One of my Facebook followers asked: “I have hearing loss and sometimes watch other people’s children. What tips do you have for understanding their voices?” My suggestion: When I have young children over for a playdate, I sometimes show them my hearing aids and point out that my ears are “broken.” I also show them … Continue reading
What Advice Would You Give to Your High School Self?
“Carpe diem! Take your dreams and run with them.” -my words from 1992 The Latin phrase carpe diem (“seize the day”) is advice more than one high school graduate has heard. As a teen accepting my diploma 20 years ago, seizing the day meant moving off my parents’ 80-acre farm and heading for the California … Continue reading
How Does a Mom’s Hearing Loss Impact Her Children? – By Denise Portis
Lipreading Mom’s Note: When I think of an inspiring role model for all of us lipreading moms and dads, I think of Denise Portis. This mom of two not only thrives with a profound hearing loss, but she lives with the balance-affective condition Meniere’s Disease. The first thing I noticed about Denise was her sense … Continue reading
Can You Lip Read the Lorax?
I have often wondered how generations before closed captioning survived animated movies. My memory goes back to the first cartoon I ever saw in a theater. Actually, “Pete’s Dragon” was part animated, part live action. There I was at the age of three with my daddy and big sister, watching a smiling green dragon breathe … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom is No Match for the Little Debater
“Mom, why do I have to take a bath?” My four-year-old son asked this question for the fourth time. It had become a nightly ritual of explaining how the shampoo made his hair clean and how the bubble bath kept his body from being dirty. “You don’t want to go to preschool smelling stinky, do … Continue reading
Raising an Autistic Child When You Have Hearing Loss – By Kate Johnston
Lipreading Mom’s Note: When I asked Kate Johnston to write this guest blog post, I had little idea of the parenting challenges she experiences daily. Reading her story for the first time gave me goosebumps. Kate is not only a mom with hearing loss raising a child with autism. She is an inspiring example of … Continue reading
Do You Know Someone Who Needs Hearing Aids But Refuses to Get Them?
Have you or someone you know put off a hearing screening because you’re worried about what the results could be? I’ll admit “yes” to that question…for myself. It’s challenging enough having a hearing loss without being reminded of it when I step into an audiologist’s office. The idea of sitting in a sound-proof booth, putting … Continue reading
Can a Baby Learn Sign Language?
When my daughter was eight months old, we took a baby sign language class. Most of the kids there were several months older, but I was insistent that my pint-size girl learn the language early. There’s nothing quite like being a mom who can’t hear her own child clearly. When she cooed and babbled, I … Continue reading
What is Meniere’s Disease? An Insider’s Perspective
I met DJ Evans online several months ago through our shared interest in hearing loss awareness and advocacy. Like me, she is a mom with hearing loss. Unlike me, she also lives with Meniere’s Disease. Those of us who don’t live with Meniere’s likely have a vague idea of what it is. Before interviewing DJ, I thought … Continue reading
It Was One of Those Days
(Lipreading Mom’s Note: I wrote this story when my oldest son was 4 and my daughter was a baby. Neither one of them is in diapers anymore. My, how time flies…) Maybe it was the sun shining just a little too brightly in my eyes while I tried to sleep in. Or perhaps … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom 