Today’s blog is on a subject close to my heart, subtitles on DVD’s.
I was born with normal hearing but in my early thirties I developed a hearing disease which means I am slowly, but surely, losing my hearing completely. It has taken me sometime to adjust to my world becoming increasingly quiet but I am finding it has its advantages i.e. screaming kids, take my hearing aids out and no more problem! The disadvantages are many but my main one is that I can no longer eavesdrop which for me and some of my fellow woman kind, is a disaster, but I now realise it is just something to take in my stride. On the upside, I can read lips from across a room so at least I have a fighting chance of knowing what the gossip is! My grandsons although young, understand when nanny takes her ears out it is because they are making too much noise however they are both picking up sign language brilliantly even though I might be ever so slightly biased. Both realise that they have to stand in front of me when speaking or get my attention so I look at them, not bad considering they are only 1 and 2 years old.
We have a large selection of DVD’s aimed at kids such as Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine and the Trumpton / Camberwick Green box set, ok we said we bought them for the kids but well….they are still as good as they ever was and all of them have subtitles. In today’s technological era you would have expected all DVD’s would come with subtitles but no. Increasingly I am finding because my taste is outside the realm of Hollywood blockbusters and other main stream viewing programs, that some new DVD’s do not have subtitles. Why? We can send humans to the Moon destroy our planet with bombs and even clone cells so what is so difficult about added text detail for those who need it. It is not just the Deaf who use subtitles; my Step Daughter uses them on kids programs to encourage my grandsons to read. My partner uses them when watching TV in bed and I am asleep and, of course, I use them just to follow the plot. I have tried direct emailing everyone remotely famous on www.Twitter.com (a brilliant site) asking them to ensure that their DVD’s come with subtitles but no one has even replied to me.
Most people assume because you wear hearing aids you have learning difficulties and I get treated differently to other people when shopping anywhere new, my regular shops treat me the same and people in work often forget which is fine until they speak and I can’t see there lips move! What really made me laugh was when I visited the Doctor and I had to see a locum. You would expect a Doctor to understand the communication issues I face but no, he decided to speak into his desk and then (because I asked him to look at me when speaking) he started over pronouncing all his words. Yep because that is not patronising at all, I AM DEAF NOT STUPID! I have a Degree, ten GCSE’s, two A Levels and an NVQ’s, just speak normally you complete tit!!!
So here I am on a one woman crusade to get all DVD’s to have subtitles, if you have an idea that could help I would love to hear about it, start twittering about it, facebook it and tell your friends. Ok rant over.
More later people and take care of yourselves.
Angie xx
