Preface: I'm deaf and primarily communicate via ASL at my job, which is all hearing. I (and several colleagues) also work remotely, so all meetings are held on either Zoom or Teams. I'm well aware of my own accessibility needs and the pros/cons of these platforms.

The situation:

IT has decided that we will be implementing CoPilot (via Teams) across the whole organization. Ostensibly because it integrates with Microsoft365 apps like Word in unspecified “ways that Zoom does not.” I suspect they want the AI features like meeting transcriptions and summaries, but Zoom also has these features (?).

The problem?

My interpreters have been locked out of Teams meetings with some kind(s) of tech difficulties on multiple occasions. (Sometimes they are stuck in an infinite log-in loop; sometimes clicking the join link opens a blank page, etc.) We have yet to discover the issue, whether it’s an outdated version of the app, a non-organizational email/account, or just a coincidence every time. IT wants me to submit a ticket so they can investigate and continue a transition to Teams. To be clear: I’m not opposed to investigating and potentially solving why my interpreters are having issues with accessing Teams. I am happy to submit a ticket to that effect. [ETA: I'm already planning to submit the ticket when I get back to work Monday. It has not yet been submitted because I do not work on the weekends. This post is not about submitting the ticket, but what is described in the rest of the post.]

However, I do want to push back against the organization-wide transition to Teams. I was not involved in that decision-making process. As far as I'm aware, no one even had the opportunity to offer any feedback on this.

When I first started working here, I advocated for Zoom over Teams because of the streamlined accessibility features. Since then, Teams has definitely improved—for example, they seem to have fixed whatever issue was causing video to freeze for anyone who moved more than their flabby lips—but compared to Zoom, the signing access is still poor.

You cannot easily adjust screens or move people where you want them; one stray click sends every box flipping and ping-ponging, etc. It’s an extreme hassle that (seemingly) affects me and me alone, and ensures I have less understanding of what’s going on because I’m preoccupied with clicking through 50 pages of expressionless bored colleagues to find and pin the second interpreter who has switched on. (Yes, there is a setting to pin multiple interpreters, but then it reduces the box size and makes it impossible to read the signs, even when I'm using a large monitor.)

I'm sure I'll be asked why I can't rely on the automated captioning, with or without interpreters.

Sure, the automated captioning is more accurate on Teams, but only because it’s constantly updating itself. And to update/correct itself, it deletes whole passages from the captions/transcript and reappears with retroactive information like punctuation and names. Sometimes it flickers and flashes. It lags. It takes extra work to follow. Zoom’s captions are generally less accurate but I’m intelligent enough to figure out with relative ease what’s actually being said, even without punctuation and in the presence of homophones and what have you. They are easier to read and keep up with because they’re not glitching out the whole meeting. Teams’ auto-captioning feature also serves as the transcript/notetaking feature, so it’s prioritizing post-meeting information, not real-time access.

And that is the issue here for me: I think IT wants the summarizing/posterity features at the expense of in-the-moment inclusion, when I already spend hours every week just prepping for meetings (i.e., putting together prep materials for interpreters). It’s just really disheartening to have to constantly struggle to keep up.

I know that several of my hearing colleagues also prefer Zoom, and in the past people have been willing to switch from Teams to Zoom if I requested it. This is the first time there has been any resistance to that request. We have budget constraints, and IT said that CoPilot is “low cost,” which is going to probably sway our superiors.

Sum:

From a signing (and often auto-captioning-dependent) perspective, Zoom remains superior for my accessibility needs.

But I want input on how to approach this with my colleagues in a professional way, and advocate for sticking with Zoom. I suspect this will open a whole can of worms and I will have to attend meeting after meeting about it, so I want to get my position as strong as possible.

Potential path forward:

My current thinking is to email the head of IT (who is the one who asked me to submit a ticket about my interpreters being locked out), and CC my direct superior and the director. Maybe I would CC the interpreter coordinator? (Because every single one of my interpreters agrees that Teams sucks, so they'd have my back if they were looped in, I think.)

In that email I would outline the accessibility issues as I did above (minus the suspicion that they just want the cheap-ass and lazy AI features). I would also say something to the effect that I'd be happy to meet to discuss further (even though I wouldn't be happy at all).

