You’re more than welcome to my share of work banter. Oddly I just got to hear the tale of the bunion problems of the woman who sits in the cube behind me… complete with visual aids.
Am now off my feed for the rest of the day.
You lucky, lucky bastard. Proper little boss’ pet, aren’t you? I lay awake at night dreaming to be left out of the work banter.
Hm, well that’s a tough question. I can’t think of anything that would completely alleviate the problem.
A happy medium might be to just not even try to get involved in the huge busy conversations. Stick with the smaller ones, where you can focus on one or two other people.
Barring better hearing aids, I’m not sure there is a very good solution.
Yeah, conversations can get mighty bizarre when your brain scrabbles around trying to fill in the blanks!
I’ll admit it. I have a hard time talking to you because of your hearing problem. Work converstaions, I make an effort because it is work. But when I want to talk about who is dating whom and what I think of the boss I don’t want to talk loudly or repeat it twice. And nothing kills my witty bon mots faster than “could you repeat that.”
It’s not that I don’t like talking to you, except for all the “fucks”, it is just harder to have normal converstion with you and I’m lazy. I don’t know how loud I do need to talk so that you can comfortably hear me. The same thing with my Mom who is 87. I will not fully include her sometimes when I am talking to my sister because it is a pain in the ass and we have topics to cover. There, got that off my chest. I’m sorry. Really, I am.
You and I don’t know each other, obviously, but Bib and I do. You’re wrong, but then he knows that already.
Ok. I’m ok with being wrong.
No problem - I realise you were making a joke and I chose to treat it as such, but I’m feeling a mite sensitive today (as evinced by this thread) and was nevertheless irked. But no harm no foul.
Well, I’m bummed on your behalf, but I’m not sure there’s much to be done about it. I think if you try to start conversations with people that might help a bit, but if people are chatting about trivial non-work crap having to repeat it makes it sort of…less fun - like you’ve been caught faffing around when you should be working.
Well, I am sorry then. It was and any comment I’d make is always is meant to lighten and I am truly sorry if it missed its intended mark.
I get frustrated too by the degree to which my hearing loss prevents me from engaging in conversations I’d like to participate in. However, it’s not yet moved to the point where those conversations in the workplace have been affected, primarily because for the most part the ambient noise in those situations is relatively low. If I’m in a bar or restaurant though, forget it, all I hear is one continuous, inseparable murmur. In short then, I can’t offer much in the way of advicve but without question I can commiserate and hope you find some means of resolution.
Don’t worry about it, and thanks again.
Well then damn, I guess the only thing for me to do is to retreat entirely from normal working interactions and go live in a hole someplace while hoping that my scintillating wit and effervescent good nature shine through in all of my written communications to the outside world.
Seriously, sometimes I wonder whether I’d be better off in a job where I only write to people rather than work face to face with them, but then I realise that’d just be giving up.
I doubt it’s a conscious thing on their part. I have a friend from high school who’s hearing impaired, and when I went out to eat with him and another friend of ours, I found that the evening got kind of awkward at times, because the hearing impaired guy wasn’t picking up enough of the conversation to do the normal butting in and interjecting that’s normally done, so we had to consciously make an effort to include him, or else we’d have unintentionally excluded him.
You have my sympathy, too. I know it’s not the same as having hearing problems, but I worked at a job where the people there just decided they didn’t like me for whatever reason (or no reason), and the exclusion really is hard to take. Human beings are social animals; no one wants to be left out.
I’m in a similar situation. My right ear has loss that is too great to improve with a hearing aid. My left ear is gradually getting worse. I spent 3k on a hearing aid last year (not covered by medical insurance) and I notice it is not helping as much lately. I’ve been putting off going back to have my hearing checked because I dread finding out the results.
However people at work do talk to me and go out of their way to make sure I’m involved in what is going on. Because I’m the boss (I own the business).
Away from work I often wear headphones and listen to my iPod rather than struggle to understand what people are saying.
Was it a tattoo parlor? Cus’ if so I think I may have identified the problem…
Wow, overhearing housewife gossip is the least-interesting part of my workday. If I could install a filter so it never got through, I’d be 100% happier.
Biblio, I’m in the **exact **same boat. Some days it bothers me more than others…all you can do is just keep trying. Don’t let it get to you. I know it’s incredibly demoralizing and tough.
At least you can wear headphones at work.
Was it difficult for you to make that conscious effort to include him? Or did it become second nature over time?
MrPanda did that last night …
Mighta been a different kind of sign language, tho …