Paul Twitchell can read lips and facial expressions.
But he might miss something when a teacher faces away from him in class.
So, Twitchell watches sign language interpreters in class to enhance his understanding.
Twitchell was born deaf. But he got hearing aids after his parents noticed he could hear loud noises, such as a gunshot or the engine of a low-flying plane.
He said he has severe to profound hearing loss.
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"If I put my headphones in my ears and crank up the volume on my iPod, then I can hear it," he said. "But it's really quiet."
And Twitchell's iPod plays a big part in his life.
"I love music, which is kind of ironic, because I'm deaf," Twitchell said.
He began playing the guitar in his early teens and learned to play the drums as a junior in high school.
He said he doesn't have a lot of time to practice because he's focused on school. But he would like to find time to play more.
Twitchell said his interpreting accommodations help, especially when he is not used to a teacher's voice.
He had trouble finding interpreters before coming to college. But he said UNM has a supportive program.
"Having a basic interpreter who is young and inexperienced interpreting a calculus class with complex numbers is hard," Twitchell said. "But if it's an easy class, I'm fine with that."
Joan Green, director of Accessibility Services, said the department does everything it can for disabled students.
"A lot of what we do is really more behind the scenes - such as providing alternative texts for students, note-takers in class if they need that and testing accommodations," she said.
Green said disabled students who use accessibility services are successful.
"If we look at students that actually use (our) accommodations every semester, they do very well," she said. "Our mean GPA for those students is over 3.0. ... So, what this shows is that those individuals are very dedicated and very successful when they're given equal access."
Twitchell said sometimes people assume he can't understand them because he has an interpreter.
"Teachers and even students will say to the interpreter, 'Oh, please tell Paul this,'" Twitchell said. "The interpreter will actually sign, 'Please tell Paul.'"
Twitchell said being able to communicate with his peers is important to him.
He said he may ask acquaintances to repeat what they say, and he needs time to get used to new voices.
"I try to explain that," he said, "because it's a really hard situation for them."
He said there aren't many deaf students his age at UNM. Most live in Santa Fe, because there's a school for the deaf there, he said.
He said he had few deaf friends growing up and was sheltered by his parents.
"It takes longer for me to gain trust in a relationship with hearing people than with deaf people because of culture reasons," he said.
As a child, Twitchell sometimes used an alternative method of communication.
"I remember nights when I didn't want to use my hearing aids," he said. "I would put my hand on my parents' throat and feel vibrations. It's still kind of hard to understand, but it helps. Most of the time, I lip read, and I think we did a lot of pointing."
