People Forget That I Can Hear

i notice that when someone is talking to me and i happen to look away for a split second (to maybe write something down, reach for something, etc.), the person actually stops talking and waits for me to look back at him or her.

it's sooo fascinating to me how after all these years, people have it ingrained in them that i need to speechread in order to understand what is being said (which is totally understandable and makes me feel good that they care). if i'm not facing whoever is talking, that person figures (mistakenly) that i'm not hearing what they're saying.

obviously, now that i have my CI, i can understand speech without lipreading... and it's AMAZING. the funny thing is, i don't get to do it much because whoever i'm talking to, will stop talking until i look at them again!

here are a couple examples:

• my husband will walk up to me from across the room so he can tap me on the shoulder to get my attention; i'll tell him, 'just call my name... i can hear you!' we both laugh about it because it's sooo cool that i can hear him call my name. hubby just needs to get used to it
• during a staff meeting, i take notes on what my boss is saying, BUT whenever i look down at my paper to write something, he stops talking. i admit that it's entertaining for me to listen to my boss interrupt himself whenever i look away: 'you will be putting --' LOOK DOWN, LOOK UP '-- the mailings together so --' LOOK DOWN, LOOK UP '-- that they get sent --' LOOK DOWN, LOOK UP '-- out on time.' hehe... (no, i don't do this to everyone; i just think my boss is a dork and doesn't appreciate me, so whatever... and yes, i know i need to get a new job -- SOON ENOUGH!)
  

;o)