Have any of you faked a conversation and acted liked you heard what was going on because you felt embarrassed that you could not hear what was going on in what was talking about? This happened to me tonight and I got caught because no one was talking loud enough and I got made fun of because of it. I feel like I am always being left out because I always have to as what or huh about a million times before someone actually talks loud enough for me to know what is going on. I'd enjoy some feed back on this issue, thanks all!
Yeah, it's called "bluffing." If you were raised oral deaf, like me, you bluff a lot, but the school program tries to make sure you don't do it. But how else do you get along in the hearing world? One either bluffs or constantly tells people around them that they are HOH or deaf. (I usually tell people I'm hard of hearing, since that seems to go over better than telling them I'm deaf.)
I just point to my ear and say, "Sorry, I didn't catch that, I'm hard of hearing. Could you say that again?"
That really sucks that people are making fun of you for it. I generally don't put up with that and I walk away, unless it's a work environment and I have to work with these people. I suppose these are other military people?
Even though I bluffed a lot growing up, more recently, I've been bolder in being up front and telling people that I am hard of hearing. Often people will weird out about it, but I find it sorts out the good from the bad pretty quickly. You'll find out who will work with you, and who won't. The ones who won't aren't mature enough anyway, and who wants to work with them, right?
Good luck, it isn't fun, I know.