Something adorable about the S3 episode Echoes, when McKay and Sheppard have temporary hearing loss, is their very different reaction to it.
In the infirmary, Sheppard is looking around mostly in confusion, or perhaps even a little dejected. At times, he seems to only vaguely try to focus on guessing what people are saying. He only asks "what?" once, however. Low efforts.
Frowny and confused and sorry for himself
But the rest of the time, he simply remains lying there in silence, almost listless, frowning a little. As if he is resigned to the fact that he cannot hear and cannot easily interact with others. So much so that he doesn't try very hard.
They do say the guys are in pain, but the man is said in-canon to have a high pain threshold. It's like the isolation of being left out of conversations is getting to him. (I mean, unless the headache is very bad for him, but not as much for McKay)
At times, he doesn't even attempt to follow what's going on around him; he just stares at the ceiling.
Languid, sad, and forever alone
Even as the pain starts to go away and his hearing improves a little, he is shown just lying there, staring ahead, not doing much. While McKay has his datapad and tries to come up with a plan.
Couldn't Sheppard ask for a datapad too, even if only to play Solitaire on it? Or use it to type and communicate?
Wallowing in self-pityyy! Woe is me!
Then, as if tired of being unable to interact with people, he starts trying to get McKay's attention, almost petulantly. He tries to provoke McKay, and seems to almost pout when he realises he is not getting a reaction.
When Carson and Elizabeth catch them trying to sneak out of the infirmary, he first glances at McKay before arguing. And then again later to add more. As if he needs confirmation to start their bit. Like "Ok, do I tell the things we agreed on now?" He can hear a little better, but he doesn't have the full confidence back yet.
"Yeah, uuuuuh.... This is totally not rehearsed!"
But McKay, on the other hand, doesn't care about what others are saying. From the start, he keeps trying to talk. He doesn't wallow sadly or isolate himself. He just talks. Or shouts.
I MUST SPEAK! I MUST SPEAK! I HAVE A MOUTH AND I MUST SPEAK!
No hesitation, no confusion, no trying to guess what the others are saying at all. What others are saying is inconsequential. He has to be the one saying stuff. He just cranks up the voice volume and speaks his piece. He verbally bulldozes everything because he knows his stuff and he has to communicate it because it's important. The Canadian Goose must honk.
Later, when he is alone with Sheppard, he doesn't even check if anyone is listening before he starts sharing his findings. Sheppard could have been sleeping or gone to hit the can; McKay wouldn't even have noticed since he didn't even glance his way first. He doesn't even wait to confirm that Sheppard understood him either.
SHOUT FIRST, LOOK AT SHEPPARD LATER
Only when they are sneaking out does McKay allow Sheppard to speak for the both of them first. He starts out suspiciously silent, glancing away.
Maybe because fending off Beckett and Elizabeth seems more like a Sheppard thing?
"Hhmm... Why don't you do the lying, colonel?"
Anyway! It's like the hearing loss turned Sheppard into a broody 10-year-old with a toothache, while it turned McKay into the kid who tells how his day at school went, down to the smallest detail, without noticing if the adults are listening or not.
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