As we all know, lack of effective communication takes a serious toll on our relationships. Mark Ross, a venerable audiologist with a severe hearing loss himself, once said: “When someone in the family has a hearing loss, the entire family has a hearing problem.” This is because it is not only the individual that struggles, but also those around them. As a family member or friend of a person with hearing loss, you can help improve and ease communication by following a few simple suggestions recommended by The Cleveland Clinic:
- 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. If necessary, touch the listener’s hand, arm, or shoulder lightly. This simple gesture will prepare the listener to listen and allow him or her to hear the first part of the conversation.
- Face the person with hearing loss. Make eye contact. Your facial expressions and body language add vital information to the communication. For example, you can “see” a person’s anger, frustration, and excitement by watching the expression on his or her face.
- Most listeners make use of lip-reading. Lip-reading helps improve recognition of some sounds and speech that are more difficult and especially in difficult listening situations. To help with lip-reading, do not overdo or create odd lip shapes when applying lipstick, do not talk with food in your mouth and do not chew gum. Keep in mind that heavy beards and moustaches can also hide your mouth.
- Speak distinctly, but without exaggeration. You do not need to shout. Shouting actually distorts the 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.
- If the listener has difficulty understanding something you said, find a different way of saying it. 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.
- Writing, texting, using visual media (such as pictures, diagrams and charts) and finger spelling are other methods of communication. If the person you are speaking with is deaf and uses sign language, communicating by sign language would be the most ideal.
To learn more about communicating with hearing aid users, contact a specialist today: 800-587-4544.
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