Kathy Martlock

Who doesn’t like a good joke? Right? Like --

Worker 1 has just returned from time off from work and has a slight cough

Worker 2: Welcome back, did you enjoy your wee cough?

Worker 1:  With a puzzled expression,

“I think you just asked me -- Did I enjoy my cough?!?

Worker 2: Laughing out loud and speaking more crisply -- “No, I said, did you enjoy your week off”

or

Interview at a travel agency:

Interviewer – “What are your koala vacations”

Interviewee – “What is a koala vacation?”

Interviewer – I said “qualifications”

While these jokes ARE funny, for a person who suffers hearing loss, after this happens over and over again, it just becomes frustrating and not so funny anymore.  The common result is that the person who suffers the hearing loss often withdraws with embarrassment and confusion from any interaction that may result in a difficult time communicating clearly.

Hearing loss, in its many forms and in varying degrees, affects more people than you may even realize.  You probably know someone who suffers this socially crippling condition and do not even know it for the simple reason that it is invisible.

Learn more about the challenges of hearing loss through a humorous chat with Kathy Martlock.  After your chat, you will probably think differently about what YOU hear.

Kathy Martlock works in the Resource Services Department of the Z. Smith Library Reynolds.  Her work with the database of the library catalog allows her to have a job where she does not have to ask “what?” repeatedly and is becoming more comfortable with increasing awareness about hearing loss.