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
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
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 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
The Limping Chicken, a blog that focuses on deafness and hearing loss, posted an article titled “Why I No Longer Mention Being Deaf in Job Interviews.” The writer, who has progressive hearing loss such as myself, related her experiences with discrimination when she disclosed her hearing loss during certain job interviews. Her decision, as the … Continue reading
By Heather Jensen / LipreadingMom.com Guest Blogger One of the best ways someone can help a person in their life who is deaf or hard of hearing is to take measures to improve everyday communication. For some people who don’t speak much (or any) sign language, the fear of offending, confusing, or generally failing to … Continue reading
Driving and I don’t always get along. I admit that I should pay better attention to my motoring skills. From the scrape on the passenger door of my mini-van to the cracked bumper, I have participated in enough fender-benders to keep my insurance agent in business. Would it be okay to blame the inattentive driving … Continue reading
Friends, if you’ve wanted to read my book, Confessions of a Lip Reading Mom, I have a surprise for you. This Friday and Saturday only, the book will be available *for free download* on Amazon Kindle. Click here to access Confessions of a Lip Reading Mom on Amazon Kindle. Remember, it’s free only on March … Continue reading
The words flew out of my mouth in between pneumonia-induced coughs. “I’m tired of trying to do everything perfectly. Writing. Speaking. Volunteering. I just want to be a wife and mom.” Wait, did I really commit myself to something here, something purely domestic and…simple? From childhood, I wanted to be lots of things. Writer. Actress. … Continue reading
Happy New Year, friends! The holidays brought lots of celebrating in the Lipreading Mom house, including three birthday parties. One of those parties was mine. Now that I am a young 40 years old, I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life (and what I don’t). Can you … Continue reading
