The audiologist that I visit on occasion at the local VA medical facility, once told me that people in general really don’t have a clue about how they should speak to a partially deaf person. People are just genetically geared to assuming that everyone else can hear as well as they do with the possible exception of people like myself who can’t hear that well in the first place. That may sound a bit strange to most of you but it’s a completely valid point and over the years and I have found what my audiologist said is very true indeed.
I’m partially deaf you see (as I stated in my previous post). Severely so. There are others who may insist on people using the terms impaired or challenged as descriptives plus the occasional issue with this, that or the other thing but I myself have traveled through life without hurting anyone psychologically or perhaps terminally affecting their sense of self or afflicting great amounts of undue emotional stress or just generally ticking one of my fellow human beings off and all that without being one bit politically correct about it. Just call me deaf and I’ll be happy. The rest of you can be impaired if you so choose.
That being said, I have decided that a little insight in how to successfully converse with a deaf person is badly needed here so I, using myself as a subject, will endeavor to provide a few guidelines.
First, we have to define what I mean by ‘deaf’. By deaf I mean partially deaf as I said above. If one is completely deaf then you better know sign language or at least have sense enough to face the person so he or she can attempt to read your lips but don’t expect much. Don’t expect them to speak clearly either or even attempt to do so. If you can’t hear what you’re saying then your words are going to be very slurred indeed and that’s only if you were able to hear at one time which allows you to at least remember what it was like to properly form words. This is an entirely different matter and not what this post is about. This post is about those who walk about the earth who have the need to wear hearing aids in order to regain some normal amount of hearing or at least being able to hold a somewhat normal conversation with someone else for example; when your boss tells you that he believes your hearing aid batteries need to be changed (what?).
So here are a few basic rules to follow when someone informs you that they are a bit deaf, hard of hearing or hearing impaired and as I said, I’ll use myself as an example:
- Look at me when you want to speak to me. Even with my expensive, high end hearing aids, I still rely heavily on facial expressions and watching your mouth form words.
- Don’t yell at me. When I say I’m a bit hard of hearing it does not mean you have to scream at me. What it does mean is that you should raise your voice a bit more but more importantly, slow down some and articulate your words. In other words, speak clearly and as if you were lecturing a small group of people gathered in a room say the size of the dining area at a small Taco Bell.
- When attempting the above, please don’t talk to me as if I were a child. This is not what I mean by speaking more slowly and clearly. Telling your husband to slow down some when you’re taking a drive through the countryside does not mean he should slow to 18 mph or so. It just means stop doing 60 and try for 45…I’d like to see some scenery here. I’d also like to understand what you’re trying to get across to me without falling asleep or wanting to punch you in the nose.
- Don’t mumble. For God’s sake, don’t mumble.
- Don’t look at your shoes, the wall, the lake, the sun, that girl’s…well never mind, look at me.
- Understand that you can stand beside me and speak to me as long as you’re facing me. I don’t have to be directly facing you, just as long as I can see your face in my peripheral vision I can do alright.
- Do not speak to me while walking past me (ie: tossing remark over your shoulder) and expect me to understand or to even acknowledge you. Stop, face me, speak then continue on your way.
- On the same token, do not turn and walk away from me while until you finish with what you’re saying. If you do I’m likely to forget you ever started in the first place.
- Most important. Make sure I acknowledge what you have said before heading off. I have spent the greater portion of life having to ignore the surrounding noise of people talking in my general vicinity simply to keep myself from going crazy with frustration. I used to be able to hear these conversations if I chose to. Now all I hear is noise.
- I am not stupid or slow. My ears are.
- Try not to take advantage of my hearing loss by thinking you can talk about me while I’m present in the room with you and whoever else you’re talking to. I can hear certain peoples voices if the voice is pitched just right. Besides, it’s just plain rude.
- Please understand…I absolutely hate saying “what?”.
- And if you’re the type of person who hates to repeat themselves tough! You can hear…I can’t.
I suppose there are other items to add but since I’ve been this way so long now I’ve learned to compensate for ‘this’ and block out ‘that’ so well that it would be too hard to remember what I’ve blocked out if you get my meaning. And the above listed items are a combination of my own personal experience, the experience of others (those with bad hearing and those with normal hearing as well) and conversations with my various audiologists throughout the years. Also out of pure frustration as you might well imagine.
