Hey I’m Michèle (pictured here with Roxy) and I am Deafened. It wasn’t until my late 20’s that I lost most of my hearing, so that’s why you won’t hear much of a speech impairment in my voice (but it is there at times if you have a keen ear).
I received my first ever pair of hearing aids in 1990 while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. That’s also when I discovered I could not lip read in the dark, surprise, surprise!! So I’ll always need to have good lighting to be able to ‘hear’ you. “Turn on the light on, I can’t hear you” is a perfectly normal request 😉
I know ASL (American Sign Language) and I do rely on lip-reading quite a bit so make sure you’re facing me when we talk.
ottawadeafgirl 
LOL @ turn the light on, I can’t hear you. That makes perfect sense to me!! 😉