The partly hard of hearing have a big problem convincing people that deafness and stupidity don’t go hand in hand. Sure, there are stupid deaf people. There are stupid people with perfect hearing. In fact, there are a lot more people with perfect hearing and diminished thinking capabilities than there are deaf people lacking certain thinking skills. Don’t hear us calling people who can hear stupid. We say it under our breath.

“Excuse me, could you say that again?”, the partly hard of hearing will ask.

The person talking will almost always start explaining what he meant- in the same tone that the partly hard of hearing couldn’t hear the first time.

“No, I want you to repeat what you said. Maybe if you say it louder I’ll hear it and, God knows, might understand it too. You can talk louder but I can’t hear better”.

Usually, that ends the conversation. The person walks away muttering about all the stupid people in the world, most of them deaf. We partly hard of hearing know they do because we, subconsciously or by training, can read lips. Stupid is the first one we learn to pick up on. Very stupid is the next one. No, I won’t go out with you follows that one.

The partly hard of hearing who are also stupid can, and do, use their deafness as an excuse. It’s a great cover. How stupid can the partly hard of hearing be to think this one up?

“I didn’t hear what you were saying”, the partly hard of hearing tells a teacher after flunking a test. Going for the pity D here.

“Why didn’t you say something?”, partially deaf guys tell their dates after getting slapped for reaching for the bra strap. Going for- well, you know this one.

“I didn’t know you were talking to me”, a partly hard of hearing guy tells his wife when he has forgotten or ignored doing something she wanted done. It’s perfect since she can’t prove otherwise.

The partly hard of hearing miss out on a lot of things and never know if that’s good or bad. Never heard stereo and never had Metallica blow my eardrums out either. Maybe the Metallica followers want that. Don’t know. Can’t understand a word they say. Their lips don’t form words from anyplace on this planet.