Anyway, I sincerely hope that this bit of posting might help some of you remember how to handle yourself if you find yourself having to speak with a person who has a hearing problem. They will appreciate your effort to no end believe me.
Technorati tags: deaf, deafness, hearing impaired, hearing aids
Some great tips there thanks.
My Mum recently went deaf in one ear. She has got Menieres Disease which is some kind of fluid problem in the ear and she gets a horrible buzzing at times. Can make her quite sick with vertigo aswell.
Fortunately she may not have it for life and I think usually it goes after a few years but I don’t think she will get her hearing back again in that ear. Lets hope the other does not become affected too as I AM SICK OF SHOUTING AT HER.
LOL sorry
Excellent post! Glad to know you’re not politically correct because I abhor the insane world of “politically correctness”! As a nurse I see way too frequently staff members and family not communicating well with these patients. You should be teaching in-services at hospitals this valuable lesson. My problem is I have a very soft voice and I have to WORK at projecting it. Probably all these years as an allergy sufferer does not help my vocal cords. I try my best but I know there are times when a patient simply cannot hear me, or only words of my sentence.
Good tips– I’ve always believed that communication is a two-way street.
Becky:
I looked up Menieres Disease in Wikipedia. Nearly the same symptoms as I have although I know mine is service related. Even the eye twitching and moderate attacks of the blasted room beginning to move on it’s own accord. My hopes that she improves with time.
Elaine:
Thanks! And I know it can be tough when you have a soft voice. Sometimes there is just no way to increase the gain so to speak. Perhaps you could try a different pitch rather than projecting. Everyone has a certain vocal pitch that comes out the strongest (head tone–I used to be a sound engineer before my hearing became real bad). If that doesn’t work, making sure they can see your face and mouthing your words carefully (unless of course they have trouble seeing) always helps. I’m sure it’s frustrating for such a caring person as yourself.
Karen:
Welcome to blog! I bounced over to yours and really enjoyed reading your barefoot skiing story. And you still hold the record? Good deal!
Since you and your family are treading the same path I am I have to ask what is an effective way to begin learning ASL (self teaching that is). I need to get off my skinny rear end, stop procrastinating and start learning ASL before I actually lose what little hearing I have left. Self progressive you know. We (my wife and I) have all the material but are not sure where to start since ASL is so involved. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again.
Kirk–
Thanks for the blog visit! Here are two sites I recommend: http://www.lifeprint.com (this has a complete ASL course that you can do yourself) and the ASL Browser: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
If you can attend some deaf events near you and find a friendly face–having a deaf mentor would be a great way to learn ASL.
Kirk!
Now I understand what you were talking about. I didn’t realize the complete extent. I really like your attitude about it. I’m sitting here and thinking, “What can I learn, how can I learn from what Kirk does about his hearing?” I’ll be thinking about this for days.
Hi Liz,
Of course the obvious response to this would be “What?” but I don’t dare.
I miss being able to walk in the woods. It may come as a surprise but I won’t go into the woods any longer unless someone is with me. You have to be able to hear in the woods because your sight becomes very limited (can’t see the forest for the trees type of thing) and hearing becomes all important. But most of all I miss being able to listen to music. I was a fairly decent sound engineer at one time and I grew up in a musically inclined family.
I simply can’t let these kind of things get me down. It’s my nature to grumble and complain and I’ll be the first to say it can’t be done right before I get down to finding a way to do just that.
I’ve found that this nature of mine also helps in dealing with these service related type problems as well. can’t take too much credit though. It’s just my nature.
Hmm… a little late getting here but I agree with this one here:
“Try not to take advantage of my hearing loss by thinking you can talk about me while I’m present in the room with you and whoever else you’re talking to. I can hear certain peoples voices if the voice is pitched just right. Besides, it’s just plain rude. ”
Back in 1988, spring semester, at Gallaudet University while as freshman just starting school there for the first time I took a physics course. The professor there was hearing and a tenured one, too. I sat near the front, as I always do, and the professor began his day when he turned his back on us to write something related to physics on a chalkboard. While he wrote, he said these words and I heard it plain as day since I can hear quite well unbeknownst to him (smile). He said, “Oh joy, what fun this is!” while he wrote. Along with a condescending/sarcastic tone of voice I might add. I was dumbfounded. Yet the professor tried to take advantage of us deaf/hh students sitting in class banking on the idea that we wouldn’t be able to hear or even understand what he said with his back turned. I certainly did. And this wasn’t shouting. This was normal talking but muttered under his own breath. I proceeded to sign to other students on what he just said. Granted, the professor was obviously burned out nearing his retirement but his attitude and comments were unwarranted given the fact he tried to take advantage of our hearing loss.
