you heard what I said!

[KellyHabersham]

*wasn't sure about posting this as I very well could have misheard the guy, but since it was frustrating.....*

To start off with some background info - "Sam" is a longtime member of the church, he's got severe athritis in both hands and is a quadrapalegic, so whatever set-up he's got at home for using the phone, it sounds like he's standing in a tunnel. Also, my hearing isn't all that great, and since I can't afford hearing aids, I deal with it the best I can.

Last week, "Sam" had called asking to speak to the pastor, but since she was busy with something, I asked if I could take a message. And I had a really hard time understanding most of what he was talking about........I think he wanted to comment on a music group which had performed the previous Sunday, but it was hard to make out what he was saying beyond that. Anyhow, I'd offered to take a message, and "Sam" responded with something which sounded like "You heard what I said!" in an irritated-sounding tone. I didn't feel comfortable asking him to repeat himself or explain that I can't hear that well, but shortly after that, I did get him off the phone and let the pastor know he'd called.

Again, it's possible that I misheard "Sam's" comment, but at the same time......is there a tactful/professional way to let people know that my hearing isn't the best and that sometimes, no, I CAN'T hear what they are saying.

[Sheldonrs]

Just a suggestion but "...my hearing isn't the best and that sometimes, no, I CAN'T hear what YOU are saying" seems like a good one.

[wagegoth]

Because of allergies and such, I have a hard time hearing, so I just say, "I'm sorry, my ears are stuffed up due to [____] and I can't hear well." In your position, I'd say that I'd let the pastor know Sam had called and she would call Sam back when she was free. There's no reason to take a long-winded message that the caller will just repeat when the call is returned.

[ShootMePlease]

I have a hard time hearing people when they are walking away from me. I just say "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, could you repeat that ?". I think sometimes people don't realize they may be speaking to softly or too low for others to hear them. Maybe they have hearing problems, too !!

[XCashier]

I have a hard time hearing people when they are walking away from me.

That seems to be an awfully common theme, people walk away from you while they are still talking to you. One, that strikes me as rather rude and disrespectful, and two, how do they expect anyone to hear them when they're facing away and moving away from that person?!

[scruff]

My hearing, especially when tired/stressed, ain't brilliant.
Usually I get round it by asking people to email me their question "to ensure I have their current adress", then I can email them back.
Not perfect, but that covers at least everyone who needs our brochure.

[KellyHabersham]

Where this sort of thing gets sucky for me is that oftentimes it's not that I can't hear the other person, my brain just can't process what they're saying........it's like a temporary short-circuit.

[Darkforge]

oh, don't get me started on this topic, my hearing is awful.

I have huge problems listening to people, my other half learned the hard way that if i'm not looking at her when she's talking then I've not heard any of what she's just said, as I partially rely on lip reading (and she is quite soft spoken).

I'm not too bad on phones as my left ear is slightly better, and my phones have a nice volume button that allow me to turn them up quite loud (well, my work and house phone do - I've never found a mobile with a good enough speaker so I just use it for texts.) but any strong accents or interference make it very difficult for me.

I just tell people quite blatantly that i'm afraid I didn't hear a word of what they just said as I'm half deaf and can they repeat themselves?

[Subspace_Relay]

My dad is all but deaf in one ear and he uses the line "pardon me, could you repeat that? I don't hear to well", in fact gesturing at the bad ear when in person.

This still hasn't prevented people from saying "you can hear just fine when you want to". He chalks it up to partial deafness being a rather invisible disability.

[Seshat]

I just say "I have hearing problems. Would you mind repeating that please?"

If they get pissed off about it (some do), I usually just decide that whatever they have to say isn't important enough to them for me to try hard to figure it out.

Of course, I have the luxury that the people I work with (I've got a part time job with an understanding employer! YAY!) are aware of my problems and work with them, so there's noone important to ME who's going to get pissy about it.

[Spork4pedro]

I have a hard time hearing people when they are walking away from me.

I don't have any issues with my hearing but when you work in a smoothie shop it's hard to hear anyone between the blenders going and the music. So I learned (with a lot of helped from a hard of hearing cw! ) to decipher what people are ordering based on lip reading. In my area, we have a huge spanish speaking population who tend to speak VERY fast or we would just get customers who wouldn't look up to talk. I would always have to ask them to repeat their order/name and half the time I would get the eye roll and then they will either really loud and slow (like I'm stupid) or in cases with the Spanish names they would rattle off their actual name (i.e. Graciella or Alejandro..) and when I asked to repeat they would get all huffy and give an Americanized version ("Grace" or "Alex") I had one lady get so upset with me about not being able to understand her Spanish name and that she should not have to change it! It's not that I can't understand your name! It's a very nice name and I'm rather jealous that you can roll your Rs and speak that language beautifully! It's just that it is NOISY AS HELL in here and when you are looking down at your purse, talking softly but fast I CAN'T HEAR YOU! Spanish or American name!!!! *ahem* thank you for letting me rant!

[Food Lady]

Where this sort of thing gets sucky for me is that oftentimes it's not that I can't hear the other person, my brain just can't process what they're saying........it's like a temporary short-circuit.

My party line is that my hearing's bad, but what you're saying may actually be the case with me. I wonder how to explain that. "I'm sorry; my brain doesn't work. Could you repeat that?" o_O

[malmalthekiller]

This still hasn't prevented people from saying "you can hear just fine when you want to". He chalks it up to partial deafness being a rather invisible disability.

So true. My SO has a similar problems. He's had countless surgeries on his ears since he was young, but when he turned 18 he stopped. They told him he'd be deaf by 25, but he's 27, almost 28, and he still has hearing, just limited. He really should be wearing some kind of hearing aid.

But anyway, doesn't stop his MOTHER from yelling at him to turn down his TV, or yelling for him and wondering why he can't hear her. Really, woman? Not to mention when we're out and someone says something softly when he wasn't looking at them, so I tap his arm and he gets the idea.

[EricKei]

If someone starts talking to me and then begins walking away mid-stream, I do my best to interpret that in the most logical way possible: I assume that they have nothing further to say to me. I may even walk away (in another direction) myself, just to hammer the point home. If I'm not walking down the street/hall next to you, I'd better be able to see yer face when I'm talking with you...