I get this all the time and it was part of the reason why I dropped my Sociology class (Teacher had a really thick beard). I'm not lip reading expert, but it does help me, especially since until really recently, I didn't have any hearing aids and even with hearing aids I don't always hear everything.
People I deal with know I have hearing problems, yet don't try to alter their communication around that and talk low or from behind, things like that, so if they don't want to work with me on making sure I can get what they're saying and I don't hear it, I don't care, their loss.
