The Gen Z Deaf Experience: Part 1: Interview with Finnec Mackey
Introduction
Modern resources have carved room for greater education and awareness of disabilities. Sign Language has become more commonly known, and stigmas have been reduced. However, greater resource access can lead to assumptions and arrogance within opinions based on inaccurate secondary sources. Like any other, deaf culture cannot be comprehended or categorized based solely on secondary sources. Deaf culture and experiences have morphed over time as new aids and forms of connection have been created. Sign Language courses are more accessible, and individuals can engage in online forums or even attend events surrounding the harmony and unity of the disabled community. To further explore the modern-day deaf experience, I interviewed Finnec Mackey, a partially deaf 17-year-old, to discuss his experiences with his disability and involvement in the deaf community.
Hearing Impairment and Accommodations
Experiences among the deaf community are wildly diverse, with many subcategories of hearing impairment. Each individual's experience is different, and classification can allow for increased understanding of each other's experiences and a glimpse into an individual's view of their disability. "I know the most proper way would be hard of hearing, but I have hearing loss, and it's permanent. I can't get it back… it's weird, because I have conductive hearing loss, which is a different type of hearing loss." Mackey says. Among those outside the deaf community, most assume all hearing loss manifests from nerve damage. Such as the result of an infection, exposure to loud sounds, or direct damage, but conductive hearing loss is often genetic.
"My nerves are fine, my cochlear, my ear drum, everything is fine… But the way my ear is set up makes it so that I lose 30% of my hearing as the sounds travel through." Finnec went on to explain that identifying the cause of his hearing loss would require a procedure with a high probability of causing nerve damage and additional hearing impairment. He felt identifying the cause was not worth risking further issues, considering it only affects his left ear.
Instead, he seeks aids to reduce symptoms rather than targeting the source. "I have had five hearing aids, and I'm currently going through the process of getting an Osia… It's made by the same people who do cochlear implants, but it is a different system. By getting an Osia or a BAHA, they go into the bone structure… that way, vibrations go through bones directly into the nerves. You don't have to blast sound through the canal because you're not just amplifying the sound but pushing it through all these different layers." An Osia system is a hearing implant that bypasses the traditional hearing issues caused by sound being transferred through the canal using digital piezoelectric stimulation to send sound directly to the cochlea. He explained that traditionally, he loses 30% of sound as it travels through his ear. He retains partial hearing, but it's much quieter and more difficult to comprehend in his left ear. Compared to a broken set of headphones, the right side functions normally, and the left only projects 60-70% of the right's volume.
Having a basic understanding of Finnec's experience, I went on to ask further questions about aids, those he's used and would like to try in the future. "I use hearing aids… I just got this one, and I've had so many problems with it. They don't tell you that every hearing aid is not the same. Many people don't understand how expensive and tedious the process is because you've got to go through multiple tests, multiple doctor appointments, and fittings. You have to go to multiple appointments after the fittings to test your hearing and ensure it works. We had to redo all the programming twice, and it's still not perfect… It's really complicated, especially if you can still sort of hear." Due to the nature of American Healthcare, appointments and treatments are a financial burden that has affected Finnec and his family, including his and his siblings' educational opportunities. "You have got to find a good company that takes your insurance because if you don't have insurance, you don't have a hearing aid. Some of the most expensive hearing aids are around $15,000, and my hearing aid was $2000. We had to pay $800 out of pocket." When prompted about other possible aids he’d like to try, Finnec enthusiacstically responded.
"They have headphones that do the same thing as an Osia. They're called shocks… you can place them around your neck, and a piece goes around the ear. They transfer vibrations through the bone to the nerves that way… It's just vibrations, so there are no sounds transmitted to the outside world; it's just to you. I'm getting them for Christmas, and I'm so excited!"
