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I've noticed that if I ask ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cattitude to repeat something, he will do so word-for-word, whereas if I'm asked "What?" I tend to assume that the problem was with the syntax or word choice, rather than on the auditory level, and will rephrase for attempted clarity. That's a good technique when I've gotten tangled in baroque sentence structures--there are things that work in writing but can be hard to follow when spoken--or left out pronoun references or other assumptions. It's counterproductive when the problem is that only some of the words have been heard. If you notice me doing this (not that we get to spend enough time together offline), please remind me that when you say "What?" you mean "Please repeat those words" rather than "Please rephrase that."
[This started as part of a response totamiam, in a comment thread on elisem's journal. I'm repeating it here because other hearing-impaired people who talk to me may find the information useful, and maybe some people, whether or not they fit in that category, may find it interesting. And as a reminder to myself.]
cattitude to repeat something, he will do so word-for-word, whereas if I'm asked "What?" I tend to assume that the problem was with the syntax or word choice, rather than on the auditory level, and will rephrase for attempted clarity. That's a good technique when I've gotten tangled in baroque sentence structures--there are things that work in writing but can be hard to follow when spoken--or left out pronoun references or other assumptions. It's counterproductive when the problem is that only some of the words have been heard. If you notice me doing this (not that we get to spend enough time together offline), please remind me that when you say "What?" you mean "Please repeat those words" rather than "Please rephrase that."[This started as part of a response to
tamiam, in a comment thread on elisem's journal. I'm repeating it here because other hearing-impaired people who talk to me may find the information useful, and maybe some people, whether or not they fit in that category, may find it interesting. And as a reminder to myself.]Tags:
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From:
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When I first became aware losing my hearing, I had a roommate, known to some of you, who could not answer "What?" politely. I don't know if he felt he wasn't being paid attention, or whether it was just a manipulative routine, but he would usually answer by repeating himself exactly as he had initially spoken, which often, of course, led to a repetition of "What?", after which he would repeat what he'd said but in a loud, annoyed tone. I developed a bad attitude about all the kinds of ways of responding to "What?" that were not the one I prefer: to repeat what was said, louder and possibly more clearly.
I panic a little at summaries, or (worse) elaborations; in either case I'm sure I'm missing something important (even though I know rationally that I probably didn't). I've tried to learn to say "What did you say" or "What was that?" ("Please repeat" is good.) The one that seems to work best, though, is to shake my head and smile while cupping my hand behind my ear and looking apologetic (or saying "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that"). The ear cupping pretty reliably prompts people to repeat louder, and talk a little louder, at least for a while.