Holiday Gift Guide for Deaf People - It's Not What You Think

Know a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person and would like to get them a holiday gift?

Sometimes our best intentions have the wrong impact. You give something that a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person will either find useless, insulting, or repetitive.

So, how do you avoid this and give a great gift?

Not So Great Gift Ideas

In a Facebook group for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, someone shared their article titled "10 Perfect Gifts Ideas for the Deaf Person in Your Life"*.

Some of the items were:

• Apple Airpods
• Transparent facemasks
• "I'm Deaf" facemasks
• Deaf-related Books
• Deaf-related Movies

Ummm...

As a Deaf person reading this, I cringed.

Why This List Wasn't Great

Let me go through this list and explain why this list is faulty:

Apple Airpods:

1. The author stated she could hear with it cranked up to the max. This can be dangerous, it doesn't matter if you're already deaf, hearing noise at a loud volume, especially through headphones, will destroy any residual hearing you do have.
2. The author continued to say that the Airpods' "Live Listen" feature is great for people with hearing loss but don't have hearing aids as an option yet. Again, this is a dangerous notion because Airpods (or any hearing booster) amplify EVERYTHING. So, for someone who may not be able to hear high frequencies wear one to hear better, over time it will wreck your low-frequency range. If you have a hearing loss, you need to be evaluated and fitted by a certified professional. I explain this in length in another article I wrote.
3. Not every Deaf or Hard of Hearing person can use these for two reasons - they cannot hear out of them at all; for those that wear hearing aids, they'll have to take them out to put in the AirPods (hmm?), for those with cochlear implants, AirPods in their "dead" ears won't work (disclaimer: newer surgery procedures do not necessarily deplete residual hearing).

Transparent Facemasks:

I do want to point out that transparent facemasks, like the one above, can help some Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to lipread and communicate better.

However, when I saw this on the gift list, my immediate thought was "How is that going to help me?" Many people believe that the transparent masks are for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to wear and that it'll help them. Uh no, I can't lipread myself. The idea is for OTHER PEOPLE to wear.

So, do I want to carry one around and ask every hearing person I encounter "Hey, do you mind putting this on so I can lipread you?" - then asking for it back afterwards?

Ewww.

That defeats the purpose of masks in the first place - preventing the spread of Covid (and other nasties). There's not enough Lysol in the world to convince me that this is safe.

"I'm Deaf" Facemasks:

Facemasks with different labels, like the one above, in my opinion, can be dangerous for the users. I feel this "marks" the user for potential harm from thieves, scammers, and others with ill-intentions. It marks them to be easy prey. The same reason goes for bumper stickers on cars saying "Deaf Driver" - follow them home and rob their house, even when they're still inside.

Besides, who reads anything these days? I know several Deaf people who tried similar masks, pins, t-shirts, but no one notices and treated them all as they could hear.

Deaf-Related Books or Movies:

Receiving Deaf-related books, movies, clothing, ILY products, and such is umm, pretty useless and redundant.

First off, replace the disability with a nationality or culture and think how well that goes over? Giving something they already know (and cherish), and live and breathe every day seems pointless. They'll likely just put the stuff in the closet along with their belongings.

Secondly, is that all you see in that Deaf person? Their deafness? Their language?

Yeah, pretty depressing if you ask me.

I do want to say that giving books and movies to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children should be encouraged - they need more role models who are "just like them", and help them understand more about deaf culture and themselves, and that they're not alone.

What's a Good Gift for a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Person?

I don't have a list for you. I'm going to give you a simple fact:

Deaf and Hard of Hearing people are NOT DEFINED by their disability.

Read that again, please.

Yes, deafness or hearing loss is a part of that person's life and they live with it 24/7, but it's not all who they are.

They have hobbies, they enjoy doing different activities, they love different Fandoms.....

Find out what they love about life, what they want to learn, their collectibles, and buy a gift to match.

If you still can't come up with something, learn how to communicate with them easier, learn sign language. Learn how to make your time together more enjoyable communication-wise.

* Disclaimer: The author of the first article is deaf. I'm also Deaf and the opinion stated in my article is mine only and may not be shared by everyone in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.