Shyness Support Group

When it comes to talking, I'm really good at the superficial stuff. I'm always wanting to bust a joke or just to laugh. Anything too in depth or revealing I shy away from.

However, at work, a misunderstanding blew up in my face (or actually I blew up to the point of being unable to express my frustration or explain to the source why I was so frustrated).

I asked her to do something and she had on ear phones in one ear. She tends to talk really low and I was almost more than 3 ft away from her. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt that she thought I heard her because she had her phones in her ear and when she spoke she assumed that her level of voice was loud enough for me to hear her follow up question. However, it was so low that I didn't even think she said anything. Minutes went by and I asked another question to which she looked at me with these very angry eyes and further went on to accuse me as though I had ignored her. I tried to tell her I didn't know that she had said anything and that I was sorry I didn't hear her. She went to the next level and said that I could have said, "Sorry, I didn't hear you." If I didn't hear her the first time or know that she had said anything, how could I have asked any way?

I feel upset because I don't like it when people have the wrong impression of me and I felt hurt that she could think that about me. I have my moments and by now we have known each other long enough to know that I have had trouble hearing people in general.

Yes, perhaps I need to look into this hearing problem further as well, but on the personal level, how do I rectify this? She works with me at night and I don't like having ill feelings between us. My morale has gone down low enough (to the point of reconsidering careers but I won't go that far yet, since I think it's all depression related).

Please help :( ?
Posted on 04/25/08, 11:04 am