Even though my hearing loss wasn’t diagnosed until I was 27, I remember having difficulty hearing as a child. In grade school, I struggled to hear lessons via headphones. When an audiologist tested my hearing, he told my parents I had normal hearing but had trouble paying attention. A second opinion was not sought. I … Continue reading
Filed under Advocacy …
How I Cope with Depression and Hearing Loss
Lipreading Mom has a confession to make: I live with clinical depression. In fact, severe depression can be traced back at least four generations in my family. This is yet one experience I share in my book, Confessions of a Lipreading Mom. One thing I’ve learned about depression and hearing loss: It can be managed. … Continue reading
Deaf Awareness Week – 10 People Stand Against Bullying
As a person with hearing loss, I’ve been called ‘stupid,’ ‘horse-headed,’ and a person living in ‘La-La Land.’ I just want to be called by my name: Shanna. Or Lipreading Mom will do. And I am so not alone. Stop Hearing Loss Bullying and its video were created this year by me and 10 other … Continue reading
Join Me for Show Me Your Ears’ First Birthday Contest
I’d like you to join me for a celebration, complete with a contest and prizes. This Saturday, September 14, marks the one-year anniversary of my favorite project in the world, Show Me Your Ears. What is this campaign? It is an awareness that ears—whether they can hear or not—are beautiful. I spent two years hiding … Continue reading
Ten Things I Want My Children (And You) to Know
My book, Confessions of a Lip Reading Mom, is dedicated to my husband and our three children. And for good reason. All they have ever known is a mom who must read lips to hear them. A mom who asks for sentence repeats. A mom who answers many a question with, “Huh? What was that?” … Continue reading
Five Ways to Improve Your Lipreading Skills – The Lipreading Mom Way
It’s true. Those of us with hearing loss rely more on our vision and mental processing skills than our auditory function. As a lipreading/speechreading instructor for late-deafened adults, I have researched this subject a great deal. Our brains and eyes require more muscle power than our ears in the communication process. Listening with our ears … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom Receives HearStrong Champion Award
The HearStrong Foundation in New York recently notified me that I’d been nominated as a HearStrong Champion. This honor wouldn’t have been possible without you, the faithful Lipreading Mom reader. It also wouldn’t have been achieved without my daughter. At nine years of age, she is a loyal helper at my book, speaking, and speechreading … Continue reading
Six New Show Me Your Ears Photos You Must See
To celebrate the first birthday of Show Me Your Ears, Lipreading Mom has selected six favorite photos received recently. Did you know you can submit your photo via Facebook, or Twitter? Use the hash tag #ShowMeYourEars when posting your photo, then share it with me on my Facebook or Twitter page. Which one of these … Continue reading
My Life with a Hard of Hearing Mom – Written by Lipreading Mom’s Daughter, Age 9
Life with a hard of hearing mom is not as funny as it looks. I have to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. She is also a writing mom. My mom has to lip read me, and she can not really talk to me on the highway. I feel sad to see … Continue reading
Meet My Friend, Wendy, Who Is Going Deaf and Blind
A couple of weeks ago, I met for lunch and swimming with my friend, Wendy, and her children. As the two of us watched our kids splash and jump around in a neighborhood pool, Wendy and I chatted about her hearing loss and blindness. I had so many questions to ask her that I couldn’t … Continue reading
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