Deaf Health - Can You Hear Me?

I ran into a 43 year old gentleman at a local place of business. He asked me for money for food. I started talking to him and saw that he was reading my lips. He read lips very well. He failed to understand sign language. We were able to communicate enough to exchange names, and find that he was deaf from an early age possibly from birth. He was unsure. He was looking for work. We discussed how it is hard for many deaf people to get jobs because they are deaf.

I tipped him for his pleasant conversation and recognized the sadness of it all.
After this encounter with fate, I reflected on yet another deaf person that had been failed by the American health system. How this system is able to allow a hearing impaired young man get well into adulthood without proper medical attention to assist with his deafness. He should know how to sign. He should have money. He should have work. He should have health care. He should have been covered since birth.

I know this scenario all to well. I have a brother who was born deaf. The system is still failing him all around, too. He and most of his deaf community are at “poverty level”. Rather than the system continuing all assistance beyond 18 years of age, they encourage working versus working plus government assistance. How does the government expect him to pay money he supposedly owes them over a 10-year debt? Does he really owe them? Without steady employment and government assistance, it is impossible. Each time he applies for government help like Medicaid, Social Security Disability Income, etc., he is cast aside with uncertainty.

It is truly devastating to the human spirit. He has struggled with part-time jobs at minimum wage with no benefits. I have helped him find the medical care he needs. The whole family chips in to help him in all ways. It is a family affair. Many of his doctors give generous discounts when he “tells” them he is uninsured. This has really helped him get the medical care he needs. Over the years I have collected his records and taught him to work his way through the medical system.

His medical record is his basic communication tool along with reading lips, and writing things down. He is a master at sign language (and so many things), but none of his doctors know sign language. He requires an interpreter, but it is difficult to arrange when you are deaf and no one knows your language or how to use the TDD (telecommunication device for the deaf) phone devices or operator services. You can even do it on line. How do you get a doctor appointment? Often the emergency room becomes the primary care clinic.

If you are not heard, you are ignored or misunderstood. We must open our ears to the deaf and all people with disabilities. To be born deaf is not ever hearing anything. It makes us realize the importance of communication, another vital sign.


J.L. Richardson, MD, family medicine doctor and patient advocate, is the author of PatientHandbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide.

http://mypatienthandbook.com