Deaf people .
So, it is common for people with this disability to experience a myriad of ignorant reactions from people around them who can hear – including plenty of unwelcome questions.
In Cut.com’s latest video, they learn some of the most common annoying questions deaf people receive straight from the source, and some of them may surprise you.
Down to the facts: Hearing impaired people are asked to reveal the most annoying questions they receive in a new video
Having a think: The interviewees declare ‘Where do I begin?’ when told to offer their choices for most annoying question
The interviewees, most of whom answer the questions through sign language, all answer fairly similarly when asked about the most annoying questions they hear.
‘Where do I begin!’ responds one young man, while another woman seems to have trouble pinpointing one because ‘there are so many!’
‘Do you like music?’ ‘Can you understand my lips?’ ‘Can you read and write?’ and even ‘Can you have sex?’ are all options put forward by the interviewees.
A young female student reveals that her disability has even been used a sort of pick-up line, with men asking her: ‘Can you date hearing guys… like me?’
‘Can you understand my lips?’ This woman blasts people who shout and enunciated in an exaggerated way when talking to her
Bringing it back: This man reveals that he is asked if he likes music and whether he can drive
Some of the annoying questions crossed over many of the video’s subjects, such as: ‘Can deaf people drive?’
‘Obviously I can drive! Oh my gosh that is so insulting,’ says one woman, exasperated.
‘People do ask me if I need a wheelchair at the airport,’ adds one young man. ‘Like, hello, I am standing right in front of you, I just can’t hear.’
One young lady describes people trying to ‘test’ her by doing things like yelling at her behind her back.
Talking it through: The subjects answer the questions by using sign language
No thanks: When asked if they wish they could hear, many answer that they are happy with just how they are
Despite one of the women saying that she thinks it’s ‘awful’ when people ask if she wishes she could hear, the filmmakers finish the video by asking all of the deaf subjects that question.
The reactions are mixed, ranging from ‘No, I don’t think I’ve ever wished that’ to ‘Well yeah, being deaf isn’t easy.’
However, all of the subjects agree that being able to hear would probably have a huge downside: a loss of identity and their community.
‘It makes me think of the word privileged. Would I then feel privileged? The thought of that really bothers me,’ says one woman.
Another adds: ‘I wouldn’t want to be a hearing person for the rest of my life. I love being deaf, I love my life.’