- I see that you're doing sign language.
I think I know.
Are you deaf?
(gentle music)
- Hi. - Hello.
- My name is Steven.
- My name's Carolina.
- Hi, I'm Crystal, what's your name?
- My name is Mickey.
- I like that name.
- Thank you.
- Me too.
- She just copied what I said.
- No.
- How old are you?
- Old enough to be your mom (laughs).
- I'm 11.
- What are you gonna do today?
- [Interpreter] Today, you're going to meet a deaf person.
Do you know what deaf means?
- A deaf person is a person that can't hear.
- [Interpreter] Right.
So, I use an interpreter.
- What's an interpreter?
- [Interpreter] An interpreter is somebody
who signs for another person that is speaking.
So, she's interpreting what I want to say.
And then, the interpreter tells me
what you're saying in sign language.
- Were you born deaf?
- [Interpreter] No, I actually lost
my hearing when I was five.
- That's so young.
- [Interpreter] How old are you?
- Seven, Gigi's five.
- No, no, I'm not, I'm nine.
- Fake loser.
- How did you lose your hearing?
- [Interpreter] My grandmother
would call my name, "Mickey!"
When they brought me to the doctor,
Grandma said, "Hey, I've been calling her name
"and she's just ignoring me."
And the doctor did a test and found out
that I was losing my hearing.
It's something that runs in our family.
My grandparents were deaf, my dad is also deaf.
- Wow, that's a lot.
- Can you hear some things or are you completely deaf?
- [Interpreter] I can hear some things
with my cochlear implant.
- Can you hear animal sounds?
- [Interpreter] Yes.
- I can make a cow and cat.
Do you wanna see if you can hear it?
- [Interpreter] Sure.
(imitates cow)
(laughs)
(imitates horse)
Yeah, I could hear that.
I could hear your voice 'cause you're sitting close to me.
But if I take it off, I'm fully deaf.
- What is a cochlear implant?
- [Interpreter] Well, it's sort of like a hearing aid.
But instead of putting it behind
your ear to help you hear things,
it actually is put inside the skull.
- Do they need to cut your head?
- [Interpreter] Well, it wasn't really a cut.
But it was put underneath the skin,
right near my ear. - Oh.
- [Interpreter] Would you like to see it?
- Sure.
- [Interpreter] Can you see
the little thing behind her ear?
You just wanna see that up on top.
- [Boy] Oh, yeah, yeah, that's cool.
- [Interpreter] And then the wire
comes down to this little box.
And you can turn the volume up or down and adjust it.
And that helps me hear.
- That is super duper cool.
- Does it help you hear now?
- [Interpreter] Yes, it does.
It helps me to hear my favorite thing, which is music.
- If you're deaf, how do you listen to music?
- [Interpreter] I feel the vibrations, I feel the music.
You know how music has vibration?
They can put their hand on something that vibrates
or they can feel the music through their feet.
(humming)
I plug my cochlear implant right into my iPad or my phone
and I can put it as loud as I want.
- Nobody else can boss you around and say,
"That's too loud!"
- Right.
- [Interpreter] That's right.
- I like music too.
- [Interpreter] Really, what kind of music?
- Bruno Mars music.
And Michael Jackson.
- [Interpreter] What about you?
- I really like Tom Jones.
- [Interpreter] I think one of his song, I like.
♫ It's not unusual
♫ It's not unusual to have fun with anyone
(laughs) - Yeah.
When my mom asked me if I wanted to go to a concert,
and I said, "Yes."
She said, "It'll be you and a bunch of old ladies."
(laughs)
But I'm still enthusiastic to go.
- Do you like to sing?
- [Interpreter] Yes, I like to sing.
- I'd love to hear you sing.
- [Interpreter] You might to tell me to quit
and go back to my day job.
I can sing in the shower though.
- Shower singing is the best type of singing.
- What instruments do you play?
- [Interpreter] Well, I used to play the piano.
- We have so much in common already.
You like music, I like music.
You play piano, I play piano.
- Do you have a cell phone?
- [Interpreter] Yes, I do.
I have a cell phone for texting.
- So, that's what you only use your cell phone for,
just for texting?
- [Interpreter] Yep, I can't really hear the phone.
I can't talk to people over the phone.
So, we use texting.
- What are some other ways
that technology helps you out, like in your daily life?
- [Interpreter] For deaf people,
we have a doorbell that actually,
when you push the button is connected
to a light in the house.
The lights in the house,
you see in different rooms lights going off.
- Ouch, that would hurt my eyes.
Do you use an alarm clock?
- [Interpreter] Yes, I do, I have an alarm clock.
My alarm clock, when it goes off,
it actually vibrates the bed.
Sort of like a little, mini earthquake.
- Was that scary the first time you used it?
- [Interpreter] Yes.
- That's kind of a cool alarm clock.
- [Interpreter] I love it.
- Can you teach me how to say "puppy" in sign language?
[Interpreter] We can use this sign for puppy.
You sort of scratching your ears.
Use this hand, there you go.
- What's the hardest part about being deaf?
- [Interpreter] The hardest part is not being
able to hear like in a large group setting.
I feel left out.
- Do you ever get scared
'cause you can't hear what's going on?
- [Interpreter] Oh, yes, I do get scared.
For example, there was a situation a long time ago.
There was a fire in the apartment and I was asleep.
People were pounding and knocking on the doors
but I couldn't hear them.
And it was scary with my son being there too.
- Your son was in there too?
Did he have a little fire on him?
- [Interpreter] No.
Luckily, the firemen broke
into the apartment and saved us.
- That sounds serious.
- Is there any sounds that you're glad
that you don't have to listen to?
- [Interpreter] I don't like listening to yelling.
That bothers me, it gives me a headache.
That's easy for me to avoid.
I can just take it off and I don't hear them.
Do you guys argue?
- He argues.
- She argues with me.
- No.
- How do you say, "I am a dinosaur," in sign language?
- [Interpreter] Point to yourself.
Me, dinosaur.
- Me dinosaur (giggles).
- How do you say, "It was nice to meet you"?
- [Interpreter] Wipe your hand, like that.
To meet and point to the other person.
Meet you.
You're awesome.
- High five?
- High five (laughs).
- [Interpreter] Yay.
- Yay!
[Interpreter] Thank you so much for watching today.
We hope you enjoyed this video.
If you'd like to watch more videos, click here.
Or subscribe, click here.
And we hope you have a wonderful day.
(cheerful music)