Hear What I See aims to immerse those without hearing loss in the challenges of lipreading, offering a glimpse into the life of a Deaf individual navigating a hearing world without access to an American Sign Language interpreter. Despite the use of hearing devices, lipreading remains a formidable task, with only 30-40% of spoken English visible on the lips (The Lucky "Brain" Tumor). To bridge this gap, I designed a video project that invites participants to experience lipreading as a Deaf person. Equipped with noise-cancelling headphones simulating Deafness, participants watch an unscripted 30-second clip, relying solely on their visual cues to lipread. They then record their guesses on cards corresponding to the clip and place them on a numbered blackboard. This experience underscores the difficulties of lipreading, shedding light on its challenges and emphasizing the need for practice and patience in effective communication.
Curious to test your own lipreading skills? Watch the video here.
