I Hear Things Differently: How the deaf are using their skill set to thrive in diverse careers
- Black On The Job Team
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- Nov 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 11
Hey bee hey!! Blogger Bee here with another Taste Of Honey from Momma Bee! I am just getting back from visiting some of our Bees in Maine before the cold of the winter months settle in. It will be spring before I can see the Bees in the cold states. During the winter months Honey Bees stay in the hive and form a winter cluster to stay warm. While solitary and Bumble Bees hibernate in underground burrows, leaf litters or cavities Honey bees huddle together, shivering to generate heat, and take turns moving from the colder outside layers to the warmer inside to stay alive until spring.
After buzzing around for a while some of the Deaf Bees they wanted me to ask Momma Bee if she could give them a little insight into some skills they could use for alternate careers. A lot of our Deaf Bees were employed with DEI organizations. But with the funding for a lot of those companies and organizations some of our Bees are being left in the cold simply because they can’t hear.
Taste Of Honey
First and foremost Blogger Bee, just because a person doesn’t hear with their ears does not mean they can’t hear. They just hear differently. Just like because you can’t speak sign language doesn't mean you can’t talk.
It just means you speak differently.
Recently, I traveled to Japan. I only knew one word in the Japanese language and that was the greeting. I had to communicate differently while I was there. I used a translator app. I was able to effectively communicate.
The same is true in our deaf community. They just speak a different language. Sign language is just one form of communication they use.
They have a built-in skill set. Let's take a look at some of the opportunities and careers available.
Court Interpreters make anywhere from $35- $43 an hour on average. . Highly experienced and certified interpreters can command salaries of $75 an hour or more.
Diagnostic Medical sonographer salary is approximately $80,000 plus a year. It only requires a two year degree or a one year certificate if you have any other medical experience.
There are many examples of Famous Blacks in our community who have used the skill of being able to hear things differently to become very successful.
One famous deaf black person is Claudia Gordon, the first deaf African American female attorney in the United States. She has worked as a prominent disability rights advocate and held a senior policy advisory position in the executive branch during the Obama administration.
Whoopi Goldberg and Halle Berry: Both Oscar-winning actresses experience hearing loss and are advocates for hearing health and domestic violence awareness, respectively not to mention the athletes in our community who played not only professionally but went on to win recognition in their field.
Derrick Coleman: The first legally deaf offensive player in the NFL, he won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014.
Tamika Catchings: A four-time Olympic gold medalist and retired WNBA basketball star who was born with a hearing impairment.
How a Strong Skill Set Helps Deaf Professionals Succeed Across Industries
All of these people had the incredible skill to hear things differently. Here at Black On The Job we listen differently to our Bees with this powerful skill set.
We have the ability to communicate with our Bees via translators and various means to provide the services needed to keep our Bees in the career that their special skill set deserves. Our Bees who hear things differently, have found the Makeover Package to best suit their goal. Remember Blogger Bees, just because someone doesn’t use their ears to hear doesn’t mean they can’t hear at all. It just means they hear things differently.
Well, Momma Bee, thank you for teaching us this powerful lesson. Remember if you have a subject matter or question you would like Momma Bee to give you a Taste of Honey on email us or post your question in the hive and hashtag #bloggerbee #MommaBee #tasteofhoney.
This week Momma Bee is giving away a makeover package to a bee. The rules to the trivia are below.
TRIVIA CHALLENGE
#1 Find the blog that speaks of domestic violence and comment on that blog with the name we call the Bee that commits these violent acts.
#2 Comment on this blog and let us know if you know anyone who hears differently and how you communicate with them. If you hear things differently tell us what is your preferred method of communication. Include the name of the blog you found the answer to question #1 on.
#3 Must Join us Live in the Hive Wednesday to win. Be sure to include your blog name when you comment on the blog. Remember every comment counts towards your win
In the blog "The Sound of Violence & Career Growth: Why Receptionist and Parallel Roles Can Help Survivors Thrive," that came out on September 15th, the wasps are the ones that commit violent acts.
In high school and the beginning of college, I used to date a guy that was starting to go deaf. We always has subtitles on the tv, spoke directly in front of them so that he could read lips, and I even started learning sign language. My biggest thing that I pursued in college, even after we broke up, was learning American Sign Language. I have not used it often but I would understand someone that needed to sign to me when I worked.
The blog was The Sound of Violence & Career Growth: Why Receptionist and Parallel Roles Can Help Survivors Thrive. The bee that commits the violent acts are called wasps.
I don’t know anyone who hears differently, but this was a nice reminder that although they hear differently, they have value!
I've grown up with many people who hear differently. They encouraged me to learn ASL, dictation, verbal cues, and body language in order to communicate with them effectively. Also, they taught me how to slow down on my speech a bit so that they can read my lips and better understand.
Found the answer to Question 1 in The Sound of Violence and Career Growth: Why Receptionist and Paralegal Roles Can Help Survivors Thrive blog post
I have worked with the elderly population for a while now. Hearing aids or complete hearing loss is the norm. I have to be expressive with my face and body language. As well as sometimes bring items instead of talking about them so they can choose what they want out of my hand instead of me trying to explain it to them. I myself am going through getting tested because I have been hard of hearing for a long while. Always asking everyone to repeat and annunciate things repeatedly. And assisting my child who has minor inner ear damage, and excessive wax. Which are not the same thing as, deaf I am aware .What I have learned since being concerned…
I do not know anyone personally who hears differently. However, I'm always intrigued by those who are deaf and blind because they learn to pivot and complete tasks that most of us often take for granted and make excuses about, things that seem difficult, etc. This is a great reminder that there are times that we will have to pivot from our norm to get things done, even when it's uncomfortable.
"The Sound of Violence & Career Growth: Why Receptionist and Parallel Roles Can Help Survivors Thrive" was the blog about domestic violence and wasps is what the violators were called.