I worried that I would not fit into the conversation or I would miss bits and pieces, so I would have to ask them to repeat themselves. My worries came true when one of my friends walked across the room and asked me a question. I felt embarrassed asking them to repeat themselves. Then I felt ashamed when I could not understand them a second time. Fluent conversation is so important and when I could not converse fluently I felt like an inept outsider. Inside, I felt uncomfortable, so my external-self decided to sit and laugh. It makes me wonder how people who are hard of hearing feel while trying to have a conversation with a group because I quickly became lost in conversation. While deciphering the first comment my friend made, my second friend would chime in before I could figure out what they were talking …show more content…
I knew I would not have to engage in conversation, and I knew no one would assume anything negative about me, but I felt nervous not hearing my surroundings. I never realized how heavily I rely on hearing to observe and keep track of occurrences in my surroundings. If the earplugs worked better, I would not know if another patron walked up behind me. I would not know if someone asked me a question, or warned me about something, and the thought made me uneasy. It makes me wonder if Deaf people frequently look over their shoulders or worry when they walk alone in the