How many here have learned to read lips?

I think we rely on speech reading more than we realize even without hearing impairment. But facial expression and body position play a part as well. Setting and context are also important. For example, you would likely expect more medical terms at a doctor appointment while automotive terms would be used at a garage.

I have relied on speech reading all my life. As a result of autoimmune disease I have battled inflammatory eye disease as uveitis, for the vast majority of my adult life. As a result, I am blind in the left eye and less than legally blind with best correction (20/400) on the right. Speech reading has become torture most of the time. Hence my decision to get a cochlear implant.

Lip reading is difficult in the dark places so I avoid meeting people at night outdoors.
I’m a home cat

The funny part is you do it automatically, especially in loud environments…I worked in communications, the noise level was very high.

Agreed @ssa… Most folks will encounter various obstacles to successful Lip Reading, mumbling, beards, some folks talk with their hands covering their mouth (most annoying for a Lip Reader) poor lighting, some folks show very little emotional facial expressions… A good Lip Reader will probably guess correctly, maybe 4 out of 12 words spoken, but if they miss the key word… They could be away down a different topic of conversation, so I reiterate, it isn’t an exact science… Just a visual aid, or confirmation of what you thought you heard! Cheers Kev

same here

I have been lipreading since I was a child. I still do it now. When COVID hit and all the masks came out in force, I really felt isolated because I cannot understand what people are saying with their mouths covered.

I did evening classes for several months until the trainer had to stop (illness). As well as the lip reading, our trainer arranged for demonstrations of equipment etc to keep it interesting and give our brains a rest. Although it wasn’t a detailed course, I definitely got a lot out of it, not least meeting people in similar circumstances to me.

I love reading this thread and recognizing the shared experiences of lipreading without even being fully aware you’re doing it. I’ve never been taught or had classes, but the difference in hearing with masks during COVID/backs turned to me, etc. clearly shows that I use lips a LOT (and, as others have said, it helps with context too).

My husband and I constantly row about this. He gets frustrated that I misheard him and says I should have asked. But I try to explain that I don’t know what I mishear and can’t ask for clarification on everything!! The perils of marital communication!!

I also spotted some posts about reliance on and losing sight. To be honest, losing my sight is my worst nightmare. My grandfather had AMD and gradually lost his vision. I know that sight loss would also mean difficulty hearing - my eyes are my ears. It’s that niggly worry buried at the back of my mind. Pops up to say hello every so often, generally when I don’t really need extra anxiety…

Oh my! As if being deaf-blind weren’t enough COVID comes along and throws a whole new monkey wrench in the works! I’ve suddenly gained a whole new respect for users and providers of 1:1 interpretation. That’s something that simply can’t be done from six feet away!

I believe that I’ve always lipread since being a child, I’m just now learning cued speech to help even more and use ASL in my daily life.

Same to you Anita I would not say your hearing aids exploding is a normal phenomenon, or indeed a similar sound of an explosion, I can’t think what that would be? But if it’s basically a one off, or it’s gradually resolved itself, I wouldn’t worry too much, could have been feedback of some sort, I would tell your A.uD, or HIS, well I would mention it, and see what they think…Yeah the Peas, and the Bees, funny how little things like that stick in one’s psyche… and possibly more important matters drift from our memories. As I have said many times before, lip reading isn’t an exact science, approximately 30% of all words are easily distinguishable on someone’s lips, the other 70% need contextual information, and good guesswork… But, beards, no facial expressions, mumbling, hand around the speakers mouth, are all conversational killers for you, it’s very easy to go off track! Although you usually know you have made a Boo Boo, by the obvious strange looks you are getting, it’s embarrassing when it happens, but hay you are deaf, being HOH, it is easier for you to go off track in a conversation, than staying on track, tis also very tiring, and when you tire, your concentration wavers, and you start misinterpreting certain words, if it’s a key word, then you are off in a different direction… At this stage, it’s probably better to take your leave, and head on home… After a few hours, Lip reading can be extremely exhausting!!! Cheers Kev

Just a little note here. I could be wrong, but I think Pele was a soccer player. If those men are in the discussion, perhaps they are talking soccer. I know he wasn’t a football player.

Oh, I know what you’re saying about getting tiring. If I am comfortable, and I know the people really well, I will ask them to remove their hands from their mouth. That is more of a habit than I realized. It is very tiring and wears us out almost but not quite as tiring as digging ditches. Just kidding of course.

Another thing I have noticed for a long time now is that if you ask people to speak louder or remove their hands from their mouth the very next paragraph they will do the same thing again. I have always been a talker and been involved in conversation, and I do not want my self to become silent, and just sit there. I imagine I will have to leave the conversation someday if this gets worse and it is bordering already on sitting there like a stump.

I play cards twice a week and almost every hand I have to ask did you bid or What suit did you bid in?

I am endeavoring to keep HOH in perspective, because there are much more serious happenings as we age.

Blessings to all, Anita. P S. I believe I have commented on this before. If we get to heaven, we will hear music and sounds that we never even heard on earth. I am waiting for that day because I know I am going there.