By the way, I am not talking about the current hearing physics professor at Gallaudet. The one I’m talking about retired around 1990 or so.
Hey mcconnell, (Welcome to my end of things here)
Sorry for the delayed reply but someone found out I knew my way around Windows and I ended up hoeing out their messed up PC (Vista basic). Always glad to do it though.
I understood exactly where you’re coming from but rather than the setting you describe it was more of a constant thing at my last workplace before I was taken out of the workforce. Walking past me and throwing comments or asking me questions over their shoulders, attempting to talk to me from across the room, refusing to face me when speaking, etc, etc. Except for one of them maybe, they didn’t do this on purpose…they just didn’t get it. Two of them did get it and purposely would not speak to me until they made sure we were facing each other before they began speaking and I’m sure you know how much I appreciated that.
My biggest obstacle now is that my wife and I need to be able to learn ASL before my hearing gets any worse and the only way that I can really learn that is by going to an actual class and that costs money that I don’t have. I don’t mind saying that it’s a pretty frightening situation to be caught in.
Thanks a million. At last I can try and get my husband to do what you say. First time for 11 years.
Hi Gillian,
Glad you found my rant…er…I mean my post helpful. Hope your husband finally understands.
Thanks. I’m trying to find a good list of pointers that will not make everyone angry at me, yet I make my point. At a meeting of high school administrators and department heads I was humiliated when I reminded them that I have lost hearing in one ear. These are adult professionals(?)!!! On cupped their mouth and over exaggerated every word, on whispered loudly enough as a joke like he was trying to say something that only the rest could hear- that same person later just moved his mouth without talking to get a response- all of these were done to get a laugh from the group of about 20. I was so mad and sad too, that I could not speak. I have decided that this cannot happen again. I am going to the principal and expect her to speak to the group. I work with sped. kids. I know now why some of them are afraid to ask for needed accommodations. What a bunch of insensitive bullies. I would never make fun of those that are old or fat or unattractive or recovering from illness or on crutches or if they had a handicapping condition. I thought about buying ear plugs for each to put in one ear and see what it is like to not only not hear, but never know what direction sound is coming from. Sometimes I cannot hear oncoming vehicles when I am out walking, is that funny too? I got some good ideas from this. It is hard to think I would have to go to such lengths with “peer.”
Aah, how refreshing to read this! I have been partially deaf since I was born and, for the most part, it does not affect my life too greatly. I wear hearing aids in both ears and it does irritate me when people try to treat me differently. I don’t publicly announce it to people unless necessary, but when talking to people I always look at their lips so I make sure I can hear what they are saying, I can lip read better then most because of this, since I have to do it in loud public spaces a lot. One thing that really annoys me though I when people try to whisper something to me in my ear. I am not going to hear you-accept that. I can’t here whispering, you may as well be blowing in my ear for all I can hear. I don’t want people to treat me differently but please, don’t take out the fact that you may have to repeat yourself on me and NEVER say oh, it doesn’t matter if I didn’t hear you the first time or I will whisper everything I say to you and not repeat it when you don’t hear. How d you like it! Some of the things I don’t like about how it affects my life are things like, I can’t just rest my head on a surface as my hearing aids squeal and I can’t spontaneously jump into water and have to make sure their safe. recently I lost one of them and my parents made me feel incredibly guilty about the fact that they had to pay towards it in part along with the insurance. While I should have looked after it better-I put it in my pocket while listening to music-it is one of the few times if only time I have lost one. But worst of all if I had perfectly fine hearing it would not have been a problem.
Thanks for letting me add to your rant, I don’t know anyone else who is partially deaf so there is no one else to talk to about such things
Hi Alexandra – You’re rant is most welcome as is yourself. I should really do another post about being partially deaf especially in the light that my deafness has progressed significantly since this post was written. I find the thing I miss most is music. That and being able to walk in the woods or sit by the sea and not being able to hear what I used to hear. Ah well, Something I just have to deal with, right?
