Entries by Tina Lannin

Captioning and subtitling Deaf Learners 2013 Conference

May 28, 2013 in /by

We were a sponsor of Deaf Unity’s Deaf Learners 2013 Conference today. It was great to meet students and those interested in facilitating access to education for deaf learners with captioning and subtitling services. We caught up with Rachel from Deaf Umbrella .. a tough feat, since both our schedules are so full and we’ve been trying to meet up for ages! We got to talking about the amazing Hearing Dogs and she roared with laughter when she heard the story of Smudge helping himself to the chocolate display while Jeanette was super busy lipreading the shop assistant 🙂 One of the sponsors, SignVideo, had their stall next to us – […]

35 misconceptions about being deaf or hard of hearing

May 1, 2013 /2 Comments/in /by

Hearing loss is no joke Here are some misconceptions about deafness, deafblindness, and communication that we have come across in our training courses.  Some of them may be obvious, others not.  If you can answer all of these, then congratulations – you are halfway to becoming deaf aware and knowledgeable about deafness.  If not, then perhaps it would be a good idea to come and find out more on a training course with 121 Captions to learn what deafness really means. After all, 10 million people in the UK and 360 million people in the world struggle with some degree of hearing loss. Test your assumptions about hearing loss The most common misconceptions are highlighted […]

The glory of artificial hearing

October 14, 2012 /0 Comments/in /by

Molly Brown was left profoundly deaf after her auditory nerves were removed during treatment for a genetic illness. In 2003 she became one of the first people to be given a radical new type of implant that attempts to recreate hearing by stimulating the brainstem directly. Of the five who received the implant, she has had the most success. She still finds the telephone difficult, so when she told Duncan Graham-Rowe about her strange new world in 2004, they used instant messaging. When did you first notice problems with your hearing? In 1982, when I was 22, I noticed I was having some difficulty talking on the phone. The sound seemed to be getting softer and more […]

Are deaf role models hard to find?

May 1, 2012 /0 Comments/in /by

Deaf role models Do you remember how hard it was when you were younger and deaf? Before you found your way in life? Before you became successful? Was there a role model that you looked up to, who had hearing loss too? It’s tricky when you can’t see deafness most of the time, and most people want to hide it too. Be proud of who you are! Are you young with a hearing loss, and you’re wondering how you can be successful, but don’t know if this is possible. What are your options? Who or what are your options defined by? Who do you listen to, and who should you […]

Does a cochlear implant “fix” a deaf person?

August 20, 2011 /0 Comments/in /by

Is the cochlear implant a “solution”? Charlie wrote a very good article on the issue of giving a cochlear implant to a deaf person to ‘fix’ their hearing loss. Tina didn’t consider herself ‘broken’, until she reached a point where she couldn’t cope any longer, and looked for other options to help her manage her ability to communicate with the hearing people all around her every day. She had to find a way to communicate with more ease than struggling to understand what was being said with guesswork and lip reading. Struggling with everyday communication is extremely tiring. When you have no choice, it’s even more tiring and it just becomes a […]