Someone left a Hearing Education Exhibition pamphlet in my booth and since I had nothing better to do, I began reading it. It was actually an exhibition the hospital is holding to create awareness of the hearing impaired condition and the various implants and solutions all these clever ppl have come up with.

And in reading all that material, I learned a lot about deafness. Let me share with you some of the information I found out and the various thots that run through my head as I read the pamphlet.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE HEARING LOSS?

• YOU FEEL THAT PEOPLE SEEM TO MUMBLE OR THEIR SPEECH SEEMS UNCLEAR

I just assumed that these people are too lazy to talk. Or have too many ulcers in the mouth.

• YOU OFTEN HAVE TO ASK PEOPLE TO REPEAT WHAT THEY SAID

That's cos I wasn't paying attention. A cute guy probably passed by and I got distracted. Happens a lot...

• YOU DO NOT LAUGH AT JOKES BECOS YOU MISS THE GIST OF THEM

I just call that poor language skills. If you don't understand the word, doesn't mean you're deaf what. Just means you need to read more!

• YOU FIND YOURSELF LIP READING

Hey, lip reading helped us all to better understand why Zidane head butted that Italian footballer, ok!

• YOU CANNOT HEAR THE DOORBELL OR THE TELEPHONE RINGING

Aiyoh, thats call screening lah. Sometimes you just don't want to talk to some ppl. Is that so wrong?!

• YOU ARE TOLD THAT YOU PLAY THE TV OR MUSIC TOO LOUD

Isn't is ironic that the people who usually tell you that are the old folks. The VERY ppl who are supposed to be SUFFERING from old age deafness? Amazing.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CAUSES OF HEARING LOSS?

• EXPOSURE TO HARMFUL LEVELS OF NOISE

Uh oh...I'm in trouble then. My mother usually sounds like she swallowed a loudhailer. And when there's a family gathering, it's like a family of loudhailers got together for a shing-ding.

• HEAD INJURY

My brothers used to knock my head with their knuckles as they walked by me. Is that counted? It hurt...

• MENIERE'S DISEASE

Is that something that happens to you if you go to a French restaurant and don't understand the menu?

• OTOSCLEROSIS

Does that happen when an octopus doesn't get enough calcium? Can they even hear? I dunno..I don't see ears.

• OTOTOXIC MEDICATIONS

I'd better read the contents of my pills more closely from now on. Oh wait...I have a problem with medical terms. Never mind.

• OLD AGE

See honey, that's the reason why you have bad hearing. It's not just all that loud music you listen to. It's OLD AGE!!

Disclaimer: This post in no way makes fun of people who actually suffer from hearing impairment. It makes fun of the people I know who pretend that they cannot hear for their own benefit, including myself.