Last week I answered the phone, in 10 seconds I'd been scammed!!!

[tblue37]

41. Because I am severely hearing impaired, I never can hear unless they speak loudly, slowly, and

clearly directly into the mouthpiece of their phone--and not always even then--so I am probably not in much danger.

Since a boosted landline phone directs a voice directly into my good (i.e., slightly less hopeless) ear and filters ambient noise, I actually can use the phone if the other party cooperates and speaks clearly enough--unless he has a thick accent of some sort. I can't hear well enough on a cellphone, though, to understand what is being said, do I use a cell only to call out to people who know me and understand that I am conveying information to them (e.g., "I am running late," or "I am here and waiting for you&quot , but they cannot talk back to me.

More often than you might think, my deafness is a blessing!