Are you DEAF?!!

[ArenaBoy]

But I guess you have the trouble most of my ambidecterous friends have, don't you? you easily forget which side is left and which is right? or have to actively think to remember it?

It's very rare for me, it happens every now and then but for me, I can use both hands and not get confused at all.

[PhotoChick]

We have a evening cashier who is deaf. He reads lips and most of us communicate that was plus lots of hand motions. He's a great guy but he has this "wonderful" habit of walking up behind a cashier when their back is turned and pounding a fist on the counter to make them jump. I understand that HE can't hear loud noises but the rest of us can.

[rdp78]

Well, my mom can't hear really well and she used to turn up the TV up which annoyed us. Anyway now she has earphones for it and the rest of us don't have to hear any loud noise. I have to repeat myself a couple times about something because of it.

Anyway I have pretty decent hearing but I still have to ask people to repeat themselves most of the time. It's usually because I was doing something else, they were talking too fast, mumbing, speaking softly or they have an accent. Most people don't mind it I don't really think.

I also had speech problems since childhood and had gone to therapy. I speak fine but I still have problems and I also speak softly then most people. I had several times I had to repeat myself and even a few times where people misunderstood me.

Also things faraway are blurly but I can see things up close pretty good and it's pretty bad too I have to wear thick glasses (not coke bottle but pretty close). I still have hard time seeing things faraway and even fast-food menus are hard to read sometimes. Well, I'm glad I'm not colorblind because I don't think I could deal with that being that I like to paint but I don't think women can be colorblind anyway.

[Kiwi]

being ambidextrous,

can you just imagine how confusing that would be for a dyslexic person

[Buglady]

Too true. Have you ever found anything to help with it?

I'm still working on it... just knowing WHY it happens was a huge help. I can laugh at it a little bit and just keep asking people to repeat or rephrase until it sticks - *I* know I'm not stupid Other than that, I just try to be aware of "bad brain days" or when I am getting tired, and I try to avoid using the phone or interacting with too many people then (not always an option, I realise).

Downthread someone is mentioning left/right confusion - I have that too, it's actually common with ADD whether or not the person is physically ambidextrous (I'm not, I'm ridiculously strongly right-handed).

I've been having less trouble since I started eating better, too - I cut back on the sugar and got more careful about my vitamins, and some of the "brain fuzzies" cleared a bit.

[Becks]

A nasty old guy made her cry one day when he grabbed her hair, pulled it away from her ears and started yelling at her - all because she asked him to repeat something. What an A**hole! And yes, he's been banned from the store.

That poor girl!!!!!

Glad to know the asshat is banned.

[XCashier]

A nasty old guy made her cry one day when he grabbed her hair, pulled it away from her ears and started yelling at her - all because she asked him to repeat something. What an A**hole! And yes, he's been banned from the store.

I'm glad he was banned, but he should have been arrested. Grabbing her hair should be considered assault.

Or even better...

[Liz]

I'm still working on it... just knowing WHY it happens was a huge help. I can laugh at it a little bit and just keep asking people to repeat or rephrase until it sticks - *I* know I'm not stupid Other than that, I just try to be aware of "bad brain days" or when I am getting tired, and I try to avoid using the phone or interacting with too many people then (not always an option, I realise).

Thanks. It's interesting what you said about vitamins. It was definitely good to finally get a diagnosis. And yup, phones are problematic and I try to avoid them. The worst part about it, I think, is that it's variable so that it appears as though you have 'selective hearing', which is why I don't like telling people about it. Thing is, it is selective hearing - I just don't have any control over it.

[Banrion]

Well, I'm glad I'm not colorblind because I don't think I could deal with that being that I like to paint but I don't think women can be colorblind anyway.

Women can be colorblind, but it is much rarer than in men. The reason is because the gene that causes colorblindness is a recessive gene that also happens to sit on the lower right hand arm of the x. Men are more vulnerable because they have only one x. The mate to a male x is a y and is missing the area the gene sits. So a male only needs to get 1 dose of colorblind whereas a female has to get 2 doses to display symptoms.

