As a Lipreading Mom, I spend most of my days attempting to read the lips of three young children. Difficult? It can be, but I’ve gotten lots of practice at it. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Csaba Solymosi with a site called Lipreading.org. The site, which offers online lipreading training, intrigued me … Continue reading »
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Five Survival Tips for Celebrating the Holidays with a Hearing Loss
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. But for the 1 in 10 people with hearing loss, it’s also the most challenging time for communication. Lipreading Mom should know. I’ve had 11 years of holidaytime hearing loss experience. The whole family is packed around the dinner table, busily chatting about their good fortune and … Continue reading »
America: Land of the Free and a Lipreading Mom
The lady ahead of me in the grocery store checkout line seemed puzzled. She pointed at something in front of us, then asked me a question. Her thick Spanish accent made the question difficult for my crazy ears to distinguish. “Es su hoho?” I thought she said. It’s only been 20 years since I took high school … Continue reading »
It Was One of Those Days
(Lipreading Mom’s Note: I wrote this story when my oldest son was 4 and my daughter was a baby. Neither one of them is in diapers anymore. My, how time flies…) Maybe it was the sun shining just a little too brightly in my eyes while I tried to sleep in. Or perhaps … Continue reading »
Ouch! It Hurts to Lipread the Dentist
As I sat in the patient’s chair gripping the vinyl armrests, a mask-wearing dentist probed my mouth. Her findings nearly busted my jaw: Multiple chipped teeth, a recessed gum and six cavities. One cavity for each year I put off going for a check-up. I tensed even more as she injected anesthesia into my infected … Continue reading »
How to Strike Up a ‘Deaf’ Conversation
It’s sad but true. I’ve observed friends, family and strangers with perfect hearing reluctant to talk to someone who is Deaf. I’ve seen this happen in restaurants, libraries, the post office and church. Something Lipreading Mom has committed to doing is to initiate an ASL* conversation with people I don’t know. These are people I … Continue reading »
Why I Write from Home
Staying at home with kids: Is it really for me? Lipreading mom’s confession: I didn’t think so before I had my first child. The office environment suited me well. I was working for a women’s organization and writing for its magazine. There were weekly planning meetings, phone interviews and research projects to occupy five days a week. In fact, I … Continue reading »
Walking and Advocating with My Kids
Advocacy is always a work in progress… for everyone. That’s why I decided to include my 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter in a Deaf and hearing loss awareness 5K walk/run this past weekend. We walked with leaders from our local Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Chapter. I use the work ”walk” loosely. My son decided to speed walk … Continue reading »
Not Too Sick to Advocate
After several days of a pounding headache, congested throat, stuffy nose and clogged ears, I was in tears. Having sick ears was like poison with my already compromised ability to hear. Hearing aids became useless; all they amplified was the dull rumbling of fluid in the ear drums. And the pounding head made it difficult … Continue reading »
Something for the Nice Lady’s Pot
Taking three kids on a Saturday trip to the store make the spare dollars in my purse poof into oblivion. Don’t get me wrong. I like to shop for my children. It’s easy for me to lip read them when they repeatedly say, “Please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeaasse.” And my ears love to hear the words, “Ah, thanks, … Continue reading »
