Lipreading Awareness Week:

From 8th–12th September, it’s Lipreading Awareness Week — a chance to shine a light on a hidden but powerful skill that has changed lives.

My Story

I have been deaf since infancy, and in 2017 I became profoundly deaf. Overnight, I found myself cut off from conversations I had once managed with hearing aids. It was isolating, frightening, and overwhelming.

What kept me connected was lipreading.

Lipreading isn’t about “perfectly reading lips” . That’s a myth! Instead, it’s about using visual clues, patterns, memory, and context to piece together meaning. For me, lipreading became the bridge back into conversations, laughter, family life, and work.

It’s a skill anyone can learn with time and practice. Lipreading is often easier to learn than BSL, especially for those who experience hearing loss later in life. In our classes, you’ll connect with others who share similar and different experiences, creating a supportive environment for learning new lipreading skills.

Why Lipreading Matters

There are 18 million people in the UK with hearing loss. That’s 1 in 3 people. And yet, very few are ever told about lipreading classes.

Untreated hearing loss can lead to:

• Social withdrawal and loneliness
  
• Loss of confidence
  
• Barriers at work and in daily life
  

Lipreading can make an enormous difference. It’s practical, empowering, and confidence building. Most importantly, it helps people feel included and connected again.

What Needs to Change

Too often, lipreading is overlooked by health professionals and unknown to businesses and communities. We need:

• GPs and audiologists to signpost lipreading classes
  
• Employers to understand lipreading as a workplace support tool
  
• Families and friends to learn how to communicate more inclusively
  

Lipreading isn’t just for people with hearing loss. It benefits everyone. Better communication leads to stronger relationships, kinder workplaces, and more inclusive communities.

What I’m Doing

Through my work with Living4Moments, I run lipreading classes in York and online (starting soon), helping people rebuild skills, confidence, and connections.

This autumn, I’ll be running new in person classes in York, alongside free tasters after Lipreading Awareness Week on the 24th September. My hope is simple: that more people know lipreading is an option, and more professionals start signposting people towards it.

An Invitation

If you or someone you know is struggling with hearing loss, please know that you are not alone and that there are tools to help. We cover useful technologies, techniques as well as lipreading.

Let’s use this week to spread the word. Lipreading is more than words,  it’s about staying connected, confident, and included.

Taster session on the 24th September at MySightYork.

We have a few spaces left for the first cohort on the 16th September. Classes are not large with a maximum of 8- 10.

👉 Find out more about my classes here: https://living4moments.com/contact/

#LipreadingAwarenessWeek #Inclusion #DeafAwareness #HearingLoss #York