Here's a little bit I read from Josh Swiller's writing "Wall of Sound" in the New York Times- (Swiller is Deaf who has a Cochlear Implant)
I read this following Passage and thought "EXACTLY IT" it explains what it's like to rely on lip reading and still only understanding 70% of conversations (without lip-reading I currently understand no more than 35% of words read to me in isolation- a 1:1 setting WITH lip-reading I bet I'm about 50-70% depending on the situation)

"What's 70 percent like? It's hard work. It's always hearing the laughter but rarely catching the joke. One-on-one you can hear pretty well, but big gatherings -- high school parties, say -- are just noise falling on top of noise, like ocean waves in a storm. So you develop techniques to feign understanding, limit embarrassment and somehow stay afloat -- the smile-and-nod, the thoughtful lip purse, the "Oh, I have to talk to that guy; great to see you, though." (I didn't learn until years later that this is how everyone, hearing or not, gets through high school.)"

it's finally put into words for me. *sigh*