Limping Chicken, which promotes itself as “the world’s most popular deaf blog” has highlighted the impact of concentration fatigue caused by deaf people having to focus for long periods of time on BSL.
Nadia Nadarajah, a deaf actor and creative artist who uses BSL, raises the issues in her column on the website and said she refers to it frequently in the deaf awareness training courses that she delivers.
Nadia wrote: “It’s the exhaustion that occurs after concentrating for long amounts of time using our eyes – we use our eyes constantly as we don’t rely on our ears. This prolonged focusing of the eyes has a large effect on deaf people.”
Nadia made the point that hearing people are able to take information in audibly and have the opportunity to look away, rest their eyes, close them, move their head around.
As this is impossible for deaf people, Nadia told how she takes the initiative when she is at work by asking for eye breaks or time to rest my eyes, close them or move into a new area and get some fresh air and energy.
She said: “This is important as sometimes I might be working in an area with no natural lighting or we may have spent a long amount of time in the room, with me watching and concentrating.”
Nadia cited examples from Great British Bake Off in which deaf contestant Tasha appeared tired, dizzy and faint and, on another occasion, because flustered when she couldn’t pronounce an ingredient.
Nadia wrote: “ I could see the pressure she was under and the high level of concentration she had to keep is really common in deaf people.”
Nadia added that the issue can be addressed by including it in deaf awareness training.
She wrote: “The awareness of this has really helped with my work and enables me to feel supported as though we are all part of a team.
“It’s worked really well, our well-being and mental health is so important. I have to consider my health and how my eyes get tired – awareness of these factors is so important.”
