What to say when people ask if your hearing loss is real?

When I was in middle school (12-13?. I'm 56 now), my mom actually bought me this button (still have it somewhere):
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I seriously considered making a tee shirt that says "Don't shoot, I'm deaf!"
 
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True. I'm not laughing.
Some years ago, I had two friends parked on a street in a "bad area" in St. Louis. One got shot through his testicles because they were signing. Apparently there were gangs in the area, so... *shuddering*
 
True. I'm not laughing.
Some years ago, I had two friends parked on a street in a "bad area" in St. Louis. One got shot through his testicles because they were signing. Apparently there were gangs in the area, so... *shuddering*
What part of the Lou were you in? ( My stomping grounds )
 
What part of the Lou were you in? ( My stomping grounds )
I used to live on Hampton Avenue, and my friend was shot near Martin Luther King Drive and Sarah Street. A pretty hairy place, full of drugs and hookers, but I still visit friends there.
 
well shit you were in my hood basically, I was on the southside (Gravois/Grand) I worked the entire city when I was with Building Division so I know the Northside very well and yes been in the middle of some shootouts from drug deals gone wrong at and near the jobsites...lol
 
I blow them kisses.

Cause explaining to people like them is impossible. And only kisses make the impossible happen, just like in sleeping beauty. Preach.
 
It appears that I am a bit older than many of you here (I'm new here by the way). But being profoundly deaf for so many years, I have been confronted with all types of annoying nonsense....But not from a great many people. (As someone said here already, many people are polite about it all).

One of the more sillier things I've had people do (after telling them I am pretty deaf) is to mouth words without sound, as if to see if I am lying...How stupid is that?

I encourage all of you to do the best you can to keep communications with people...(wear your hearing aids, do ASL, get whatever surgeries will help...) . Otherwise you will start losing your social network...even with your own (hearing) family.

I say this as I have been going deaf over the course of 40 years...You can start to become very isolated.
 
One of the more sillier things I've had people do (after telling them I am pretty deaf) is to mouth words without sound, as if to see if I am lying...How stupid is that?

No kidding. I've had people do that to me too. Really? How rude can you get? I'm in my mid 40's and deaf since birth, so I've plenty of stories to tell. :)
 
No kidding. I've had people do that to me too. Really? How rude can you get? I'm in my mid 40's and deaf since birth, so I've plenty of stories to tell. :)
Thanks for mentioning it...I can imagine the stories you have..We all probably go through much the same.
 
I was born profoundly deaf in both ears. Even some Deaf people think I'm hearing because of the way I sign. I sign in English order with some ASL signs. My hearing parents learned signs from that yellow Signing Exact English book and taught it to me. It's a difficult habit - hard to break from SEE and use ASL more.

Also, I used to work at a grocery store as a stockclerk. This old lady refused to write down what she needed. I found out that she started screaming at me as if I could understand her, because a coworker ran into the aisle with some serious concern. Geez.
I do not know if she meant to be rude to you by screaming...I am profoundly deaf - I hear very little in one ear only, and it sounds garbled. So with a hearing aid I can hear some people, but not many...But almost everyone raises their voice to a scream, hoping I hear them.

And I think they get this habit from living with elderly parents or someone that developed deafness...So, perhaps she did not mean to be rude.
 
I do not know if she meant to be rude to you by screaming...I am profoundly deaf - I hear very little in one ear only, and it sounds garbled. So with a hearing aid I can hear some people, but not many...But almost everyone raises their voice to a scream, hoping I hear them.

And I think they get this habit from living with elderly parents or someone that developed deafness...So, perhaps she did not mean to be rude.

Eh, she refused to write down what she needed. Maybe something was wrong with her writing hand, too.
 
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