… I am deaf! (transcript)

By popular request, this is a transcript for the video titled “… I am deaf!” which I posted on 31 December 2018.

I am not rude … I am deaf!
Chances are I have simply not heard you say hello

I am not anti-social … I am deaf!
Keeping track of the conversation when it is noisy can be exhausting so sometimes I might choose to avoid social gatherings

I am not ignoring you … I am deaf!
I have no idea that you were talking to me

I am not introverted … I am deaf!
Sometimes its just easier to keep to myself than to struggle through understanding a conversation

I am not mentally challenged … I am deaf!
That blank look on my face is me trying to decipher what you just said

I am not an outcast … I am deaf!
I feel isolated by my communication difficulties as it is, I don’t need you making me feel more alone

I am not bored by your conversation … I am deaf!
It’s so difficult to focus on what you are saying when all I can hear is the background noise

I am not stupid … I am deaf!
Just because I ask you to repeat yourself or I get your instructions wrong doesn’t mean that I lack intelligence

I am not mute … I am deaf!
Don’t expect me to contribute to a conversation when I have no idea what you are talking about

I am not broken … I am deaf!
I don’t need to be fixed and neither to my hearing aids if I don’t hear you calling me from another room.

I can not change … I am deaf!
You might need to do things differently when trying to communicate with me

I am not being difficult … I am deaf!
If I ask you to face me when you’re talking to me it is because I cannot understand you otherwise

I am not a joke … I am deaf!
What I really need is your understanding and support, not your ridicule

I am not contagious … I am deaf!
Instead of avoiding me because I don’t understand you, try to find a different way to include me

I am not ignoring your phone calls … I am deaf!
It’s hard for me to understand on the telephone but I don’t need my hearing to e-mail or text message, so let’s have a chat

I am not irrelevant … I am deaf!
Instead of saying ‘nevermind’ try to find another way to tell me what you want to say

It is no good whispering to me … I am deaf!
I’d love to know the secret you want to share, so please write it down instead