Hoo Hoo Hoo-aaoo

Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:14, NLT)

During The Scoop event on June 29, we were asked what we would like the church to do. One of the things mentioned was ministering to people with problems communicating. Either problems hearing or speaking. I started thinking of all the problems I’ve seen and experienced over the years.

My hearing loss is different than most. Even though my hard hearing friends (and others) will disagree, I do not consider myself disabled because of it. But it’s a problem at times. Because of this, God is teaching me to be patient with people.

Imagine being in school and your teacher gives you homework. The next day you find out that you did the work wrong. Either you did the wrong questions or didn’t read what you should or something else. You just got it wrong. Now you’re labeled stupid, lazy, or both. Or in high school, you want to take a certain class that you know you would really like, however the school councilor mistakes hearing loss with brain loss and tells you, “Don’t bother, you’re not smart enough”. This is common for those with hearing loss. And the deaf are treated worse.

According to www.silentblessings.org, “Nearly 95% of all deaf children have hearing parents and only about 10% of those parents ever learn enough sign language to hold a conversation with their children.”

I have known deaf people and I’ve seen people ignore them. I have seen where the deaf would just sit off to the side by themselves. Once in awhile someone would try to communicate with them using a paper and pencil. This is good that they try to communicate, but I wonder about some who have honestly known a deaf person personally for over 50 years and still can’t ask if they would like some coffee using sign language. The deaf are alone. And many people don’t understand any of this.

My hearing is different than most. All through my life I could hear noise but not always understand what it was. Yet I served 14 years in the military, was a mechanic for many years, was certified in electronic technology, and ran my own business. A few years ago I was told that I may have Auditory Processing Disorder. I was also told that as I get older my hearing will get worse. Because of my type of hearing loss, hearing aids are of little or no value. I tried it once and couldn’t tell the difference. So if I lose more of my hearing, will I became isolated or shunned by people? I don’t know.

Oh, by the way; about the title of this post. “Hoo Hoo Hoo-aaoo” is what I hear sometimes on TV. But sometimes I have wondered if it was “Hoot, Hoot, Hoot-Owl”. Trying to be wise and solve a crime may seem to fit the show if you use your imagination. Close Caption shows it as “Who, Who, Who are you”. It’s part of the theme song for CSI.

And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.’ (Mark 16:15-16)

Christian have been going all over the world following this command. We have learned new languages and cultures and have been willing to sacrifice ourselves to tell others of Jesus and we need to do this for the deaf as well.

Steve can be reached via email.