Growing up, I found that I didn’t want to miss out on conversations. If I didn’t hear someone, I asked questions. Lots of questions. Some people interpret asking too many questions as being complicated or obtuse.
While a lot of people were accommodating, there were times that I heard the phrase that no one who is hard of hearing enjoys: “Oh, never mind.”
And yet.
By nature, I was an extroverted kid. I would introduce myself to strangers. If I didn’t hear them, I would just keep talking, sometimes talking over them. For some, that could be interpreted as trying to control the conversation. But when I couldn’t understand all of a person’s words, talking was easier for me than hearing.
This is the contradiction of being an extroverted, hard of hearing person: We love communication even if it exhausts us. Asking questions, lip reading, talking too much.
Because how can we change our need to be engaged with conversation if that is who we are by nature?
~~~
Image description:
A white background with these words in black: “Hearing for the hard of hearing involves so much more than just hearing. It involves reading lips and body language and filling in gaps. So if I’m not well rested, it can be very challenging.”
-Pat Dobbs, who wears cochlear implants
Image from the Hearing Health Foundation
Lipreading Mom 
I love and I am so proud of how you never stop advocating for your self and others.
Always good info in your posts that help us understand. The extrovert vs introvert is an interesting angle.
Thank you for being a faithful reader and supporter of my blog, RJ.