Free.
I have a hearing disability. My diagnosis is profound hearing loss. I identify as "hard of hearing" (HOH) but I could also identify as "oral deaf." My hearing is pretty bad, but I don't know sign language and I am not part of the deaf community.
I rely on lip reading to communicate. I think I'm pretty good at it, but it's not easy. It's estimated that only about 30 per cent of speech can be interpreted by lip reading. The rest of it is guesswork, and it's made more difficult by things like poor lighting, visual distractions, hand gestures, conflicting body language and accents.
I fill in the blanks, sorting through all the possible puzzle pieces and inserting the most likely ones. It's mentally draining, exhausting and not terribly accurate. Plus, it has etched deep frown lines into my brow, as I have been frowning in concentration for much of my life.
Because of my disability, I can't use a regular telephone. I use a TTY, which is a text telephone. If I need to call someone -- and, yes, in this day and age, I still need to call places, like my doctor's office -- I dial the relay service. The operator there places the call for me. I type my side of the conversation, and she reads it out loud to the person I am calling.
That person, in turn, dictates their part of the conversation to the operator, who types it out for me. It's cumbersome. It's anything but private. And often, the transcription quality is poor, and I'm left floundering.
But online, where text-based communication rules, I'm on an even footing with everyone else. I understand everything. With technology, I am free. I'm equal. I'm not disabled.