Jenny Hersh: Lipreading: a misunderstood talent

As a child, I taught myself to lip read. I probably looked a right weirdo, considering I’d never been diagnosed as being deaf.

This skill allowed me to look as though I was coping. Most of the time it worked, some of the time it didn’t.

In English lessons, I would read ahead when the class was reading aloud. I needed to read it in order to understand what other classmates were saying, especially when they were sitting behind me. If I was sat behind a taller classmate, or too far away from the teacher to read their lips, I learned pretty much nothing.

I was the pupil who hated when we had to watch videos in class, as an undiagnosed deafie. They rarely had subtitles and were always too loud, and I didn’t have a hearing aid then. You cannot lipread a graphic, and when there were people on screen, it was usually too blurry to read their lips.

Don’t patronise me when you find out I lipread, please don’t do it.

Please don’t change how you’re moving your mouth and deliberately over enunciated whilst talking. If you do that, especially in a noisy room, you may as well have just covered up your mouth with your hand.

Please don’t test me – “can you read what I’m saying?! LOLOLOL”. Please don’t make me feel uncomfortable for wanting to have a conversation with you. Please don’t talk with your face pointed downwards so I can’t read your lips.

I don’t need to disclose my deafness to everyone that I meet on the streets. I cannot lipread if I’m facing away from you and you talk to me, not my fault!

I get funny looks from shop assistants. Most of the time, I’m sure they either think I’m rude or ignoring them. Sorry if you need to repeat yourself in order to accommodate.

One time, I went to an acquaintance’s leaving do, in a noisy bar, and when people noticed me lipreading, they gave me funny looks. I find myself more and more often turning away and brushing my hair away from my hearing aid so that whoever has just made me feel uncomfortable can see it, and in turn feel embarrassed. I shouldn’t have to feel embarrassed for wanting to function as everyone else does on a day to day basis.

Lipreading is an amazing talent  – yes, it’s not an exact science, and it’s quite tiring at times, but it opens up so many doors for myself and other deaf people.

Why is lipreading considered so strange in society? That’s what I want to know!

Jenny says: “Diagnosed as partially deaf at the age of 23, I want to share my experiences in the hope that other people’s deafness doesn’t fall under the radar too. Major music lover despite deafness.”