Forgetting

[KristinaB]

Not sure where to put this.

I lost all of my hearing 3 years ago. I can still speak and I'm told it's still quite clear. What I am running into is, I forget how to pronounce a word or forget the word totally. Does this sound normal? Even when I read, I find that I have to really work hard to sound out a word to see if I get the pronounciation right. It's very frustrating.

I am trying to learn ASL and have worked to read lips as best as possible. I have trouble with reading lips on someone with facial hair, or those who have what I call "muppet mouth" The lips just don't move any more than up and down. There is no formation of the word.

Make sense? Got any suggestions or anything to help? Or is this even normal?

 

[rockin'robin]

It's normal!....Dunno how old you are?.....I became deaf at 14, and did not stop talking. There are many words that I've forgotten how to pronounce, even tho' I could before becoming deaf.

I believe it's a matter of "how often" you use a word.....Reading words from a book is good exercise. And talking on a daily basis helps too. Words are not always pronounced the way they are spelled.....Such as "San Juan"...it's pronounced, (sounding like) "San Wan", a silent "J"....

I'm often "corrected", and I don't find it offensive.....it's helpful to me. Still, if you do not use the word(s) often, it's easy to forget how to pronounce them.

If you desire to keep ur speech intact, even tho' you are deaf, you need to "keep on talking". If you stop, you will forget how. Still, it's great to learn ASL also, as I did. I talk on a daily basis, even tho' I cannot hear myself talking. It makes life a lot easier if you are conversing with hearies on a daily basis too. Since I'm "late deafened" (and so are you), mastering full speech and ASL can be tedious at times, but keep practicing!

 

[KristinaB]

Thanks for that. I am 46. I lost the hearing at 43, but I had the first hearing aid at 7. Kept getting progressively worse as time went on. I am still quite verbal since no one else in the family is interested in learning ASL. I am totally in the hearing world and it seems like I have to be the one to make concessions to make up for my hearing loss.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't having a different problem. I think the hardest part is when I am thinking about what I am going to say, but even though I can see the word and know what it should be, it always comes out wrong, but after the 3rd or 4th time I get it right.