Lip reading is difficult in the dark places so I avoid meeting people at night outdoors.
I’m a home cat
3 Likes
The funny part is you do it automatically, especially in loud environments…I worked in communications, the noise level was very high.
1 Like
Yeah we all “Lip Read”… Even the folks with perfect hearing. The pandemic was a rude awakening for hearing folks, as well as HOH… My A.uD said as much, and she has perfect hearing, she struggled badly with face masks! Only approximately 30% or so words a clearly distinguishable on the lips though, the rest we get from facial expressions, body language, in our search for contextual information, and some words, for instance “Bees” & “Peas”, these are indistinguishable because of their lip pattern, it is as we all know very easy to misinterpret a key word, and subsequently derail a conversation, in some cases with hilarious consequences, or in others perhaps acute embarrassment… Lip Reading (so called here in the UK) isn’t an exact science, it is more of a visual assistance to hearing, and yes you can become very skilled in Lip Reading, in the UK they run various Lip Reading classes, I have done a few courses over the years, they where always fun to learn, and making a complete fool of yourself in front of your fellow students, was common place… Cheers Kev 
Edit; Some online practice for Lip Reading, see link below 
3 Likes
Exactly @kevels55 , I find that the case for me as a bimodal, i never use lipreading to directly associate word but indirectly to confirm emotional context…
1 Like
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
3 Likes
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.
1 Like
Yes the mask did a lot of people in. Even people with normal hearing.
1 Like
I used to be quiet proficient at reading lips when my WRS was 22%. Since I’m now bimodal I don’t have any need to do so anymore. I’m not even sure that I could any more either.
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!
Hi Kev, just going through some old posts as I haven’t been into HF for a long time. Appt next week w/ Audi. Nothing new for me, but I think I am going to get rid of the molds and resort to domes again. Hearing is no better with the molds.
BTW, something happened about two months ago, while I was just walking in the hallway of my apartment building. I was doing nothing but all of a sudden my aids exploded oddly. They became so loud. I had a problem putting them back to normal. It took a couple of weeks, but finally everything settled in. Is this a normal phenomena once in a while?
I understand the bees are swarming amongst the peas as I tell folks.
Have a blessed Easter.
Anita
1 Like
It certainly can’t hurt to take formal lessons. Like many others on this forum, I’ve learned to lip-read naturally over the years. For me that became extremely clear when everyone started wearing masks and I had no idea what they were saying.
My own belief is that my brain (and probably other HOHs) has become hyper-developed to guess possibilities of what someone is saying based on context. That is, if the conversation is about, say, the greatest footballer of all time, I know to look out for a comment on Messi, Renaldo, Pele, etc and look for clue words about those players. That gives me a basis for understanding and replying.
When a conversation begins without context, all bets are off and I’ve been known to make some hilarious comments / replies.
But, yes, anything one can do to improve reading lips is a great idea.
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.
Thank you Anita… I recall many years ago, at an end of term party for our sign language class, BSL ( British Sign Language) it was either intermediate or Level 1, they played a game of silent whispers, basically about 10 people stood in line, with 9 of them facing the opposite direction, you tapped the next person to you, they turned round,
And the first person whispered a small story to them, and so it continued down the line, in this case they signed a story down the line… Absolutely hilarious watching this signed story, gradually then completely change, and it eventually morphed into a different story entirely… Those of us whom lip read, which includes most of the worlds population, non HOH do it mostly subconsciously, especially in noisy situations, everyone looks for visual clues, especially your eyes & facial expressions, body language, lip reading, but when covid struck, with the dreaded mask’s, my A.uD was lost, she struggled badly with masks, and she had pitch perfect hearing, lip reading is a visual aid, to assists us to better understand a conversation, amazingly between 70 and 93% of all communication is nonverbal, please see link below… Very interesting article. Cheers Kev
1 Like
I do. Read lips.
And those that have good hearing don’t understand how important it is.
2 Likes