Discrimination by Medical Personnel and Others towards me because of my hearing loss
I am deaf and wear Bilateral Cochlear Implants. I have worn hearing aids and cochlear implants since the age of 6. Because of my hearing loss, I am continually viewed as being stupid. DEAF DOES NOT EQUAL STUPID!!! I have a Bachelor of Science in Management with a concentration in Information Systems. I have a Master of Engineering degree in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Information Systems and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity. So I am obviously not stupid! Hearing aids and Cochlear Implants DO NOT give a person "20/20" hearing the way glasses and contacts give a person 20/20 vision. During the pandemic, I had at between 20-30 people be mean, rude, and impatient with me because I could not read their lips, because they were wearing face masks. I reported every incidence to an appropriate manager. This included people in a medical setting, and once or twice in an ear doctor's office, and this type of a medical office should at least expect to get patients who have a hearing loss!!! I also went to a medical facility recently to get a mammogram. I could not hear the woman at the main desk and then I moved closer to hear her, and she told me I could hear just fine!!! This was uncalled for!!! I was not rude, nor was I threatening her in any way. She also called a security guard over and would not let me move closer so I could hear her. I also had some professors be rude to me in graduate school when I asked them to repeat. And yes, I did tell them at the beginning of class every term, about my hearing loss and that hearing aids and cochlear implants DO NOT give a person "20/20" hearing the way glasses and contacts give a person 20/20 vision. I am really tired of being treated rudely because I ask someone to repeat. I do not sign, I never learned it. I am oral and I speak. I do not deserve to be treated like a lesser person or stupid just because I have a hearing loss. I deserve the same courtesy and respect that everyone else receives, but because I have a hearing loss, I am continually treated badly and discriminated against time and time again.
This task force has completed it's required research for the JBC.