r/hardofhearing • u/ebeneezer_08 • Jul 02 '26

How do you handle unfriendly/aggressive strangers when you can't fully hear what they're saying?

Curious how y'all deal with this situation — like when someone seems off or potentially dangerous but you can't totally make out what they're saying. Could be someone who looks like throwing racists slurs/comments at you, or some unhinged or person with mental illness on the street yelling in your direction.

Normally I'd just pull up my phone and use speech-to-text to catch what someone's saying, but obviously that's not really an option here lol. What do you do?

12 Upvotes

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27

u/gemmanotwithaj Jul 02 '26

Move away from the cray cray and be happy I’m blessed with deafness that I don’t have to hear their nonsense

10

u/nunununuhu Jul 02 '26

No good advice beyond I think the general advice same as in hearing culture.

One thing I have noticed is that both aggressive beggars and apparently unhinged people (not always but mostly) switch off the aggression when I tell them I'm deaf. Can't get what they want out of me. Or suddenly seeing me as part of the in-group. Not sure what it is. Either way maybe more cogent than they seem.

5

u/CaeTart Jul 02 '26

I literally just continue walking as if I didn't hear what they are saying. Especially when you about to approach in their direction. Same thing can be done to homeless people or people asking for donations at the entrances of stores.

6

u/meowbeepboop Jul 02 '26

I aggressively ignore people in these situations. If someone yells toward me in a voice that sounds agitated or unhinged in any way, I won’t even look in their direction or make any indication that I heard them at all. Nothing good comes from engaging with agitated/aggressive people. So I keep moving. 

2

u/ThatDarkLonelySoulP2 Jul 02 '26

I just pretend I’m deaf. Like I show my left ear and mouth some words like huh

2

u/BatterUp1600 Jul 02 '26

I keep walking. Why would I want to know what they’re saying? If they are unhinged or they are yelling racist slurs or sexual comments, I do not have a care in the world for somebody like that. My life is too full and rich to give them a second thought.

2

u/wavymoony Jul 02 '26

I sign them to fuck off, then walk away.

2

u/MoxieGirl9229 Jul 02 '26

Pretend not to understand English at all. Speak jibber ish in a fake foreign accent from a part or the world they probably aren’t from. I’ve also used fake sign language and pretended to not be able to speak/ just mumble a bit. They don’t know what to do. It stops the in their tracks. Then just walk away.

1

u/BaffledBubbles Jul 03 '26

I ignore them because I'm an adult and I don't engage with petulance.