Hearing Loss/Impairment And Interpreting Thread poster: Ana Naglić
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Ana Naglić 
Croatia
Local time: 02:30
Member (2005)
English to Croatian
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How would you handle the situation if you were diagnosed with hearing impairment?
How many interpreters with hearing impairment/hearing aid do you know?
| | | | The Misha
Local time: 20:30
Russian to English
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| I am one - and it's not a sentence. | Aug 28, 2012 |
My hearing has always been at 50% tops in my best ear, and it has never been a problem professionally. If you do simultaneous, it matters little since you can always adjust the volume up. I don't, I only do consecutive, and I wear hearing aids when I do. That usually does it. Just make sure you are as close as possible to the speaker and, preferably, look him or her in the face. That's it.
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 18:30
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | Not the best hearing | Aug 28, 2012 |
All my life my hearing has been somewhat deficient; not enough to be classified as hearing impaired, and good enough to get by in most normal situations. But when interpreting I have to make sure I have the best possible working conditions including a good, clear sound feed with good volume and/or the ability to be mobile and to get close to the speaker. Some situations I have to avoid entirely because I may have no guarantee that I will be able to hear and understand well enough to to a proper ... See more All my life my hearing has been somewhat deficient; not enough to be classified as hearing impaired, and good enough to get by in most normal situations. But when interpreting I have to make sure I have the best possible working conditions including a good, clear sound feed with good volume and/or the ability to be mobile and to get close to the speaker. Some situations I have to avoid entirely because I may have no guarantee that I will be able to hear and understand well enough to to a proper job.
It is just something I have had to compensate for all my life. I think that anyone whose hearing is worse than mine will find that interpreting is not for them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alison Sparks (X)
Local time: 02:30
French to English
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| For those who aren't normally hearing impaired....... | Aug 28, 2012 |
Try having "glue ear", otitis media or 'otite sérouse' as the French call it.
Even with my hearing totally intact, I've found interpreting difficult enough in a room full of people who argue/chat incessantly during presentations.
However, for the last few months I've been suffering from "glue ear" as a result of allergies, and I'm completely lost as far as hearing a conversation is concerned without trying to interpret! Hence I've had to refuse a few jobs................ See more Try having "glue ear", otitis media or 'otite sérouse' as the French call it.
Even with my hearing totally intact, I've found interpreting difficult enough in a room full of people who argue/chat incessantly during presentations.
However, for the last few months I've been suffering from "glue ear" as a result of allergies, and I'm completely lost as far as hearing a conversation is concerned without trying to interpret! Hence I've had to refuse a few jobs.............
Hats off to Henry and The Misha for managing, and although my problem will be solved next month with a small operation (hopefully not too painful as I'm a real coward), I've been warned that this is just but the start of further problems, so it would be interesting to know how others cope. ▲ Collapse
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Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 20:30
Romanian to English
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| 75% loss in lt. ear and over 50% loss in rt. ear | Aug 28, 2012 |
So what !
I lost my hearing on the left side when I was 17 ( a stupid schoolmate blasted a shotgun 10 cm from my ear) but I have been able to interpret for over 15 years. Henry and Misha pointed out how to manage this ”impairment”. Over the years I learned how to read lips, I purchased a good (... and expensive) pair of hearing-aids and, if you don't understand something, just ask for a repetition.
Good luck !
[Edited at 2012-08-28 22:14 GMT]
| | | | | Got some impairment in the right ear caused by a blast (30% loss) | Aug 29, 2012 |
But as said earlier it is not a problem in simultaneous interpreting at all. It may be some problem in consecutive interpretation, however a tiny behind the ear hearing aid will do - it depends on the degree of your impairment. Now, most people have some degree of hearing loss, but they don't realize it. I was not aware of mine until I had to see an audiologist as a part of a selection procedure.
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