Too often, people take their sense of hearing for granted. However, for junior Tauna DeBauge and freshman Max DeBauge, they know what it’s like to be without. Both are able to hear, but their parents cannot.
Jeff and Susan DeBauge both have cochlear implants to help them hear basic sounds and noises, and they can also read lips to help them understand. Jeff and Susan are both able to speak and use sign language to communicate with others. Tauna and Max mostly communicate with their parents through sign language.
“It’s really convenient to sign when you don’t want everybody around you to know what you’re saying to each other,” Tauna said.
According to Jeff, there aren’t many job opportunities for people who are deaf, Jeff works at the post office as a city carrier.
“The most difficult thing is communicating with some people while I’m working,” Jeff said. “Sometimes they’ll try to point things out to try to communicate.”
Although sometimes communication is difficult, Tauna views having deaf parents as a positive obstacle.
“If my parents weren’t deaf I wouldn’t be as accepting of deaf people,” Tauna said. “It’s just how I was raised.”
Inside their home, a doorbell chimes as well as flickers the lights on and off. Instead of a regular telephone, a small screen is set up to video chat with others, similar to Skype. If the fire alarms go off, the lights flicker at a fast pace. Rather than waking up to an alarm clock tone, the bed shakes them awake.
“I’m kind of used to everything, it’s just normal,” Tauna said. “But I have a huge fear that a tornado siren will go off or something and they won’t hear it.”
Jeff and Susan meet with a group in Olathe occasionally to meet with friends who are also deaf.
“There really isn’t a large deaf population here,” Jeff said. “I think there’s something like less than 10,000 people in the entire Kansas City area.”
Though there is not a large deaf population in the Kansas City area and there are obstacles to overcome everyday, the DeBauge family has grown accustomed to their different lifestyle.
“I guess I learned how to be independent early on,” Tauna said. “You have to manage.”