Behaviors, Interactions, and Daily Struggles
Some have invalidated and dismissed Finnec's struggle due to his condition solely affecting his left ear and have gone as far as to consider his disability as a burden and annoyance to themselves. Hearing individuals often lack understanding of the deaf community; prejudice is even evident in deaf culture. There is an imprudent amount of invalidation towards those who are not entirely deaf and a cruel comparison of struggles. However severe, hearing loss affects every individual's everyday life, including Finnec’s. His disability causes certain behaviors that some are unaware of or criticize. His inequivalent hearing capabilities cause issues with his physical balance and comprehension. "I'm constantly almost falling over. I can't balance. Sometimes, I'll just be standing and start to sway towards my good ear." His unconscious habit of leaning toward his good ear to hear more effectively contributes to this. He's adapted to reading lips at every opportunity to fully understand what is being said. When people mumble, aren't facing him, or aren't articulating, he cannot understand what's being said. "Even if I have my hearing aid, I'm always leaning this way, and I'm always looking down at someone's lips. It's kind of a weird angle, but that's how I've learned to adapt."
He can only isolate individual sources when there are few sound sources in an environment. As an employee at a grocery store, busy days can cause conflict. "The constant beeping of the registers, mixed with all the people talking, shopping, and checking out, can be super overwhelming. When It's super busy, it's a high-stress situation. There are long lines. I'm trying to get everyone through while giving them a good customer experience. It's just completely overstimulating. Before I had a hearing aid, those sounds would be muffled, but with one, the sounds are now quite jarring." Finnec has tolerated impatience, annoyance, and even aggression for miscommunication between customers and coworkers.
Additionally, Finnec talks louder to understand himself and communicate more clearly, which has caused criticism from teachers and coworkers alike. "This volume, I don't know if you can hear how loud I am, but this is my normal volume. I always let my teachers know about my hearing impairment, and I have to apologize often. I can't tell when I'm being loud. I have to make a conscious effort to be quiet, but it's difficult."
Though he struggles because of his disability, he doesn't allow it to define him. He only needs to acknowledge it if a situation calls for it. It's an element of his life but not a defining feature. Finnec marches through life, working hard and striving for success. Despite his impairment, he has taken advantage of his resources and sustained a 4.0 GPA while participating in extracurriculars and maintaining an active social life.
The Reality of Deaf Culture
Like in other communities, deaf culture and community are complex and complete with many subcultures, including the potential for positive and negative experiences. As previously mentioned, prejudices are evident within the deaf community despite the culture revolving around mutual impairment. There are stances of superiority, shaming, gate-keeping, and invalidation based on the severity of hearing impairment, aids, family, and knowledge of sign language. "We're all under the same umbrella; why are you gatekeeping a disability? Some people claim you're not deaf unless you're 100% deaf and that you're not part of that community unless you can't hear at all. Some have said my 30% deafness doesn't count, but I still can't hear." Mackey explained, emphasizing that much of this has been prominent in Generation Z, especially hearing teens. In addition to this gatekeeping and invalidation, Finnec mentioned the concept of deaf pride and the shaming of those who use aids. Using an example of a common hasty generalization that an individual isn't proud of being deaf because they got a cochlear implant. "It's a double-edged sword because they're trying so hard to make kids accept and love themselves for being deaf that they'll go out of their way to prevent them from getting an implant. They just was a new experience, the opportunity to hear." At what point should someone consider themselves hearing impaired? Should there be strict qualifications? Why do disabled communities compare themselves to each other, as if it's a competition? These are a few of the many questions society debates today.
The community also has the potential to be inclusive and welcoming and can provide a sense of kinship between strangers through the bonding of their experiences. "I love that if you're deaf, and so is someone else, they're immediately understanding. If someone is hearing, they aren't able to understand because they don't experience it themselves. If someone is blind, we can't comprehend what that's like, because we can both see." Finnec proceeded to recite a moment of bonding with a hard-of-hearing acquaintance, Gwen Larsen-Roeber, at a movie theater. "It was a completely different experience for me… Others claimed it was too loud, but it was great. I could actually hear it. There were a lot of vibrations, a lot of sound. It makes the experience so much better; I can't even explain it! Me and Gwen were freaking out about the vibrations."
Conclusion
The deaf experience and culture have an abundance of complexities and diversity. Finnec's experience is only the tip of the iceberg in the sea of community, kinship, prejudice, and adaptability. This interview serves as a reminder that the only way to understand someone's experiences is by talking with them directly. The superior method of education is to discuss topics with the community itself. This allows those outside of it to further understand how it functions and ways we can accommodate each disabled individual. This creates room for smoother communication and discourages prejudice.