Good communication is the backbone of healthy relationships at home, school or work. For people with hearing loss, communication comes with extra challenges. There are currently more than 1.5 billion people in the world living with hearing loss. Learning how to communicate with people who have hearing loss is an essential tool. Take a look at a couple of our helpful tips for communicating with people with hearing loss.
Cultivate a Communication-Friendly Environment
The environment surrounding communication makes a significant difference in ease of understanding. A couple of ways to create a communication-friendly climate include:
- Use good lighting. Lip reading, facial expressions and body language make up more communication understanding than you might initially think. Good lighting ensures that people with hearing loss can see and understand these nonverbal cues.
- Low background noise. People with hearing loss often have more difficulty understanding speech in a noisy environment because of increased difficulty filtering important sounds over irrelevant noise. To help cultivate a low background noise environment, consider swapping busy restaurants for meet-ups at the Victorian Grace Tea Room for calm conversation. If you prefer a specific restaurant, consider going during low-traffic hours.
Promote Speech Clarity
In addition to creating a hearing loss-friendly environment, speaking clearly can help improve communication. A few ways to promote speech clarity include:
- Don’t cover your mouth or eat while you speak.
- Face the person you are speaking to.
- Pay attention to the listener. Try to rephrase or clarify if they look confused or unsure about what you’re saying. Paying attention to the listener helps create shared responsibility in understanding.
- Raise your volume if requested, but try not to shout. Even if the intention is kind, shouting is nearly always perceived as anger.
- Don’t speak over each other in group settings.
Be Patient
Patience is essential in communication. Even if your loved one is wearing hearing aids, they may require a little extra help when communication. Remember to be compassionate and understanding when you are asked to rephrase your words, raise your voice or move to a quiet or well-lit area. Communicating with hearing loss can be exhausting. Remember to keep this in mind and try to be considerate.
To learn more about hearing loss or to schedule a hearing test for yourself or a loved one, contact Kampsen Hearing today to make an appointment with one of our specialists.