I hope that makes sense.

[Becks]

Well, I'm glad I'm not colorblind because I don't think I could deal with that being that I like to paint but I don't think women can be colorblind anyway.

One of my great aunts was colorblind. That would explain why my great uncle always wore khaki. (So he wouldn't wear clashing clothes.)

[powerboy]

I am deaf. Legally.

What does that mean? Well... I can hear to a degree. Certain sounds, levels, or noises give me no trouble. However, there are times when I can't hear a word. It depends on the person's voice really. If they enunciate what they say or mumble. Plus, if I'm in a location where there's excessive noise around me, I can't hear a word. My shop, has a bell, but it also has a light that flashes when the door opens.

So am I. Mine is because of a surround sound speaker, that I was right next too, and it was just happened to be turned up all the way, and there was a BOOM sound, and that is how I am deaf. I love it btw.

[rdp78]

Women can be colorblind, but it is much rarer than in men. The reason is because the gene that causes colorblindness is a recessive gene that also happens to sit on the lower right hand arm of the x. Men are more vulnerable because they have only one x. The mate to a male x is a y and is missing the area the gene sits. So a male only needs to get 1 dose of colorblind whereas a female has to get 2 doses to display symptoms.

I hope that makes sense.

Yeah, that makes sense and I had to do bit of refresher course in genetics to figure it out. Anyway, I just heard or read somewhere the woman really couldn't be colorblind but I don't konw maybe I was just hearing it wrong. I also remember hearing that there is similar genes to the one that causes colorblindness like the boy-in-the-plastic-bubble syndrome (yep, that was another Seinfield episode).

[Pagan]

Hmmm....Both of my parents are right-handed and so am I, to a certain extent. It's kind of weird the things I do left-handed. I drive pretty much left-handed, drink left-handed. The funniest one, though, I didn't even realize I was doing until years and years ago, one of my cousins noticed it. When I'm eating and I have anything to cut on my plate, I'll hold the knife in my right, fork in my left. Then, after I cut whatever, instead of sitting down the knife and switching the fork back, I just eat with my left hand! Hey, it gets the food to my mouth faster.

While I can't write mirror or upside down, I can read backwards and upside down. People seem to be fascinated by it and to me it's just normal.

My mom and I have fun with my dad. He's got some hearing loss, (he's 71, hey I figure he's entitled) but it happens to be in the upper pitches. Guess where our voices register?

I have no problem with my hearing, but where I do have the problem is with people (for some reason, it seems to be teenage girls) speaking softly or wannabe gangbangers not enunciating.

[Jester]

Hmmm....Both of my parents are right-handed and so am I, to a certain extent. It's kind of weird the things I do left-handed. I drive pretty much left-handed, drink left-handed. The funniest one, though, I didn't even realize I was doing until years and years ago, one of my cousins noticed it. When I'm eating and I have anything to cut on my plate, I'll hold the knife in my right, fork in my left. Then, after I cut whatever, instead of sitting down the knife and switching the fork back, I just eat with my left hand! Hey, it gets the food to my mouth faster.

That, from what I understand, is the European way to eat. Amusingly my ex-fiancee, a Brit, was appalled at the fact that I ate the way you described you didn't, i.e., cut with the knife in my right hand, then switch the fork to my right hand to eat with it. According to her, the "proper" way to do it was to use the fork in the same hand the whole time, i.e., the way you do it. Having been raised rather informally by my rather casual parents, I wasn't all that up on the "proper" way to do things, but have never had a problem at nice events either. Of course, she was raised by old-school "proper" parents, so it was a different world. On the flip side, she had trouble dealing with the casualness of my parents when she met them, even though I told her ahead of time to call them by their first names and not Mr. and Mrs. Heheheheh....

[Rapscallion]

Not sure about any official British way to eat, but it's generally regarded as worth your time to not get between me and my food.

Ask Ree.

Rapscallion