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30 Funny Moments Of Deaf People Realizing Something They Thought Was Loud Was Totally Silent
We all make assumptions about the world around us, thinking we’ve got a pretty good grasp on how it works. But imagine navigating it without ever hearing a single sound. What would you assume makes noise? The sun? Snow? Your own breasts bouncing while jogging?
On Reddit, netizens with hearing loss shared some hilariously wholesome, sometimes surprising, but definitely delightful stories. They shared the sounds they assumed existed, but realized it was actually silent, when asked “what’s something you thought made a sound that you then learned didn’t?”
More info: Reddit
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#1
My sister is deaf and a great lover of cats. One of my favorite things in the whole world is when she grabs my hand to place it on the ribs of a purring kitty. I don't know if she knows that a cat's purr can often be audible and honestly I'm not going to be the one to tell her; the joy she gets from the tactile sensation of a happy animal is absolute joy in it's purest form.
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#2
Actual deaf person, whose hearing aids were s**t for a long time:
- fingertips touching things (pressure doesn't always translate? Weird)
- wind blowing through hedges or bushes (I thought it would be like, some kind of botanical screaming match. Not so!)
- cats walking (they are actually really quiet?)
- water pouring (it makes noise when it hits things, it doesn't itself)
- buttons on the TV remote (may be model specific?)
- that thing that holds flyscreen doors open, with the tube and the longer narrower tube, I always felt like I was announcing myself when the door opened because that thing made noise, and then I found out they were hearing the door ITSELF rattle
- changing the channel on the TV (it looks like it SHOULD make a noise, like FLIP or THWIP or something)
- stretching rubber bands, hair bands, etc (they look and feel like they should, but no? Weird)
- rubbers/erasers don't make noise when you use them?? (I always felt like I was loudly announcing I MADE A MISTAKE when I used one in class, but no!)
- plugging/unplugging things, when I discovered there really was no mechanical sound to indicate you'd successfully connected/seated a powerplug I was infuuuuuriated, how is there not a noise for that??
- similarly, when plugs slipped out of jacks, like back in the modem days, or when my Ethernet slips loose enough to interfere with my connection. How is there no alert or something like 'beep beep check here first'? Baffling
- braiding hair, I thought it would make a lot more noise than it actually did
I'll come back with more as I think of them.
#3
My sister is Deaf, and got cochlear implants a few years ago.
She's also a jogger. She was very surprised to learn that her breasts *don't* make bouncing noises when she runs.
Losing, or never having, one of your senses isn’t just about what’s missing. In fact, it often means other senses pick up the slack and start showing off. Contrary to what Hollywood would have us believe, losing a sense won’t turn you into a daredevil. Bummer, I know. But luckily, your other senses do sharpen in pretty cool ways.
Suddenly, your eyes are spotting tiny twitches in facial expressions like you’re a human lie detector, and your nose is sniffing out snacks like a trained bloodhound. You may not be leaping off rooftops, but hey, being able to smell when someone opens a bag of chips three rooms away? That’s a superpower in my book.
#4
When I first got hearing aids I didn't realize I left my oven vent fan on for months at a time, also didn't realize my kitten was so talkative! 😭.
#5
I always thought butterflies made a fluttery sound when flying… turns out they’re silent little ninjas.
#6
I heard one where the person didn't realize ppl knocked on the front door. She just thought it was magic or crazy luck that someone would be there when her mom opened the front door.
Research shows that when someone loses one of their senses, the other senses often grow more active and efficient. That means many deaf folks are better at processing fast-moving visual information or picking up on tiny visual cues most hearing people would miss.
Basically, if you can’t hear, you might be better at reading the room, quite literally. This is why many deaf folks are amazing at reading body language, sign language, and even lipreading. It's like their brains go, “Oh, we’re skipping audio? Cool, let’s go full HD on everything else.”
#7
I worked in a school for deaf kids. One of the teachers had to explain to her class of 10 year olds that yes, farts make noise.
#8
Snow. I have a deaf friend who learnt rain and wind made sounds so just kind of assumed snow would too. She was shocked when we finally had snow and realised it didn’t make a sound falling. She did appreciate the sound stepping and crushing it makes at least!
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
Falling snow makes a sound but it's so soft that it's more like a pause in the silence as each flake hits.
#9
I'm Deaf and while I have a lot of moments where I'm like, 'that makes noise?!' but I don't have a lot of moments that's the opposite.
However, just the other day, I was fiddling around with a printer's system, and I moved something, I figured it would make noise. I asked if it made noise. It did not. I was so confused.
I enjoy figuring what makes noise, what does not.
The conclusion? Y'all are living in a very noisy world.
Wild Cream 4 months ago
I remember reading about a deaf person who was very surprised that the sun didn’t make noise. They said it was so intense and warm that it seemed like it should be making some kind of sound!
For people who’ve grown up deaf, getting hearing aids or cochlear implants can feel like entering a totally new universe, complete with unexpected noises like fridges humming, footsteps creaking, or, much to one person’s surprise, the total lack of noise when yawning.
As one Redditor shared how their deaf friend thought people shouted when they yawned and were surprised to realize they don’t. Well, not in most cases anyway. There’s still that one guy out there.
And then there’s snow. It looks magical, it feels magical, and surely it must sound magical too, right? Nope. Falling snow is famously silent. And my personal fave? That one person who was very surprised to learn that her breasts don't make bouncing noises when she runs. Thank goodness for sports bras.
#10
My uncle is deaf. When he got his hearing aids for the first time he was shocked and confused that refrigerators make noise. He was also very shocked when he realised that Trees don't. He knew about wind and that wind made noise in the leaves, but he had thought that trees themselves made noise because he had read "sound of the trees" so many times. He said he had expected them to humm or vibrate.
#11
My cousin was one of those people that was absolutely *sure* the sun would make a sound. He was slightly relieved when he got his hearing aids, walked outside, and it was quiet lol.
#12
When I got married my ex husbands cousin, who is deaf, offered to video the wedding. Sure. He was completely unaware of all the sounds his two year old daughter was making as he held her, standing next to the video camera.
There are many causes of hearing loss, some sneakier than others. Genetics can play a big role, but it’s not just about what you inherit from your family. Long-term exposure to loud noises (looking at you, concert speakers and power tools), certain illnesses, ear infections, and even some medications can mess with your ears’ internal wiring.
Oh, and aging? Yep, it’s not just your knees that start creaking. But whether it’s sudden or gradual, permanent or partial, hearing loss affects people in different ways, and often leaves room for a pretty amazing sense of humor.
#13
I’m deaf with significant and profound hearing loss. The cacophony of birds made me sympathetic to people who’d remonstrate against the birds like they’re mortally offended at being woken up.
I thought “These people are over reacting to a gentle twittering” and then I heard how many types of birds scream, squark, hoot-hoot-ooooooh-WOOOOOOO, quack, sound like they’re laughing, and screech.
The first time I heard two magpies fighting, I thought someone was trying to abduct my daughter. They were screaming at each other!
I apologised to my husband for calling him a “moaning old fart” about the birds.
Edit: This is the opposite of what you asked for; I misread the question. I’ll leave it up for anyone interested in Deaf peoples lives however.
#14
My older brother is deaf and once he got his hearing aids he called me freaking out because he had no idea that wind passing through the leaves on tree made noise of any kind so he assumed that he was having a problem with the hearing aids he was not obviously and it was hilarious having to tell him what the noise actually was.
#15
I volunteer to be an interpreter at a deaf school for events and I’ve worked with the same kid for over 2 years now and he recently got hearing aids. I yawned and he was very suprised it was quite silent. He imagined it would be an “AHHH” sound.
Growing up deaf often means learning about the world through a totally different lens. So, when someone knocks on the door and your parents always answer, without you ever hearing it? Yeah, that might feel like sorcery.
These stories are funny, sure, but they’re also a great reminder that our assumptions, about sounds, senses, or people, are often shaped by our own experiences.
For those of us who can hear, it’s easy to forget that sound plays such a huge role in how we understand the world. And for those who can’t? Their experiences are just as rich, hilarious, and insightful, just tuned to a different frequency.
#16
I have a friend who is deaf but now has cochlear implants. We met up once for coffee, and a minute after we entered the building there was torrential rain. We went up to the top floor (2 stories) and sat for a few mins chatting. But she kept looking around confused. She then asked what that sound was? Was the air-conditioning or something broken (she’d been here before so knew what the background sound in this area was like normally). Took me a moment to realise the sound she didn’t recognise was the torrential rain hitting the flat roof above us.
Serena Myers 4 months ago
Being a pluviophile, the sight, sound and smell of rain make me very happy.
#17
In college there was a guy in my class who had been deaf and got implants, and was surprised that electric light bulbs don't make noise. He'd just assumed that they would.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago (edited)
It'd be kind of cool if room lights went TADA! as they came on.
#18
I grew up with 2 deaf siblings .
1 of them went deaf when he was 13 from Scarlett fever so he knew the sounds but after 27 years he forgot.
He got bi-lateral cochlear implants after being 97 percent deaf for 27 years .
He didn’t know or forgot that cabinets make noises he opened and closed one squeaky cabinet for 10 mins .
He forgot about the birds chirping , he sit outside one morning in awe of all the sounds being made by the birds .
After getting them put in which is a process it wasn’t instant because they have to be tuned for months and it’s almost too much to take at first . He would wear them for a few hours then take them off . He said it sounded like a speak and spell from the 70s / 80s at first . After about 6 months he gained up to 85 percent word recognition and hearing .
I don’t think he ever said he thought something made a sound that didn’t , but he was able to hear for the first 13 years of his life .
It was more he forgot certain things made sounds because he didn’t have to deal with them for so long .
#19
Not deaf myself, but a deaf friend once told me they were shocked to learn that sunrises don’t make sound. They thought that, like in movies, the world plays music when something beautiful happens.
#20
I’m not deaf, but I do have hearing loss. I lived with it for a long time before I finally got hearing aids, and I didn’t realize how much I was missing. What surprised me most was just how loud the world really is. Everyday sounds I’d forgotten or never fully heard before suddenly came alive. For example, when I went for a walk, I was amazed by how many birds were chirping all around me. Even the crunch of gravel under my shoes and the rustle of leaves in the breeze seemed almost overwhelming at first. It made me realize how much my brain had learned to filter out or simply accept as silence.
KnightOwl86 4 months ago (edited)
My dad has hearing loss and decided to try hearing aids in the late 90s. He tried for an hr a day for 1 week before losing it and throwing them away. Apparently suddenly having highly sensitive hearing in a small 4 bed house with 8 kids, 3 dogs, 4 cats, and about a dozen other pets (budges, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs etc.) Wasn't such a good idea, who would have guessed? He went back to happily ignoring the noise and chaos and we went back to not walking on eggshells. The final straw for him was hearing all 8 of us eating toast and cereal while chatting around the dining table, the chewing sounds literally drive him mad!)
#21
My neighbour got an implant in his teens. Someone had previously told him that a fire makes a crackling sound, and for some reason he assumed that water would make the same sound. .
#22
I’m partially deaf in both ears (no treble in my hearing range) so the first time I wore them I walked home from the hospital and absolutely s**t myself and nearly ran the opposite direction when the the pedestrian crossing started beeping loudly!
First time I’d ever heard it.
#23
Not completely deaf, just extremely hard of hearing
My older brother had me convinced for almost 40 years that silence wasn't actually quiet. He kept repeating the phrases "The sound of silence" & "Silence is deafening" and I was solidly convinced that there was no such thing as a moment with no noise
When I finally got my hearing aids, I learned really quickly what those phrases actually meant and I felt very dumb.
#24
One of my mom's customers was super embarrassed to realize after getting cochlear implants that people in public toilets can hear your pee hitting the toilet water.
#25
I had a friend whose son was deaf. They had a really lovable golden retriever and the dog and the boy were best friends. When the boy was about 10 he got cochlear implants. The dog and the boy were in the yard one day and the dog barked at a bird or something. It absolutely terrified the kid. He was scared to death. He never wanted to be around the dog again. It was really sad because the poor dog didn’t understand why his best friend didn’t want him anymore. They ended up giving the dog to a neighbor. The kid is about 25 now and is still afraid of dogs.
#26
When I got a new hearing aid with new technology, my bf gave me to listen to some scenes from movie "Saving Private Ryan". Boy hearing explosions and all that mad new noises was mind-blowing.
#27
When my BIL got cochlear implants he was shocked to discover the sound of his wife reading the newspaper. Not her voice, but the “noise” of the pages being rustled.
#28
I lost a significant portion of my hearing in an accident and lived for many years without hearing aids. I could still hear people talking to me, but a lot of background stuff was muted. I never bothered to get hearing aids, but eventually my wife got annoyed and I acquiesced. The one thing that I noticed and took a long time to get used to was the sounds of my shoe laces clacking against my shoe as I walked. Because I hadn’t heard that in so many years, I was super self conscious of walking at work for a while until several people assured me they never noticed.
Robert Trebor 4 months ago
I got hearing aids after being shown how profound my loss was. My best range was at the least acceptable place and all the rest were negative. Traffic is loud, paper rustles, birds sing, cats purr (except at birds, unless there is glass between), and people's voices aren't just blurry monotones - they have timbre and depth.
#29
Paintbrushes. I had no idea they made a sound until someone mentioned loving the noise they make going across canvas. Blew my mind.
#30
Do they realise how loud sneezes can be? My kids used to jump a foot high when they were small.
What do you think ?
Wild Cream 4 months ago
Anyone ever see those videos of young kids getting hearing aids and hearing their mother’s voice for the first time? 🥹 there’s a few of them and they always make me cry haha, so sweet
Carrie Laughs 4 months ago
Yes, and glasses for the first time - the joy and wonder and these little kiddies faces is wonderful.
Load More Replies...
Robert T 4 months ago
I'm not deaf, but I did recently get my ears syringed, and the sound was so loud it was painful for a couple of days. The thing that really got me was the sound of putting my key in my front door lock - it was horribly loud and jarring. Surprising just how quickly you readjust and now everything just sounds normal again.
Robin Roper 4 months ago
For me it's the opposite. At age 65, I lost my hearing due to Ménière's disease. Two months later, I got my first Cochlear Implant and 18 months later, I got by second. I'd pay almost any amount of money to be able to enjoy music and hear the waves breaking on the beach. For me, with the Implants, music is just annoying noise and it's too loud with the wind to wear my processors on the beach. I also really miss laying in bed at night and talking with my husband. I can do it, but the processors slip off the magnets. What used to be relaxing and helped us stay connected is now frustrating.
zovjraar me 4 months ago
if you google "deaf person hears cat purr", you will get an incredibly sweet story. made me tear up the first time i read it.
marianne eliza 4 months ago (edited)
Tells me that deaf people should ask more questions and hearing people should offer more insights into the audible world. Never assume.
Beth Wheeler 4 months ago
My niece got cochlear implants in her early 20:s. I worked in Radiology at the hospital where it was done. I just happened to be working in CT when my SIL brought her in for a scan before they were activated that day. It was after 5 when they left and it was raining. When my SIL pulled out of the parking deck my niece said OMG I CAN HEAR THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS MOVING! When she told me that I cried
Brian Droste 4 months ago
I have a couple friend that has son is I belive very autistic. He can't talk. He couldn't hear very well either. I think he got cochlear implants. The noise of the world is too much for him at times. He wears noise canceling headphones. He is 10 to 12 years old.
Wild Cream 4 months ago
Anyone ever see those videos of young kids getting hearing aids and hearing their mother’s voice for the first time? 🥹 there’s a few of them and they always make me cry haha, so sweet
Carrie Laughs 4 months ago
Yes, and glasses for the first time - the joy and wonder and these little kiddies faces is wonderful.
Load More Replies... Robert T 4 months ago
I'm not deaf, but I did recently get my ears syringed, and the sound was so loud it was painful for a couple of days. The thing that really got me was the sound of putting my key in my front door lock - it was horribly loud and jarring. Surprising just how quickly you readjust and now everything just sounds normal again.
Robin Roper 4 months ago
For me it's the opposite. At age 65, I lost my hearing due to Ménière's disease. Two months later, I got my first Cochlear Implant and 18 months later, I got by second. I'd pay almost any amount of money to be able to enjoy music and hear the waves breaking on the beach. For me, with the Implants, music is just annoying noise and it's too loud with the wind to wear my processors on the beach. I also really miss laying in bed at night and talking with my husband. I can do it, but the processors slip off the magnets. What used to be relaxing and helped us stay connected is now frustrating.
zovjraar me 4 months ago
if you google "deaf person hears cat purr", you will get an incredibly sweet story. made me tear up the first time i read it.
marianne eliza 4 months ago (edited)
Tells me that deaf people should ask more questions and hearing people should offer more insights into the audible world. Never assume.
Beth Wheeler 4 months ago
My niece got cochlear implants in her early 20:s. I worked in Radiology at the hospital where it was done. I just happened to be working in CT when my SIL brought her in for a scan before they were activated that day. It was after 5 when they left and it was raining. When my SIL pulled out of the parking deck my niece said OMG I CAN HEAR THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS MOVING! When she told me that I cried
Brian Droste 4 months ago
I have a couple friend that has son is I belive very autistic. He can't talk. He couldn't hear very well either. I think he got cochlear implants. The noise of the world is too much for him at times. He wears noise canceling headphones. He is 10 to 12 years old.
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