Sorry to hear that. It must be awful not being able to here music, I know I would find that incrediably difficult, especially as I play piano. However, as one of the things I enjoy about being partially deaf is that I can just shut off the world around me by turning off my hearing aids. I always feel a sense of empowerment in that like I can control what and how much I hear and everyone else can’t sort of thing. Especially when I am trying to concentarate in a crowded room.
I can relate to all of your experiences with partial hearing and deafness. In my left ear I lost my hearing when I was 3 and gradually in my right. I lost most of my hearing in my right ear in a 3 month timeframe due to the inoperable type of otosclerosis. When my husband was alive, we associated with 2 different couples regularly. Frequently the women would be sitting around talking in their group and the men in their own group. Since I am a female, I was in the women’s group. If I did not hear something that was said, I’d politely ask the person to repeat what they had said. They would repeat themselves maybe once or twice over the course of the evening then the remainder of the time, they would ignore my request to repeat what they had said. It was as if they included me just enough so they could say they were not ignoring me. Eventually I mentioned this to my husband who thought I was just being overly sensitive. Then one day out of the blue after we had been visiting both couples and had returned home, my husband said he noticed the way these women treated me was exactly as I had described.
In another situation, my mother-in-law, who had never met me, asked my husband if I was stupid cause I couldn’t hear. My husband replied, “No Mom, her ears don’t work, everything else is perfect.” In yet another situation, I was working in a small escrow office and the escrow officer, who was training me, would talk to the women who were sitting at the desks in front of me about me as if I was not even there. Apparently she thought I wouldn’t be able to hear her. At that time my hearing loss was great but now it is profound and borderlining total deafness.
I even worked with a woman who right before I retired said to me, you can’t go to meetings or answer the phone (before they had captel phones) so what good are you any more.
I’m an identical twin and my twin sister didn’t start her hearing loss until she was much older. She never realized what I went through in school to hear until she was going to college for her MBA. Her hearing loss had just begun at that time and was very mild; however, she had to get her husband to go to classes with her to take notes. At that time she expressed her awe in what I had accomplished with my hearing loss. I have had more experience with rude, uneducated people (not meaning they had no education) than you can imagine. People who have never had a hearing loss have no idea what we go through.
These situations used to upset me greatly but over the years I have come to the realization that people are fearful of speaking with someone who has a disability or they are just plain insensitive. If your family or friends do not know sign language, do not be surprised if they refuse to learn it. My own daughter refuses to learn sign language. One day she told me that she felt I was limited in what I could do and my response was, “Not if you learn sign language”. Her response was a quick roll of her eyes. My suggestion to people who have hearing disabilities is to either take ASL classes or find a sign language group where they would be willing to teach you sign language. There are several schools of sign language but the one used the most is American Sign Language (ASL). By finding a group of people who know sign language, you can feel like you belong again. Some states also have an organization called Self-Help for Hard of Hearing who specialize in helping the deaf and hard of hearing. Everyone wants to feel they belong and that people really care about them so if your family and friends don’t care enough to learn sign language then don’t waste your time on them but do find a group where you can belong.
Hi Jan – You hit the nail right on the proverbial head. Thanks for adding a well thought out comment.
Actually, I had typed out a rather long and thoughtful reply to your comment yesterday but just as I was nearly finished I fat fingered the keyboard and lost the entire thing. Seeing as how anything I type these days immediately gets erased from my brain I wasn’t able to recall what it was. Hence this much shorter comment.
On ASL: I have a real problem trying to learn any new language be it the human type right down to a computer programming language. I have a lot of trouble in that area so I have to learn in a structured classroom environment. Unfortunately, there’s nothing available in my neck of the woods that doesn’t involve a 4 hour round trip. I’d also like my wife to learn with me (she’s much better at learning languages than I am and doesn’t mind beating my mind into submission) so that restricts us to evenings only. I keep searching out possibilities though so you never know what might come available.
All I can say to this is…Thank you
x
Thank you for writing this. It has made me feel like I am not the only person who can’t hear people cause they just dont think about how to talk to me.
Ruth – You’re very welcome. I’m rather glad this old post of mine still gets hit now and then. Makes me think I should bring it up to date and re-post it or perhaps write up a second post about this.
