My daughters often accuse me of having selective hearing.

I don’t think it is actually true but sometimes I wish I could blot out the cacophony of sounds that bombard me all the time.

Take, for instance, mobile phones on public transport.

Do I really want to be party to all these unknown people’s private lives? Especially since much of it doesn’t seem very interesting anyway.

However, this weekend, the joy of being able to hear was brought home to me.

My friend Judy, who is very deaf, came to stay.

Her hearing aids give her very slight hearing but mostly she relies on lip reading and my goodness is she good at it.

On the other hand, when I took a stab at it, all we ended up doing was laughing.

All mouth shapes seemed the same to me and I came up with some very funny words.

She, of course, never made a mistake. Although I realised it was important I face her, not cover my mouth with my hand and speak fairly slowly.

After my embarrassing attempt at lip reading, we started to talk about attitudes and difficulties toward deaf people in general.

Fortunately, she has a great sense of humour and sees the amusing side in almost all situations.

Hearing loud speaker messages on train journeys and stations is impossible; just a babble of sounds. So she once told a fellow passenger that she was deaf and asked what the message said.

“Ask someone else,” she was told.

What a put-down but Judy just shrugged and followed the suggestion.

Bureaucracy too is a big handicap; you know, the system which must be followed come what may but it has its limitations.

Consider losing your credit card. Phone immediately they say. Well, it can’t be done can it if you can’t hear.

Banks won’t talk over the phone through a third person, and if you can’t hear, that’s what must be done. Yes, you can speak but what is the answer? Just a lot of jumbled sounds.

I have heard people grumble about sub-titles on films but it is a small price to pay to make life more equal for those who are deaf.

I sincerely hope none of you are grumblers and if you are, please turn over a new leaf and appreciate how lucky you are.

And watch out too for other hidden disabilities because they are all around us...