“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” -Maya Angelou Lipreading Mom focuses on two things: living with hearing loss and being a parent. Today I would like to focus on parenting my children who are all … Continue reading
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My Letter to a Rockstar: When Face Masks and Hearing Loss Don’t Mix
The Foo Fighters is possibly the greatest rock band since The Rolling Stones and The Beatles (at least Lipreading Mom thinks so). I am currently reading through band leader Dave Grohl’s memoir, The Storyteller, and one thing I can tell you about Dave’s life is this: It’s been a LOUD ride. Being at the top … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom’s Interview with Hearing Loss LIVE!
I recently was interviewed for Hearing Loss LIVE!, a website dedicated to hearing loss awareness. Created by Chelle Wyatt, Julia Stepp, and Michele Linder (all of whom live with hearing loss), the HLL site’s philosophy is two-fold: “We help you help yourself” and “We’re changing the status quo of hearing loss help. One size does … Continue reading
Why the Film ‘CODA’ Matters to Me During the Pandemic
I did not grow up as a CODA or Child of a Deaf Adult. This is a hearing child who has one or both parents identify as culturally Deaf. The new Apple TV+ film ‘CODA’ highlights the experience of a teen girl who lives with her parents and an older brother, all of whom are … Continue reading
“But You Speak So Well”, and Other Comments (And Squeals) Overheard by Lipreading Mom
One of the most challenging aspects of my teaching job is lip-reading multiple speakers’ voices during group meetings. When hands go up for Q & A at the end of staff meetings, I try hard to decipher what is being spoken from multiple mouths scattered across the room. Of course, it helps when the meeting … Continue reading
Lessons in Advocacy from ALDA
This weekend, I had the opportunity to present the workshop “Thriving with Hearing Loss” at the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) national convention. This was my first ALDA event and, I must confess, ALDA members are some of the best advocates I have ever seen. Here is a glimpse at what I learned from listening … Continue reading
What is the Easiest Speech Sound to Lip Read?
I recently finished teaching a lip reading class in the Kansas City area. One of the questions I asked attendees was, “When it comes to lip reading, what is the most visible speech sound?” Several hands were raised. “The /M/ sound,” said a gentleman who lost some hearing in the military. “I think it’s the … Continue reading
Why Is Reading Lips So Hard?
Read my lips: Lipreading is tough. A while back, a producer with the Wanda Sykes Show emailed me, asking for help in understanding a news video clip. The idea sounded enticing: Come to California and watch a video blurb that had the speaker’s moving lips but no audio feed. The truth is, many words look … Continue reading
Did You Grow Up with Hearing Loss? Lipreading Mom Needs Your Help with “Project Language & Literacy”
My first experience with hearing loss occurred in kindergarten. When the teacher asked the class to listen to and respond to questions through headphones, all I heard through them was garbled speech. The audiologist later told my parents that I could hear normally, but that I just needed to pay attention. From the age … Continue reading
The ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ Reality of Hearing Loss
The Blood David’s eyes were focused on his friend walking beside him on the sidewalk. In order to “hear” the conversation, David looked right at his friend who spoke. The act of lip reading required David’s eyes to do the listening. Neither one of them saw the low-hanging tree limb until after it smacked … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom 