Like me, you are probably a more conscientious driver with precious cargo in the back seat. One of the most challenging parts of having a hearing loss, though, is attempting to lipread children while you drive. Three things that have helped me as a lipreading mom behind the wheel: 1) Remind your kids that you … Continue reading
Filed under Awkward Ear Moments …
Why Lipreading Mom Should Cancel Netflix
“If Netflix captioned all of its movie offerings, would you renew our subscription?” This was the question I posed to my Hubby several months after we cancelled the on-demand video service. “Uh, sure honey.” He knows better than to argue with Lipreading Mom when she’s trying to make a point. After discovering through Philixie.com that … Continue reading
Lessons in Courage from ‘The Help’
“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” -‘The Help,’ Kathryn Stockett I am proud to call Minda and Stephanie my friends. Both are highly educated, caring women who love their families. Like me, my friends are also lipreading moms. When we gathered last week for a captioned showing of the movie The Help, … Continue reading
Can You Help Me Count My Lost Decibels?
Are you like me: not deaf, but close to it? Every year, I head to the audiologist for a hearing test. Ninety-five percent of the time, the result is the same: more hearing decibels lost. Eleven years ago when I was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss, each ear tested at 20 percent hearing loss. The … Continue reading
7 Tips for Surviving the Cold with a Hearing Loss
One of the most difficult times of year for Lipreading Mom is the winter. Not just because it is frigid and overcast where I live, but because I am more susceptible to getting head colds. While I type, I am nursing a cold. My right ear is filled with fluid, my nose is stuffy, and … Continue reading
Hearing Aids Are So Gosh, Darn Cool
Don’t you just love my “purty” cool headline and photo choice? (And don’t you just love Lipreading Mom’s penchant for Oklahoma twang?) I confess that I’m a sucker for happy endings. They bring out my inner Oklahoma Pollyanna. When I recently posted the hearing aid financial struggles of my friend “Abby” (not her real name … Continue reading
Butterflies Are Free … But Hearing Aids Sure Ain’t!
My first set of hearing aids were purchased in 2003. They weren’t cheap, and my insurance company didn’t help with the bill. But my credit card company was happy for the next six months it took me to pay off the hearing aid charges. Why are these behind-the-ear devices that are so vital to Lipreading … Continue reading
Ponytail Exposes Hearing Aids to the World
Lipreading Mom has a love-hate relationship with wearing ponytails. I love them because they keep my hair out of my mouth when I’m eating. I love them because they keep my face, neck, and shoulders cool in the mid-July humidity. I hate ponytails because I have a square-shaped face that looks like a box without … Continue reading
A Shared Journey with Hearing Loss
Fifteen years ago today, I began a shared journey with my husband. Hearing loss didn’t affect us on our wedding day. It entered our lives five years later. What did happen on June 15, 1996, as I fluttered around the church full of hope, nerves and wedding cake, was a vow. In front of our … Continue reading
Why My Little Boy Talks So Loud
It has become Lipreading Mom’s habit to strike up a conversation with anyone who will listen to my hearing loss story. At the grocery store, church, gym, library. If I’m in a situation in which my hearing makes an activity difficult, I’ll speak up. Yesterday, I had one of these conversations with a librarian. While … Continue reading
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