Resources

Resources

What's it like to be deaf?

Everyone experiences hearing impairment differently. It is usually much harder for someone who has hearing impairment from birth, or a very young age, to learn to listen and speak, than it is for someone who acquires their hearing loss later in life.

Read on and try the activities on this page to get a feel for what hearing impairment might be like.

Lipreading

Only 50% of the English language is visible on the lips. Lip reading is very difficult, and requires great concentration. People with hearing impairment sometimes use lip reading to supplement their existing hearing.

Say this sentence

Having a hearing impairment doesn't always mean that everything gets quieter. Often, a hearing impairment means that you miss out on certain sounds, but can hear others. For instance, you might be able to hear vowels like "o" and "u" (which are lower frequency) but miss sounds like "s" or "f" (which are higher frequency).

Try this easy exercise:

Read this sentence out loud, maybe even to a friend:

"...en ou av iid co-o-rin tur o sh"

What do you think it means? Click here to find out ...

It means:
"When you have finished colouring, turn over your sheet."

How would you cope if that's how all sentences sounded?

What does someone with a cochlear implant hear?

To someone with normal hearing, the sound produced by a cochlear implant may seem 'robotic' or 'electronic'. But remember that to someone with an implant, it sounds perfectly normal.

Read a full explanation of how a cochlear implant works on the Cochlear Ltd websiteLink opens in a new window.

For more information, you might like to see: