as a reminder, I can barely hear english even with my hearing aids. I can say basic greetings in Thai but I really have no idea if my pronunciations are any good since I can’t really hear well enough. But most Thai people seem to understand from the context of the situation what I am attempting to say. But the minute they reply I have no idea what they are saying. Just like when someone talks to me in English, I struggle a lot to figure out what is being said.
My hearing loss does make for some pretty funny stories for me and my friends. There have been so many times when I misheard them and when I told them what I heard, we just laugh and laugh because I was so far off from what they said. Usually I can follow a conversation as long as there is no quick switch in subjects but I do end up with a headache pretty quickly or get exhausted from trying to follow conversations (especially if there is any other ambient noise at the same time or if I am in a group setting where other people are in the conversation). It is the main reason I retired early in my 50s from being a teacher since it was becoming too hard to hear student questions.
I am super hard of hearing even if I wear my hearing aids and have enough trouble with English. Thank goodness for the written usage of Google translate and the friendly people who are understanding and patient with me.