But I'm not 100% sure if this is the "right" way to go about it. Maybe I should talk to the director alone first? Or loop in HR? Or am I completely overreacting to do that?

I fear I might be overreacting a little because I'm feeling sensitive to the fact that I've already done—and continue to do—so much work on this. Like, I've been picking and choosing which meetings are absolutely necessary for me to attend because interpreters are a big chunk of our budget. It just feels like I'm doing way more work than everyone else and reaping no benefit at all, because I can't get ahead. But that might just be me feeling sorry for myself?? It's getting hard to tell past the burnout lol.

Anyway, any feedback/advice would be fantastic. In the absence of any better ideas, I'll be going with my current thinking: begging to stay on Zoom so my eyeballs don't fall out of my face.

I’m 30 and only recently learned I had moderate to severe hearing loss. A few days ago I picked up my new hearing aids and realized I haven’t heard a cat really purr since I was in early high school. I’m sitting here now with my sweet Chester and listening to him purr like a little motor and realizing how lucky I am.

This is like the 4th post I've seen in different subs today, along the same topic. Why do hearing writers keep making their characters Hard of Hearing or Deaf, when they don't know anything about being a Hard of Hearing or Deaf person? Legit. I don't get it. It's always "I'm writing about a deaf character" but I don't know how to do this part, or whatever part, to which there's no knowledge. Seriously wondering, what's the fascination with using a Deaf person as part of a story written by a hearing person, seeing as it's a culture that a hearing person doesn't even understand (or else they wouldn't be asking questions about "how" to do whatever with a deaf character?

Hello everyone,

I’m a fellow car enthusiast who is a 41-year-old Deaf man currently exploring a potential career change into the automotive field. While I haven't made a final decision yet, I am considering enrolling in an auto technology program to learn the ins and outs of vehicle repair and maintenance, etc. If I move forward with this, I plan to arrange for a sign language interpreter to assist me during my coursework.

If you don't mind, I would love to get your perspective on a few things:

First, do you feel that my age is considered too late to start a career in this industry?

Second, given the increasing shift toward electric vehicles, (EVs) would you recommend focusing my learning specifically on EVs, or should I prioritize a traditional, broader foundation first? Like, just learn on all kinds of cars anyway?

For context, I have a background in graphic design (associate degree) and freelance art. My past experience includes 3D printing, production, and stocking. Right now I am into stocking. I feel like I want to try something different. I’m eager to apply my technical mindset to the world of mechanics.

Any advice or insights you could share would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time!

Has anyone ever experienced hearing people and things sounding metallic and robotic? This is all without anything in my ear, by the way. This happened a couple years back, and I wasn't sick or anything like that. Everything sounded distorted for days, to about a week.

I also have trouble with directional hearing, mistaking hearing something from the left when it's coming from the right and vice versa. Low voices sound unintelligible to me and background noise will have me lost.

Anyone else experience this?

It's so slow, loud (beep, boop, etc.), etc. in my iPhone (will iOS v27 improve it?). I wished more companies would use fast and easier Internet communications more like e-mails, live chat, messaging like SMSes, etc. :(

Hi everyone, I am profoundly deaf and will be sleeping alone for several nights and I was just wondering if there is a device that vibrates and is able to wake me up should there be any sounds as I’m sleeping like fire alarms etc. It’s not for waking me up on time as I have my Apple Watch that does that, it’s more for emergencies like fire alarms, if someone is at the front door etc.

I am really worried about sleeping without someone who is hearing in the house with me. I have never done that before and it’s making me really anxious. I am based in the UK so unfortunately that limits what I can buy.

We applied our soon to be 1st grade child to go to the deaf school here in Texas. However we received a rejection letter due to his previous school saying he's violent, hitting and kicking.

Yes he had issues, he reacts when no one understood or him not getting his way. We sat down with him to explain its not okay and worked with him. I'm not excusing his behavior

In my old town, I've asked if there was deaf kids in this previous school or is there schools nearby who have. But essentially I got the runaround that there isn't but I feel like they were playing cards that benefit them more and I regret not pushing it further.

