Deaf but not defeated

If only one could imagine, what it would be like to not at all experience the sound of their favourite song on the radio or hear the voice of a family member wishing happy birthday, such things in life would never be taken for granted. Most people do not realise the giant impact of the deaf in our society. Deaf persons can be any race, gender and position in society. They can even be scientists, doctors, or many other professions.

Hard of hearing people mostly are viewed as those who cannot hear due to their lack of ability to hear the sound. They have specific deficiencies in the hearing system and are unable to communicate either by hearing or speaking. The deaf people are considered different from the society so they form separate social groups, speaks own language, mostly attend different universities, have own magazines and special sports events including the Olympics.

Nevertheless, Accounting student Kang Kia Chun, who is assisted by hearing aid at all time due to severe hearing loss in both ears, has managed to rise against the odds. “I was not born with this hearing impairment, in fact, I became deaf after accidentally hitting my head against the wall,” said Kang. His hearing loss, which was diagnosed at the age of five or six, sets him apart from hearing people, hence making his communication more difficult and also causing some interaction problems.

Kang during the interview

In order to communicate effectively, Kang took the initiative to learn both the spoken language and the sign language that could improvise his life and make it better. However, in certain circumstances note writing or other forms of communication would be his preferred means of communication.

Although Kang has been deaf for almost his entire life, this inevitable fact of life has not slowed him down. Despite the problems caused by his hearing loss, he still came to UTAR to pursue his Degree study in order to obtain the knowledge and skills that would help him to complete his dream of becoming an auditor.

When asked about the reason why he chose the Accounting course, Kang explained, “I like numerical subject and mathematics rather than theoretical subjects. For me, theoretical subject will be much more difficult than subjects involving calculations such as Quantitative Technique or Accounting,” he then added, “I enrolled in UTAR for the accounting course with the support of my parents and relatives, and both my sisters who study at UTAR Kampar.”

Unlike his life in the Primary and Secondary school, which was meant for the deaf or students who were unable to hear, Kang grew to become comfortable around the non-deaf and many of his friends at UTAR were hearing person. However, as one could predict, problems have never ceased to exist for Kang in almost every new semester.

Despite using the hearing aid, he still faces complication and finds it difficult to hear sounds clearly. The hearing aid helps him to pick up and amplify every detail of sound present around him, however those ambient noises could be very disruptive to him at times. Thus, the noisier the environment, the more difficult it will be for Kang to hear someone speak. He knew the shift in the learning environment would be difficult, but he also knew that eventually, he would learn to cope with these problems and overcome his shortcomings. For each new semester is faced with the challenges of having unfamiliar lecturer or tutor who probably has never worked with a deaf student before or classmates who have never had a peer with a hearing loss. By hook or by crook, he has learnt to overcome these problems.

“Most of the lessons are taught using a whiteboard or projector, but there are certain lecturers who would still deliver the lesson through the means of speaking. In that case, I would miss out a lot of information in the class,” said Kang, “Therefore, to overcome this problem I made it an appoint to send an email about my concern to the respective tutor or lecturer before attending the class. If I failed to follow up with the lesson, I will not hesitate to ask the tutor to guide me so that I can understand and learn to answer the questions during the exam. If not, I will buy textbook as references to get more information.”

Generally, Kang has been very fortunate because most of his classmates and friends are supportive and understanding in accommodating his hearing loss. “My classmates and friends are always willing to help me. Some of them would copy the notes for me; some would explain to me what the tutor teaches and some would even help me to jot down the important notes by writing or typing it out in the documents,” he said.

Kang is currently a Year two Semester three student who is enrolling in the Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) at Sungai Long Campus. Offered by Faculty of Accountancy and Management, this four-year programme is specifically designed to produce qualified and trained professionals in many areas such as accounting and auditing, in accordance with the requirements and conditions as laid down by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.