Kirk M this article was really interesting to read and has given me some really good points to remember.
i met a girl the other day who is deaf and can’t speak clear she was such a lovely person and i was so amazed how she cope day to day with being deaf but i felt a little let down in my self as it was hard for me to understand her but after meeting her it has made me much more aware and has given me the chance to learn how to speak to a deaf person and i am now starting to take lessons in sign language and reading more.
but i do really hope that more people become more aware and give a little help when its needed and also be more respectful and i can give examples of why i made that statement as i said above i met a girl who is deaf and the 2 things that made me angry was first other people mocking her and second of all she was left by her family and she had no means to get home and also being night as well but i was glad i could of given an hour to help her get home.
and to end my comment i am glad to say we have become friends and i think she is an amazing person and i look forward to being able to learn more and be able to speak to her in away we both can understand in fact she will be coming to my home to meet my family and enjoy xmas with us.
lastly please excuse me if i ramble on a bit but it is a plesure to be more aware and to learn
have a nice day
I once had a dear friend that was partially deaf… but you wouldn’t even know unless she pointed it out to you.
It was that exactly what made me slip a few times and use a “common saying” that she found offensive. And she would become very agitated about this saying.
It was “What are ya’ Deaf!?”.
I’d like to add she was in another room and would say “What!?” as responses to something I had said several times.
I would like to know if that saying bothers you as well?
FYI My opinion is that I was wrong for forgetting that it bothered her. I felt sorry for saying that everytime. But was defensive enough to argue with her that “it’s easy to forget because it’s something I don’t notice”
Dear Group,
Very nice to hear your comments!….All of them germane.
I have a moderate hearing loss which I had since I was 20 years old (Stay away from the speakers when you are on next at the Folk Festival)
My wife is very well spoken, but interchanges consonants, and sometimes chooses odd syllables to go with them. She is a truly wonderful woman. yet, I become so frustrated to try to hear her, and she does NOT like to repeat herself.
I came up with an idea that would help me, her and the world!
I suggested that she study how to communicate with deaf people, and then also take elocution lessons to perfect her “stage/podium” voice. (She is a great public speaker, so studying elocution can only make things better.)
So, we were thinking that after suitable study, she could become a paid “tutor” or “coach” to hold classes or individual sessions to teach people how to speak to their partially deaf friends and relatives.
The “bonus” for me would be that then I would be able to understand her as well!
Are there ways that she could train? Curriculum to follow? She wants to have a small income job and this sounds like an ideal one for her.
Thanks in advance!
Nathan
Interesting reading here. I’ve been hard of hearing for just over a decade now. At first I thought other people just mumbled. My brother would say no it’s your ears – go get them checked! It wasn’t until my sister-in-law brought to my attention that I did say “what?” a lot that I caved in and had my hearing checked. So now I wear two hearing aids which are great but still doesn’t make my hearing perfect. I do watch people’s mouths as they talk and there are different voices that are easier or harder to hear. Most frustrating is when my boss would begin talking to me again as I was leaving her office. I’d go back and forth and have to ask if she was done. If she said yes, then I’d proceed to leave and she’d begin again and I’d have to ask her to repeat herself. Annoying. Ignorant. And to think I would apologize. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Could you repeat that?” She never did get it. Then she’d ask if I needed to have my hearing aids checked…it was so disheartening and exhausting.
I have the very same problems. But, I live alone and by myself. And have recently started to discover my hearing problem.
This is very true. I am so glad that I have read this. It makes me feel much better that someone else also has my same problem. This causes my so much stress, because I can hear sometimes and not others and at the same time I am good enough to pick out enough contextual clues to know what someone is talking about.
So this not only confuses people about if I have hearing loss or not, but it causes them to be extremely cruel in their communication with me. It is difficult because if I set a threshold. For example I simply ignore things that are not facing me, then people start trying to do hearing tests on me to see what I can hear by watching my reactions.. I can hear but it is difficult so I try to ignore stuff that is too far away to be reliably heard. But, of course this just causes more problems.
Having a partial hearing loss is very stressful because if I was completely deaf then at least people would be more comfortable in knowing what I could and could not hear.
The world is very cruel I must say, indeed.
My mother-in-law has been hard of hearing ever since I have known her. At the time, she seemed resigned with her “lot in life” and truly enjoyed being able to immerse herself in a good book, with no distractions. Many things have changed recently in her life, and she said that she now feels isolated. People tend to interpret her lack of participation in a conversation as a lack of interest, when it is really her inability to keep up with the conversation. Do you have any recommendations of how she can communicate her hearing loss, so that people will be more likely to engage her in conversation and speak clearly?