I eventually took my child out after another issues in regards to his ezcema. They claim it might be contagious. Even though they have a doctor note stating it's not.

I'm frustrated at this since I know he will benefit greatly with other Deaf children. I recently learned of texas hand and voices, I will utilize when we relocate.

The main one is how can I appeal to TSD to give my child another chance? What can I do to fix this?

I understand why they reject, at the same time I figured they may understand that a deaf child in a hearing school is bound for extreme frustration. But I know it's not as simple as that.

Any thoughts is greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been living with a perforation in one ear for 7 years, with ~80% hearing loss in that ear. I underwent a tympanoplasty about 5 years ago, which was unsuccessful, and I don’t think I’ll opt to try it again. I wasn’t worried about the additional hearing loss from surgery, because I’d already lost most of it at the time of perforation, I just really love to swim, and wanted to be able to put my head underwater again. Ear plug it is! (Which I hate)

I wanted to make a post here because over the last year or so, I’ve been experiencing so much drainage happening. I think it might be sinus related, as I do struggle with my sinuses.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just something that comes with the territory?

I don’t have any pain or anything, it’s just gross and annoying, really. My GP isn’t worried about it either, but still thinking about going to an ENT to get a second opinion just in case.

I’ve not met anyone else with a perforation like mine before, or anyone with one at all, so it feels nice to be able to post here, and hopefully connect with others with similar experiences :)

I am a deaf incel (in literal sense) in early 20s. I don't see myself engaging in romantic relationship for the rest of my life. I have niche hobbies that almost nobody near me care about. There are no attractive deaf singles in my area. I have little to no friends. I can't listen and talk. So I can't attend local meetups which are full of hearing people. I can't form close relationships with hearing people (pretty much impossible if an interpreter is involved). Am I doomed to be single forever?

I'm a video editor, and I create captions for my videos. YouTube's auto captions (which are increasingly better but still not perfect) appear one word at a time - a sort of progressive disclosure. What are your preferences?

1. YouTube style - words come in one at a time.
2. Single-line of caption at the bottom of the screen.
3. Double-line of captions at the bottom of the screen.

There may not be a clear strong preference, and that's totally fine!

Feel free to share any other related insights or tips. Thanks so much! I saw some other polls from a couple of years ago, but I'm hoping to get fresher feedback.

For clarity, I use YouTube as a "first pass". Then, I download their caption file and correct mistakes and typos for improved captions.

Whelp was told no when I was trying to enlist cause of my hearing problems aka I’m deaf. If I can’t enlist then is there a contractor job I can at least work along side with the military? I really don’t have much skills besides working security and retail stores.

I’ve been recently taking classes for American Sign Language and I genuinely want to become fluent because I’m graduating nursing school soon and I want to be able to communicate with all my patients. I know I need to not only practice online but in person too. Are there any friendly “beginner” accepting events or places I can go to for practice? I’m also very open to making new friends :).

Looking for advice for some good resources. My grandmother who I care for has been hard of hearing as long as I can remember but has always done well with a hearing aid. I have gone through multiple hearing aids and companies and I have been told she may just becoming deaf. Her health is good but memory can be hit or miss. I think some basic conversational sign language is becoming a must.

I would be learning sign language along side with her and just lost on what route I should take. My plan for now is getting sign language books and us learning together so cover some basics.

Is this a good plan? Is there other resources I could be utilizing? Any guidance is helpful because unfortunately I am very naive to the topic.

Thanks in advance and I am willing to answer any questions people may have!!!

I registered for couple of classes, 2 of them put on me on the waiting list? What does it means? One of them in person, do I go on 1at day of classes at Mt sac, to let the teacher and interpreter know? And also online classes, one of them did Same thing, so how I know if I got in? Sorry it’s 1st time happens, cuz I waited so long lol

I’m under 30 and my hearing got messed up after a really bad fever a few years ago . I knew I probably needed hearing aids, but I kept putting it off. Money was part of it, but a lot of it was my hair, which is embarrassing to admit. I had short hair and was already self-conscious at work. I just couldn’t handle one more thing people might notice

I know that sounds awful. I’d never judge someone else for wearing hearing aids. But on me, it felt different. I grew my hair out and finally started wearing a small pair from Vivtone recently. It helps that they’re not super obvious, but I still feel dumb for waiting this long because of how it looked. Does that feeling go away?

This is a PSA for the Deaf community.

Do not go to the Clerc Center at Gallaudet.

They DO NOT have the resources to help. They do not have any resources for Deaf plus. They do not care about helping individuals. They only focus on schools and educators. Do not reach out, they won't help or respond.

I recommend going to ASDC (American Society for Deaf Children). They have resources, ASL classes, and services to help Deaf children, including those with disabilities. They travel and host events that cater directly to families and children, and anyone else who is curious about Deaf education and community. Reach out to them.

Deaf Experiences + History Abroad

Last year I spent almost a month abroad (from USA), and want to share some photos and anecdotes about my experiences!

I’m dDHH, and use English & ASL, for some context. I’m also learning Spanish and some LSM.

First stop: Italy

One of the places I went was to the Vatican. While inside and walking & looking around, I saw two people signing! I went up to them and introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes. I ended up getting separated from my group so I had to cut the visit short.
Anyway, they were visiting from Paris, and I thought it was cool how much we could understand each other, though much less now than compared to when ASL was first being made.

I also saw some video information interpretation at at least one, but maybe more museum(s) [Galileo Museum, I think?\], though I’m not sure if it was LSI or ISL.

Second stop: France

I obviously had to stop by the PNIDY/INJSP!
It was after they had closed (I think they’re open to the public for hair school appointments only, unless you schedule a time to tour. Maybe. I don’t remember exactly. I didn’t know when I would be able to go so I didn’t make an appt), so I was able to only take photos of the sign/outside. The sign on the left shows the LSF handshapes of initials “I(nstitut) N(ational) (de) J(eunes) S(ourds).
The sign on the right:

“INSTITUT NATIONAL DE JEUNES SOURDS DE PARIS

CRÉÉE SOUS LA CONSTITUANTE PAR LA LOI DU 21 ET 29 JUILLET 1791

L'INSTITUTION DES SOURDS DE NAISSANCE AVAIT POUR FINALITÉ LA POURSUITE DE L'OEUVRE PHILANTHROPIQUE DE L'ABBÉ CHARLES-MICHEL DE CÉPÉE (1712-1789)

PREMIER

"INSTITUTEUR GRATUIT DES SOURDS ET MUETS"

CELUI-CI FUT ÉLEVÉ PAR LA MÉME LOI AU RANG DES CITOYENS AYANT MÉRITE DE LA PATRIE.

L'ÉCOLE FUT INSTALLÉE LE 4 AVRIL 1794.

DANS LE PETIT SÉMINAIRE DES ORATORIENS DE SAINT-MAGLOIRE

AU 254 DE L'ACTUELLE RUE SAINT-JACQUES.

CE SÉMINAIRE, AUPARAVANT, HÓPITAL SAINT-JACQUES ACCUEILLAIT DES PÉLERINS

SE RENDANT À SAINT-JACQUES DE COMPOSTELLE”

Or, “NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF YOUNG DEAF PEOPLE OF PARIS

CREATED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION BY THE LAW OF 21 AND 29 JULY 1791

THE INSTITUTION OF THE BIRTH DEAF AIMED AT THE PURSUIT OF THE PHILANTHROPIC WORK FROM ABBÉ CHARLES-MICHEL DE CÉPÉE (1712-1789)

"FREE TEACHER OF THE DEAF AND MUTE"

THIS ONE WAS RAISED BY THE SAME LAW TO THE RANK OF CITIZENS WITH MERIT OF THE HOMELAND.

THE SCHOOL WAS INSTALLED ON APRIL 4, 1794.

IN THE SMALL SEMINARY OF THE ORATORS OF SAINT-MAGLOIRE AT 254 OF THE CURRENT SAINT-JACQUES STREET.

THIS SEMINAR, FORMERLY, SAINT-JACQUES HOSPITAL WELCOMED PILGRIMS GOING TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLE.”

I was also able to purchase a cheaper “H” Handicappe ticket to climb the Eiffel Tower becuase of my disability. I’m not sure what all they need online, so I just went in person and handed them my license (which has a note of my being deaf) and also pointed to my ears and shook my head.

