Pardon?
I must be hard of hearing. That’s the only excuse for the difficulty I have understanding what people are saying to me in a noisy room. Having a conversation in the midst of the buzz of many other conversations going on all around you is hard of a lot of people, but I think it’s harder for me. It’s probably even more difficult for the person I’m trying to have the conversation with, because it usually goes something …
Other person: Isn’t the weather lovely today?
Me: Pardon me?
Other person: I said, isn’t the weather lovely today?
Me: I’m sorry. I can’t hear you. What did you say?
Other person: The weather, isn’t it nice today?
Me: (I have no idea what was just said to me, but I know it ended with day and was a question. If I ask her to repeat it again she’ll be annoyed, so I’ll just have to guess.) I’m doing well. How have you been?
Maybe the problem isn’t really my hearing. Maybe I’m just a really bad guesser.
I’ve thought about learning to read lips. I’m good at reading. I especially like reading novels and take-out menus. Learning to read lips should be no problem.
