The first question out of my mouth, before being transferred to "Inge," was, "I'm sorry, I'm deaf, and I can't hear you--"
This was on the telephone.
Believe it or not, that HAS been one of my best "pick-up" lines; I have been using it since I was a teenager, and yeah, surprisingly it DOES work.
(I "hear" through "bone-conduction," which works, but is rather inefficient, and there are no mechanical devices that can help.)
The English as used by "Inge" was imperfect, but we got along okay, because while she did not understand my English, I did not understand her Norwegian, and so it was even all around, a level playing-field.
I know, I know, I know, it sounds incredible, but such things happen more often than one might imagine. And so this is why I have no "language barrier" even when in Angouleme or Tuscany or Sevastopol; it is no more difficult to communicate in such places, as it is right here in Nebraska, the Norway of America.