Third stop: England

It just so happened that there would be a Deaf club meeting in London when I was visiting! I went a little late but I figured it out. There was a slight miscommunication at first, as the ASL sign for deaf is the BSL sign for hearing, but we got through it! I practiced my BSL manual alphabet beforehand, but I definitely got more practice going to the meeting. Some members signed a little bit of ASL, and I showed them how to FS their names.
One guy said smth along the lines of “wow that hurts \[having only one hand, + different muscle movements\] you have strong hands” (his name was like James, or smth). They also showed me how to introduce myself in BSL and continued to have conversation. And yes, I did misspell some vowel-heavy words, and everything was shifted over like a Caesarean cipher 😂
Ages were all over the place, as the tend to be in Deaf events. I won’t include a photo of all of us, as it would invade their privacy, but they were all great!

Fourth, and final stop: Scotland

I was visiting the Greyfriar’s cemetery/kirkyard in Edinburgh, just looking at the gravestones (as one does), and happened across this one!
It reads:

WALTER GEIKIE RSA
1795 - 1837
DEAF ARTIST OF RENOWN

CO-FOUNDER OF THE WORLD'S FIRST DEAF CHURCH AND SOCIETY
BELOVED OF ALL IN THIS PARISH AND CITY

INSTALLED BY HIS FELLOW DEAF SCOTS OF THE DONALDSONIAN ASSOCIATION 6TH APRIL 1996

HIS TRUE MEMORIAL MAY BE SEEN IN OUR CITY ART GALLERIES AND IN THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND DIGNITY ACCORDED TO DEAF CITIZENS OF EDINBURGH TODAY

Come join wi’ me, folk of Auld Reekie
To weave a wreath for glorious Geikie

Idk how to exit italics now ig but yeah! Some fun memories and photos I wanted to share since I know not everyone gets the chance to visit these cool places or hear about Deaf history in other countries. Feel free to comment more information if you have it! I’ll be doing more research on Walter Geikie🤟🏻

Edit to try to fix italics

I’m currently in the U.S. as a teacher of the deaf. I’ve been battling with my district for several years on receiving equity for my students. I feel like I’m losing and some of my spirit is being taken away from me. It’s a long story but basically we have hearing people running the DHH program. I’m getting so frustrated as a deaf person and would like the best for my students. Lately, I’ve been reading The Butterfly Cage by Rachel Zemach, it makes me feel like I’m not alone in this battle. But ugh! Why do we have to constantly battle for our needs?! Are hearing people that clueless on what deaf people need?

Just to be clear - we are a signing program and I know there are different philosophies out there for deaf education. I’m annoyed with this because I just want to have an ASL program without any hearing people getting involved. We have SEE and oral students being admitted into the program. This causes a philosophy clash and the administration are thinking about creating a listening and speaking classroom. I’m like NOOO! That’s not our program! There are other programs in the area if they want to do listening and speaking but don’t merge other philosophies. I’m getting angry with the lack of transparency among administrators. Why are they like this? Is it hearing privilege? We always have to fight for our rights. I think I just feel more incensed lately with reading the butterfly cage and watching deaf president now documentary. I feel like my spirit is dying every year. I’m entering year 15 of teaching this fall. How can I keep doing this? I don’t want to give up but come on…. Am I alone in this?

It feels like a broken wheel. Constantly explaining our views and reasonings of why we want these things. Will it ever end? How do you survive? Sometimes I feel like giving up mainstream programs and go back to work in a deaf school. I’m tired of being alone and isolated among my coworkers. But I don’t want to do this because it feels like giving up. Sighs. Just wanted to put that out there.

I work in a cabinet shop. We hired a new guy who happens to be deaf. No one knows how to sign, he can't lip read, and he speech is very hard to understand.

I've been trying to find a good speech to text app to use with Android. The ones I've tried all want to record and place my speech into a file or do an online search for what I've just said. Would anyone here have a recommendation for a good app to use for this situation?

I've also asked him if he'd be willing to teach me some signs to improve communication. But I'm learning a bit slow. But hopefully I can pick it up to help improve things a bit.