We attended our first lip-reading class today.
A bit daunting at first. We were the newcomers and they all seemed very social.
We started off slowly and my minder said they were acting as though I wasn't deaf - she had to keep reminding them - he can't hear, he's deaf! Hard of hearing is a relative thing, I'm at the bottom of the scale, but also at the top from the other point of view.
It appears I have [as I suspected] been unconsciously lip-reading to a degree. [There can be no lip-reading if your head's in the cupboard can there?]
I was able to get the gist of a lot of what was said. Of course the teacher was speaking very clearly for the class. Some things came out ridiculous. Luckily I could check what was actually said on another sheet of paper! Numbers came quite easily.
After an intense hour of lip-reading the class finished and our classmates all scuttled off to parts unknown. We signed-up and paid the subscription. I can certainly recommend the class, even if you're not completely deaf!
We also met two volunteers who are themselves cochlear recipients. They all seem like a nice bunch, mature. One fellow said [I think] "Dont worry we'll take care of you" and I think they will.
Better Hearing Australia [Sydney]
No comments:
Post a Comment