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Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others
Hearing Loss | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (1517)Comment receiving replies
I'm sorry..... this is really off topic but I did not know how else to put it out there. Today on MSNBC there is a short article under breaking news entitled "How everyday communication barriers for the deaf are intensified by face masks" I am in total agreement with wearing the masks but have been having a really hard time understanding employees of grocery stores, Home Depot, etc. I guess I never realized before how dependent I am on the extra cues provided by watching people's facial expressions and lips. Today I almost bought the wrong paint because I just didn't get what the clerk was trying to tell me. Came home frustrated and very tired. Sometimes It is such an effort just to get through a day when you have to communicate with a lot of people. The article raises awareness that it is a big issue for a lot of us and I hope places will find a way to make it easier. I think I will take a pad and pencil with me from now on so I can write my questions down if needed. I'm sure this is a problem for all of us who don't hear well and was glad to see the article. Just wanted to let all of you know about the article.
Replies to "I'm sorry..... this is really off topic but I did not know how else to put..."
@judyca7 This must definitely be a problem. Taking a pad and pencil is a great idea.
I have not experienced it yet simply because I have not been in any stores since this all started, we are isolating at home and having groceries delivered.
What I have so much trouble with is when I have to call a customer service department on the phone. That gets more complicated by the fact that many people in those jobs have accents. By the time I am done I am sometimes in tears.
JK
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Thank you for sharing this. I'm sorry I missed it. HLAA held a webinar on this topic last week. It is posted on the website for review if anyone would like to see it. Lots of good questions were asked. Everyone reads lips or 'speechreads', even people who hear well. But, for people with hearing loss it's a huge problem. We may not have ever had training on lip reading, but we learn by osmosis. It's how we cope. There are several speech to text apps that may help you in tricky situations. Live Transcribe works on Android smart phones. For iPhones there is Otter io. I used Otter the other day at a doctor's appointment and it worked well. When we use these devices it also educates those whom we want or need to hear that technology matters for us. It's a chance to share information. I've often found that when I 'go public' with my hearing loss by using visible add on technology that people are fascinated. More often than not they will tell me they know someone who needs to know about it. This mask issue is not going to go away soon, so we have to find ways to help ourselves. We are definitely all in this together. Check out that HLAA webinar at http://www.hearingloss.org