Read The Vest First Before Asking

In the past year I have taken my hearing dog into airports, malls, restaurants and to many more places.    Rarely I was ever questioned on what he was doing inside a public place.   Most people are aware that he is a service animal by looking at that orange vest that he wears.

Because I was born deaf, this hearing dog helps to notify me of sounds I can't hear around my home.   He was trained to do that from trainers at I.H.D.I. in Colorado.   He goes to work with me everyday. So people are getting used to seeing him wherever I go.

Last weekend I decided to go shopping at J.C.Penny's at the Eastern Hills Mall.   An old sales lady followed me like a security guard around the store.   When I turned around she was right behind me and scared me.   Before I knew it she was asking me if he was a service animal.   Then she looked at his vest and I said yes and she went away.

If she had a problem with this dog being in the store she should of just read his vest and moved on.   Nobody else has questioned me about this dog being in a store in a year.  That is simply because they could read his vest.   She did have a right to ask that question, but it was unnecessary since he had his Hearing Dog vest on.  And it was rude.  Unless she couldn't read.
 

Delta Airlines: Use Some Common Sense For The Deaf Passengers

                               Last summer I had to do a lot of flying to see my father.  He was close to dying.   Everytime I go to the airport I always sign up for Special Services.  So I expect to get the kind of help I need with my hearing loss.   Luckily my dad is ok now.

                               When I was at the gate I asked the attendant to wave to me when it was time to board.   And then after I was on the plane they did the safety demonstations like usual.  But it was not done in sign language and it was not captioned.   It's always done the same old way year after year.

                                I'm a very good lipreader but the demonstrations are usually done over the speakers.  So I can't hear or understand a word being said.  This has been nothing new.  When we landed I walked off with my hearing dog.   There was a young man waiting with a wheelchair with my name on a sign.

                                At first I didn't get why that was for me, I thought maybe it was for my dog. But yet both me and Douglas have no trouble walking though the airport.  I actually found it quite insulting that the airline would send me a wheelchair when I didn't need one.   Did they actually think if you were deaf you needed to use a wheelchair?

                                No really, someone needs to educate the staff on this airline on what the needs of the deaf passengers are. And by the way I felt very sorry for the young boy wasting his time waiting for me with the wheelchair. I had to decline it.



                                                                       

Delta Airlines Failed To Satisfy Deaf Passenger Again

                                   When I printed my boarding pass for a flight on Christmas I checked the box for special services.   It said I was hard of hearing on the screen by my pass.   Also I had a hearing dog going with me, but there was no option in there for service animals.   All I saw on it were pets.  After I got done filling it out, I figured I was all set for my flight with no problems.

                                   After I arrived at the gate in the Buffalo airport , I sat down and waited.   A lady was constantly making announcements over a microphone in the boarding area.   Of course I didn't understand a word she said.  Even though I was sitting right in the front, the microphone covered her mouth.  Then all of a sudden everyone lined up by the door but it was closed.  I didn't know what to do.   

                                    So I got up and told her I was deaf and to tell me what was going on.  All she said was we were going to be boarding in seven minutes.  But after I sat back down, I thought I was supposed to be standing in line with the others.   It looked like she was checking in everyone's baggage or something.   Like a fool I stood in the end and waited about 15 minutes.  When it was finally my turn, she told me I already got my seat number.

                                   Feeling like an idiot I sat back down, knowing I never had to stand in line the first place.   Finally it was time to board and she saw my dog, so I was one of the people that went on the plane first.  As I dragged my suitcase onto the plane the flight attendant told me it was too small to put in the cabinet.   Then again I felt like a fool, little did I know the lady had announced over the microphone for people to leave their bags outside the door of the plane. 

                                   The flight attendant took my suitcase from me and  pushed it off the plane. Seriously I felt stupid.   If the lady at the gate would of told me, I would of left it where it was supposed to be outside the plane.  It's not my fault I can't hear.  But they should of notified me when I was boarding the plane.   After all I requested for Special Services.  Didn't anyone know how to sign?

                                   I got in my seat and buckled up.   Then the plane started to take off.   I was wondering if they even gave a Safety Demonstration because I was sitting way in the back.   If they did, well I couldn't hear it or see it.   The flight attendant came over to my seat several times to check on me.   Of course I let her know I was deaf.   She smiled a lot and was very friendly, but I didn't ever understand a word she said.  She spoke very fast and had an accent.

                                  My experience flying with Delta for the hundredth time was very disappointing.  They made me feel humilated and embarrassed as a deaf passenger.  The worst times were when they had a wheelchair waiting for me the last few times I flew from North Carolina.   I don't know why they think I would need one if I am just deaf.  That makes no sense to me.   Though I felt sorry for the kid that came all the way to the gate with a wheelchair that wasn't needed.

                                 Come on Delta Airlines!  Please start showing more respect for your deaf customers!

Hearing Dog Wakes Me Up In The Morning

Before I got Douglas from the International Hearing Dog Institute I would rely on certain alarms for deaf people to wake me up.   I am profound deaf with a 90 percent hearing loss.  So there's no way I am going to hear a regular alarm clock going off.

Usually I would use the flashing light together with the bed shaker vibrator.   Using both did wake me up but there was one problem.   The bed vibrator would stop working after 2 years.   Then I would go and buy another one, and that would break too after a period of time.

I was tired of having to buy one alarm clock after another just to find out they didn't work for long.  And these special alarm clocks were expensive.   Now I have my hearing dog that is trained to wake me up when a regular alarm clock goes off.  He was trained to respond when it either beeps or plays music.

He is the most reliable one I can depend on to get me up each morning.

Deaf Lady Gets No Assistance On Plane For 40 Years

Just recently I flew home on Delta Airlines from Detroit on Christmas. Before I left I had notified the airlines that I was deaf. But once I boarded the plane it was all forgotten. Again I didn't understand a word being said on the microphone. This time I called the flight attendant over and we had a talk. I told her that I didn't understand a word she said during the safety demonstration. She said just follow the book.

Well I told her that is not the only issue. There were a lot of announcements being made over the microphone. And not all of them was about the safety demonstration. And I explained to her that deaf people have a rights to know every word that was said on the plane. We shouldn't be left out and ignored when announcements are being made.

She apologized about what I was going through. Though she didn't have to do that. I explained to her if they would close caption every announcement for the deaf passengers it would be more fair. Or they could have an interpreter on the plane when there's a deaf passenger. I have never been offered either option in forty years.