Hear Me Out

Mike Brady was born hard of hearing. Without his hearing aids, he is profoundly deaf.

That hasn’t held back his successful, 35-year career in pest management. “You don’t really need hearing to kill bugs,” said the co-owner of Brady Pest Control, based in Lawrenceville, Ga.

Not being able to hear, however, does make it more difficult to communicate with customers.

“I can hear OK face-to-face, but if I’m walking away or across the room, I can’t hear anything,” said Brady.

He alerts new customers right away to his hearing loss and that he’ll be reading lips to help understand their questions and comments. During service visits, he always asks if dogs are present (he can’t hear them approaching from behind) or if anyone else is in the house, so he doesn’t walk into an occupied bedroom or bathroom by mistake. “You learn as you go along,” he said.

Technology like texting, email and video chatting, which allows for lip reading, help him work in a hearing world.

Most customers are surprised to learn Brady is hard of hearing because he speaks so well. “My mom really worked hard with me when I was a kid, and being around hearing people most of my life, I had to talk,” he said.

Courtesy of Mike Brady

He also uses sign language with customers. “I sign to them because I’m not ashamed using my sign language. And they’re always impressed, and I’ll teach them to sign, ‘I love you,’ ‘Good morning,’ little things like that,” he said. He is known to share sign language jokes: What does it mean when you wiggle your pinky finger up and down, up and down? “That’s a microwave,” said Brady, laughing.

In addition to customers who can hear, Brady Pest Control serves the deaf community. “A lot of the deaf customers enjoy it because they can sign to me rather than writing on a pad or trying to get (their) voice across,” said Brady.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE. Earning continuing education credits is perhaps the most frustrating part of Brady’s job.

Industry conferences and workshops typically don’t provide a sign language interpreter to translate what speakers are saying. Brady sits as close as possible to read lips, but when speakers turn, walk around a room or audience members ask questions, he’s lost.

Some event organizers have offered to provide closed captioning, but that’s like reading the presentations. Sign language is more engaging and comprehensive, and with it, Brady doesn’t feel like he’s missing vital information. “I’d rather go there and be comfortable than be struggling to understand,” he said.

Brady said he feels insulted when told the cost of an interpreter is too expensive to accommodate one or two people. “It’s like telling someone in a wheelchair there’s no reason to build a ramp for one person,” he said.

The Journey to Pest Control. Brady was born in Calgary, in the Canadian province of Alberta. While pregnant, his mother contracted German measles (rubella), which caused his hearing loss.

“My parents didn’t find out I was hard of hearing until I was 4,” he recalled. The only deaf child in public school, he wore a hearing aid on his chest with wires going to both ears. “Kids were teasing and mocking me big time,” he said.

At 16, Brady learned sign language on his own and fought to attend Robarts School for the Deaf in London, Ontario. It was a hard sell since he could “talk pretty good” and hear better than some other students, but he persevered, and eventually he was admitted. “When I got into the deaf world, it totally changed me. I was much happier,” he said.

He went on to attend Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Gallaudet is a the only liberal arts college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the world.

Brady was working at a furniture company when a coworker noticed his outgoing personality and good communication skills. His coworker, who previously worked in pest control, said Brady would be perfect for the job and suggested they start a pest control business together.

With no idea what he was getting himself into, Brady took a job as a service technician to gain industry experience. Eventually, he and a pest control colleague left to start their own business; Brady formed his own pest control company in 2004.

In 2006, Wayne Roden joined him as business partner. Roden, who can hear, is the main point of contact for hearing customers. He answers incoming phone calls and sits in on calls with Brady to ensure Brady hears all of what is being said. “I’m blessed to have Wayne with me,” said Brady.

The company has three technicians: Jesse Draughon, Carol Berry and Ernest Miller, who is deaf/hard of hearing and wears a cochlear implant. The device stimulates the auditory nerve and helps deaf/hard of hearing people perceive sounds by placing electrodes in the cochlea of the inner ear.

Brady said he would like to hire more deaf/hard of hearing people and has participated in career days at deaf high schools in Maryland, Alabama, Georgia and London, Ontario.

“If I can motivate one student to reach for their dream, I feel like I’ve achieved everything,” he said.

The author is a regular contributor to PCT.