My Story:
I live this phrase every day. If I cannot see you while you are speaking to me,
I cannot hear you. This is hard for a lot of people to understand, but someone
with a hearing loss truly struggles to hear others talking to them if they are
not in the speaker’s line-of-sight. At an early age I learned to depend on
reading lips, and it is something I use every day so I can participate in
conversations. Reading lips has become very beneficial during numerous
interactions, and it has assisted in my confidence as well. Struggling to understand
someone while communicating is difficult and reading lips has become a safety
net for me. Though, sometimes I find communicating especially hard if the
person I am speaking with has an accent or is mumbling. This causes me to struggle
with hearing and lip reading at the same time. While I consider myself a strong
person who is not afraid to ask someone to repeat themselves or speak up, there
are many occasions where I am simply behind in the conversation because of my
hearing loss. Communication can benefit everyone through unique forms. For me,
I prefer to see the speaker’s facial expressions, body language and lips to understand
the context of what is being said. If you are like me, please know that you are
not alone. Communication is a real and constant struggle for a lot of people,
but we learn to adapt to the evolving world of interaction.
Here’s a Little
Help: Reading lips is something I learned over time, and I highly recommend
using this as a form of communication. It’s not something you can necessarily
teach; though, it can come naturally for most hard of hearing individuals. If
someone is speaking while standing in a place where you cannot see them and you
are struggling to understand what is being said, I encourage you to ask the
person to move into your line-of-sight or repeat themselves. A conversation is a
between one or more people and communication cannot occur if you are unable to participate.
I know this can be difficult and requires more confidence, but I truly believe
it will help you communicate while indicating to others that you want to be an
active part of the conversation. If it helped me, maybe it will help you!
