Filed under deaf

What I Learned from a (Deaf) Baseball Player

A couple of weeks ago, I watched the excellent documentary ‘I See the Crowd Roar.’ It is about one of the greatest American baseball players in history—William Hoy. He was also one of the first players who was deaf. Hoy went by the nickname ‘Dummy.’ I shudder when I write that name because in 2012 it … Continue reading

Why Going Deaf Was a Blessing for Me

By Karen Putz / Lipreading Mom Guest Blogger I was born with hearing in the so-called “normal” range.  I started losing my hearing in elementary school and received my first hearing aid when I was nine.  I hated the thing.  No one ever saw it, because I kept it hidden under my long hair, or stuffed … Continue reading

What I Learned from a (Deaf) Girl Scout

If I could go back in time, it would be 1912. I would meet the woman founder of an organization that taught me how to love nature as an 8-year-old girl growing up in rural Oklahoma. Recently, I learned how to embrace my life with hearing loss because of her. The founder of the Girl … Continue reading

Help! I Can’t Understand this Guy’s Mumbling

My new column, “Can You Help?”, allows LipreadingMom.com followers to share and answer questions with each other. This week’s question comes from a friend who can’t understand what the heck her daughter’s boyfriend is saying. Can you help? Dear Lipreading Mom, My daughter is dating a guy that has some type of social anxiety disorder. … Continue reading

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