Hi Meg,
Jan Isley, who previously posted a comment here responded to you but somehow the response ended up coming into the email account associated with this blog rather than as a reply comment. So I’m taking a chance and reposting her reply to you here so not only you can benefit from it but others here can as well. She gives some fine advice.
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Jan Isley says: (June 24, 2011)
I’m profoundly deaf but not from birth. I lost my hearing over the years due to otosclerosis. I’m older and my life experience may be of some benefit to your mother-in-law. You don’t mention how much of a hearing loss your mother-in-law has or what type of loss. If her hearing loss is due to nerve damage caused by something like I have (otosclerosis) then the cochlear implant may help her to hear again. If however, her hearing loss is more of a permanent loss and not reversible and depending upon the type of loss and amount of hearing loss, there are devices she can get to assist her with conversations. You don’t mention whether or not she wears a hearing aid. There are some wonderful hearing aids available now that are directional and allow the limited hearing person to hear a conversation more clearly. The hearing aids on the market today also cut out background noise so your mother-in-law can go to restaurants, meetings, family gatherings and other events and be able to understand the conversation better. If your mother-in-law has a profound hearing loss like I have that is not reversible, then she may want to limit her social activities to small groups. When I normally meet people, if I have the slightest problem understanding what they are saying, I make sure I let the person with whom I’m speaking know that I’m hearing impaired. I also let them know I need to see their mouth and they need to speak slowly and enunciate well in order for me to carry on a conversation. I’m not shy about stopping the person with whom I’m speaking to let them know they are speaking too fast or not enunciating well enough. Most people are very understanding and will try to help the hearing impaired person if they know about their loss. There are always some people who don’t comply with my request for whatever their reasons. When I meet those people, I just consider the source. I realize that not everyone will be willing to help and I keep a positive frame of mind. Keeping a positive frame of mind actually encourages people to help. Positive breeds positive.
You can help your mother-in-law by being understanding and when you’re in attendance in the group she is conversing with, you can be her right hand by watching her reaction to see if she is understanding the conversation and then if you believe she is not understanding everything, you can politely ask her if she is able to hear and understand what is being said. If she indicates she is not and if the environment is too noisy for her, you can suggest you move the conversation to a quieter area in the room. If she hears better out of one ear than out of the other, make sure you or the person with whom she wants to speak stands on the side where she has the better hearing. Once she gets accustomed to speaking up and letting people know she has a hearing loss and lets them know what they can do to help, she probably won’t need your assistance.
One more suggestion. If your mother-in-law is willing to get a hearing aid, make sure she lets the audiologist (or hearing aid dealer – depends on the state in which you live as to whether you use a dealer or audiologist) who fits her hearing aid know how she is hearing with her new aid. Also, make sure the ear mold has a good fit. If she is hearing a sound and does not know what it is, she should attempt to find the sound so she can identify it. She may have to go back several times to get the hearing aid adjusted just right for her hearing loss. It is very important that she wears her new hearing aid at all times and does not just put it on for conversations she wants to hear. The reason for this is it takes the brain a while to adjust to the sounds of what she is hearing and if she doesn’t use it daily then she will never get used to it and will refuse to wear it. I know I’ve included more in my response than you asked for but I feel there may be other options for your mother-in-law to be able to get her social life back. I hope I’ve been of some help.
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Hi, a great piece of writing and oh so true! I was born with a unilateral hearing loss, which is hearing loss in one ear. My loss is 90dc, so that ear is pretty much useless. Reading this reminded me of so many little things that I just do, that are obviously not just ME, they are things deaf people all over do. And the frustration, remembering high school, some kids thinking it’s funny to whisper on my deaf side to ‘test’ me. Now I can think of some pithy remarks but as a tongue tied 16 yr old…..sigh. Now I have some great friends who maneuver themselves automatically to be on my good side. But I still will avoid a night out with the school mums (sounds riveting, right?) because it will be just too annoying to try to keep up with conversations in a restaurant.
Ah well, I’ve written up my experience living with unilateral hearing loss, it will probably link with my name above…? On that page there is a link to this post because it fitted in so well with the topic. Once again, great post.
Hi CatJB – Thanks for the link-back. I’ve read your post and I actually had to chuckle (in empathy) when I read certain experiences so similar to mine. I’ve had to really clamp down on my temper now and then when those who were talking to me would get impatient (and a bit nasty as well?) because they had to repeat themselves. They think they’re frustrated?