Thanks to Wordsmith.org’s A.Word.A.Day, I now know that there is such a thing as a “homophene,” which is any word or phrase that looks the same when pronounced (i.e., words that look the same to lip readers). For example, the words “mat,” “pat” and “bat” are homophenes. The phrases “elephant juice” and “I love you” are also homophenes, which I think is hysterical.
There are quite a few sounds that create homophenes (f and v, s and z, etc.). This is something that I have begun to notice myself, as I get older and lose more of my hearing. It is fortuitous that I’ve learned this word now, so that I’ll be able to use the correct terminology for complaining about the phenomenon in the future. 😉