The kindness of strangers

Hearing loss and communicating with the general public

We went shopping in Salisbury before Christmas.

That’s our third visit to a big town this year. Sue prefers small shops to large ones, it’s easier to communicate in and she doesn’t feel overwhelmed by people charging all around her. I stay with her in shops and try to help conversations whenever possible.

In one crowded store I’d wandered off and turned back to see Sue bent over looking at a display whilst the assistant chatted away above her. I hurried over and, with a sort-of-smile, told the assistant (who I thought was being uncaring) that Sue was deaf just as she stood up.

I got one of Sue’s ‘looks’ as she informed me she hadn’t told the assistant she was deaf. Chastised, I improved my smile while the assistant asked Sue if she could lipread and said she’d make sure she looked at Sue whilst she spoke.

I know I get overprotective around Sue. The assistant couldn’t have been more considerate, she even turned a price list around after explaining the options and asked if Sue understood everything or would like to go through them again.

In a store we often use, the new manager decided to serve us. As he walked over one of the regulars told him ‘the lady is deaf, just make sure she can see your mouth and don’t gabble’. The manager was helpful and, again, considerate.

Animals are conditioned by experience and Sue and I had some very negative experiences with people who didn’t care about communication, it’s too easy to think the worse before it happens. Give others a chance by providing the information they need and you might get a pleasant surprise.