Verbal and non verbal communication of deaf and hard-of-hearing persons

Tema ovog rada je verbalna i neverbalna komunikacija gluhih i nagluhih osoba. Na samome početku rada prikazana je gluhoća kroz povijest, definirani su pojmovi nagluhosti i gluhoće, razlozi njihova nastanka te važnost ranog otkrivanja oštećenja sluha kako bi se pravovremeno započelo s rehabilitacijom. Iako je proces rehabilitacije (npr. ugradnja umjetne pužnice) vrlo dugotrajan i složen, zahtijeva upornost i strpljenje, kod većine ljudi dolazi do znatnog poboljšanja u komunikaciji s okolinom. Također, opisana je važnost verbalne i neverbalne komunikacije, i vrste vizualne neverbalne komunikacije gluhih i nagluhih osoba (HZJ, čitanje s usana, jednoručna i dvoručna abeceda, „olovka i papir“). Kroz vlastito iskustvo prikazan je postepeni gubitak sluha tijekom godina, otkrivanje oštećenja sluha i ugradnja umjetne pužnice čime je zadržana kvaliteta života.The theme of this paper is verbal and non verbal communication of deaf and hearing impaired people. At the beginning of the paper, deafness throughout history is presented, as well as the definitions of deafness and hearing impairments, their causes and the importance of early discovery of hearing problems, in order to start rehabilitation in a timely manner. Although rehabilitation process (for example, implantation of artificial cochlea) is very long and complex and it requires persistence and patience, the majority of people notice significant improvement in communication with their environment. Also, the paper describes the importance of verbal and non verbal communication, as well as the kinds of visual non verbal communication of deaf and hearing impaired people (Croatian Sign Language, lip reading, one-handed and two-handed manual alphabet, „pen and paper“). The gradual hearing loss over the years is shown though my personal experience, as well as the discovery of hearing problems and, in the end, the implantation of artificial cochlea which helped me to maintain the quality of life