your child is playing alone upstairs.\u00a0 You hear the thud<\/strong> <\/em>of them falling down and hear some light crying.\u00a0 You start walking upstairs to check on them because it does not sound serious.\u00a0 Or, after the thud<\/strong><\/em>, you hear screaming and you run upstairs because it sounds like they are really hurt.\u00a0 But what is worse than that?\u00a0 Hearing no sound<\/strong> after the thud<\/strong><\/em>, because\u00a0 then they are likely unconscious or unable to get enough breath to scream.<\/p>\n

For a lighter example, we can be in the kitchen and may not really pay attention to the sound of the dishwasher or the washing machine but will become suddenly aware of when it does not sound right<\/em> which might indicate a problem, like a spray arm hitting something or a drainage problem in the dish washer, an unbalanced washing machine, or if either one is pouring water onto the floor.<\/p>\n

This constant filtering of sounds happens unconsciously<\/strong>, all the time, 24×7, even when we sleep<\/strong>, which is why a hearing parent that could normally sleep soundly through a fire alarm (like yours truly<\/em>) <\/i>might wake up the instant their newborn child makes an odd breath sound in their bassinet (also like yours truly<\/em>) <\/i>.\u00a0 Or when in a crowded environment, we will mentally ignore other ambient noises in order to have a conversation with someone, but something abnormal<\/em> (for the environment) like the sound of breaking glass, someone screaming, a fight breaking out, or a gunshot will snap us out of<\/em> the focused conversation and raise our situational awareness.<\/p>\n

This attunement to what sounds normal (right<\/em>) and what sounds abnormal (wrong<\/em>) affects our behavior, and we make judgments and\u00a0 can form biases on that, too.\u00a0 If I am going to buy a used car, but during the test drive it sounds like it is misfiring on acceleration, its brakes sound like metal on metal, and the power steering system squeals loud as hell when I turn the steering wheel, I would say that car sounds like shit<\/strong><\/em>, and conclude that it is<\/strong><\/em> a piece of shit<\/strong><\/em>, and not buy it.\u00a0 And I likely would be right.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the same thing happens when we first encounter deaf people.\u00a0 \u00a0Note that this is a very different situation than when we first encounter someone that is blind<\/em> or in a wheelchair<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0While there are differences, they (for the most part) look<\/em>, move<\/em>, and more importantly, sound<\/strong><\/em> like a “normal” human.\u00a0 But with deaf people, they are presented with another person that looks like other humans we are used to<\/em>, moves like other humans we are used to<\/em>, but just does not sound like other humans we are used to<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 If the deaf person is verbal (for lack of a better word) and speaks English, they may have the characteristic “deaf voice” that the hearing person also might not be used to.\u00a0 (I will not get into the facial expressions used with ASL, as this entry is about sounds.)<\/p>\n

Even if they do not speak, they may unknowingly emit noises that are unfamiliar and\/or alarming to the hearing person like grunts, moans, vocalizations for things like CHA<\/strong><\/code>, PAH<\/strong><\/code>, and BRBR<\/strong><\/code>, produce almost-words<\/em> if they articulate their mouth as if they are speaking, produce grunts, sighs, and other breathy sounds<\/em>, etc.\u00a0 A deaf person I once met during an evaluation (he was evaluating me) kept making these slow “Uhhmp-ummmmm<\/em>” sounds that were like quieter, drawn-out “ahem<\/em>” sounds.\u00a0 While they did not alarm me in any way, I found them to be somewhat annoying over time, and I could image how a first time meeting with an inexperienced hearing person might go.<\/p>\n

Since these noises were never previously associated with a “normal” human, we may automatically think of them as abnormal<\/em>.\u00a0 This can sometime result in at least one of two things happening:<\/p>\n