I recently had a house guest and was more conscious of the humor that marks the difference between what I hear, without my hearing aids, and what was actually said. And frankly, what I hear is often much more interesting 😉 Examples of why people mistakenly think I’m deaf when I just mishear.
As I was folding the laundry on the bed, my guest walked by. I heard her say,”I see a fox!” With a jerk of my head and a smile, I said, “Oh really!” She said she said, “I see a SOCK.” Anyone can lose a sock, but errant fox don’t come out for the bored. Just us blessed with mishearing.
Later as we discussed our motorcycles, my friend “clearly” said she had been on a “toys for cops ride.” (Didn’t you always know who wanted those toys?) I laughed and asked her to repeat while looking at me. Her response was much less interesting — “No, a toys for TOTS ride!”
I heard my seven-year old granddaughter’s playmate say, “I’m allergic to sea foam.” I asked why she would eat sea foam, and both girls tried to correct me with words I couldn’t understand. Finally my granddaughter said, louder than was necessary, “No! No! She’s allergic to sea FOOD.” Hmm, I think I’m allergic to sea foam myself.
Do you mishear? Do people somehow think you’re deaf? It might be time to get a hearing test.
