[nfb-db] Crossing Streets?

[Scott Davert]

Hi Arielle.
I'm going to disagree with you on this. How can you tell the traffic
that is louder is coming from one side or the other? And, how often is
usually? Even if it's 75% of the time, that means 1 and 4 crossings
present a significant risk. Also, you wrote that if she hears standing
traffic in front of her followed by relatively quiet moving traffic,
that it's probably safe to cross. That's the problem, she wrote that
she cannot tell whether traffic is in front of her or not. And if you
judge the directionality of the traffic purely based on how loud it
is, that is also dangerous because there are simply vehicles that are
more loud than others. Normally, I wouldn't chime in to disagree with
someone on a list, but in this circumstance, I think it's important.
I'm not trying to attack anyone here, just saying why I do not think
this advice is wise.

Thanks for reading,
Scott

On 7/29/12, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Kerri,
> Can you tell me which intersections you are dealing with at this
> point? I might remember some tricks for those particular
> intersections.
> I don't have experience with hearing loss in one ear, but I do agree
> that perpendicular traffic is usually much louder than parallel
> traffic. Also, it is almost always safe to cross when the
> perpendicular street is idling. Idle/stopped traffic is a lot easier
> to hear on the perpendicular street than it is on the parallel street.
> So if you hear standing traffic in front of you, followed by
> relatively quiet moving traffic, you should be good to go.
> I do think that fear is most of your issue, especially since you
> haven't made any misjudgments when you do decide to cross. If you
> decide to go when your instructor is with you, the worst that can
> happen is that your instructor will correct you.
> I had similar issues before I went to LCB with waiting for a long time
> before I got a good cue that it was safe to corss the street, even
> though I don't have a hearing loss. I was able to get over it but it
> just took a lot of practice.
> How is the rest of the program going for you?
> Best,
> Arielle
>
> On 7/29/12, Kerri Kosten <kerrik2006 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Everyone:
>>
>> Though I have been on this list for a long time now, I don't post much.
>> But, I am having a problem I don't really know what to do about and I
>> need to find a solution rather soon.
>> I am a current student at the Louisiana Center for The Blind, the NFB
>> training center. I did very extensive research before choosing this
>> center, and I chose this one because I knew it was the best of the
>> best and I could learn to become independent to the point where I
>> would have the confidence to be able to go anywhere, have the
>> confidence to do anything I wanted, and be able to travel in
>> new/unfamiliar environments without needing to be orientated by a
>> mobility instructor everytime I moved somewhere.
>> Besides this, I much prefer the structured discovery method of
>> learning over the ttraditional route travel method.
>> In addition to being totally blind, I have hearing loss. I basically
>> only have hearing in my left ear. My right ear is completely deaf.
>> This means that I hear sounds pretty well but I have trouble with
>> localization and knowing which direction sounds are coming from.
>> I am at the point in my training where I am having to cross
>> intersections with stoplights. In order to cross these intersections,
>> I am supposed to cross when the parallel traffic is moving. The
>> parallel street is the street that is beside me. When the parallel
>> traffic is moving, the perpendicular traffic (traffic on the street in
>> front of me) can not go.
>> I am having two problems that do not seem to be getting better. First,
>> I am having a lot of trouble telling which street is going. I can hear
>> the traffic. I can hear when it is stopped/idaling. But, I am having
>> trouble telling which street is moving, the one in front of me or the
>> one beside me.
>> At first, my instructor would ask me questions such as "What is
>> moving?" and I would try to tell him/her and then cross at the
>> appropriate time. However, now, since I have been in training for a
>> couple of months, my instructor does not say anything because he/she
>> wants me to make the decision on my own and trust myself.
>> So, what happens is we approach the street. I admit I am terrified
>> because there is so much traffic and I know I have to cross the street
>> on my own. I attempt to listen. I get somewhat of an idea of what
>> street is going. I then become even more scared though and don't
>> cross. We end up just standing at the particular intersection for 20
>> minutes or more and my instructor gets onto me.
>> I don't know whether my issues are with hearing or my fear. My
>> instructor avidly believes I am just letting my fear stop me and does
>> not understand why I am not gaining confidence and beginning to trust
>> myself more. My instructor believes I can do this even with one ear.
>> I guess I am both afraid and unsure. I can sort of tell which street
>> is moving because it seems at times (I don't know if this is accurate
>> or not) but it seems that the perpendicular street (the street that is
>> in front of me) sounds a bit louder and when the parallel street is
>> moving (the one beside me) it sounds sort of quieter/a bit further
>> away from my left ear. Sometimes though, on different streets, for
>> some reason I don't hear this slight sound difference and all the
>> traffic sounds the same to me. I can hear it, it just all sounds the
>> same so I can't tell which street is going. However, I am still afraid
>> to go, so end up just standing there for much longer than I should. I
>> guess I am afraid that it will be the wrong time and if I go it will
>> be the wrong time. So, I don't go, and we end up standing at one
>> intersection for forever.
>> The problem is that I have already been in training for a few months,
>> and students are only in training for up to nine months. I want to do
>> as well as I can here. I do not want to be one of those students who
>> is here for nine months but barely learns anything. That is not why I
>> came here.
>> Also, these particular streets are only about four blocks from the
>> center which is a very short distance. If I can not figure out how to
>> cross these streets, I will never be able to advance very far in
>> travel, and this will really cause me a lot of problems in the rest of
>> my life when I have completed training.
>> How do you all handle street crossings? How do you know which street
>> is moving when you only have hearing in one ear?
>> Is there something else I can listen for? Is there a certain pattern I
>> can listen for or something to help me?
>> Is it possible that I am becoming so terrified/anxious that my fear is
>> affecting my hearing?
>> Is it accurate/true that the perpendicular street sounds louder than
>> the parallel one? Could I use this slight difference in sound to
>> properly judge which street is moving?
>> Could my attitude have something to do with this? Instead of going
>> about this with an excited, positive, can-do attitude, maybe I am
>> being too negative/scared? Could my approach/attitude possibly be
>> affecting things?
>> I should point out that I have not made a bad decision yet when
>> crossing. My instructor has never had to actually stop me. He/she
>> keeps telling me this, but I still feel as if each street crossing I
>> manage is kind of like pulling teeth so to speak because I am so
>> scared and then I end up standing at the intersection for so long.
>> Because of this, rather than gaining confidence with each street
>> crossing, I am instead still terrified.
>> Are there any federationists who have hearing in only one ear or a
>> similar situation that may not be on this list that could possibly
>> help?
>> Is there anyone else I could contact?
>>
>> Thanks so much!
>> Kerri
>>
>
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