Communicating with a friend or family member suffering from hearing loss or hearing impairment needs carefully consideration and patience. Conversations are simple right? You speak, other people listen, and hopefully, respond. Easy eh?
Not so much for a person suffering with hearing loss or hearing impairment. Even the simplest of conversations can become a daunting prospect. Not being able to effectively express your opinion, or hear someone else’s, can be a very isolating & distressing experience that can significantly affect your “quality of Life”.
Hearing loss doesn’t just affect the individual, if affects everyone they interact with.
We hope that these tips, help you improve communication when talking to someone with hearing loss.
Whilst hearing aids are beneficial in many situations, there are some situations where hearing aids alone cannot provide enough benefit. In those situations, communication partners can help the person with hearing loss be more successful in hearing.
Remember! Communication involves at least two individuals: a talker who sends the message, and a listener who receives the message. You, as a member of this communication pair, can improve the conversation by following a few simple strategies.
Gain the listeners attention
Gain the listener’s attention before you begin talking, for example, by saying his or her name. If the person with hearing loss hears better from one ear, move to that side of the person.
Also consider touching the listener’s hand, arm or shoulder lightly to gain attention. These simple gestures will prepare the individual with hearing loss to listen and not miss the first part of the conversation.
Maintain eye contact
Face the person who has the hearing loss. Make eye contact. Your facial expressions and body language add vital information to the message being conveyed. For example, you can “see” a person’s excitement, joy, confusion or frustration by watching the facial expressions or body language.
Keep hands away from your face
When talking, try to keep your hands away from your face. You will produce clearer speech and allow the listener to make use of those visual cues by keeping your mouth and face visible.
Keep in mind that heavy beards and moustaches can also hide your mouth.
Speak naturally
Speak distinctly, but without exaggeration. You do not need to shout. Shouting actually distorts your words. Try not to mumble, as this is very hard to understand, even for people with normal hearing.
Speak at a normal rate, not too fast or too slow. Use pauses rather than slow speech to give the person time to process speech. Give clues when changing subjects or say “new topic.”
Rephrase rather than repeat
If the listener has difficulty understanding something you said, repeat it once. If they are still having difficulty find a different way of saying it.
Use different words with the same meaning. For example: “I am going to the grocery store.” Repeat once and then rephrase. “I am going to the supermarket,” If he or she did not understand the words the first time, it’s likely he or she will not understand them a second time. So, try to rephrase it.
Another option is to ask what the person did not understand and just repeat that phrase or word. For example, “grocery store” is what was not understood, so just repeat those words “grocery store.”
Talk away from background noise
Try to reduce background noises when talking. Turn off the radio or television. Move to a quiet space away from the noise source. When going to a restaurant or making dinner reservations, ask for a table away from the kitchen, server stations or large parties.
