Whether you are an office worker, student, or cashier \u2013 your chances of interacting with a person who has hearing loss are pretty good. An estimated 15 percent of Americans (37.5 million) have it to some degree. As with many types of disabilities, you may feel nervous about how to approach a person that doesn\u2019t have normal hearing. But by learning some basic tips and being willing to give it a go, you can communicate with a friend or colleague who has hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are good reasons to try \u2013 one of the hardest things for many people with a disability is the sense of isolation. A study published in 2014 found that hearing loss was associated with a greater chance of feeling socially isolated. By understanding the challenges non-hearing people face, and learning a few skills, you\u2019ll help someone feel included, and open up your own world as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Line of Site<\/strong> Visually distracting environments can make it difficult to focus. Don\u2019t play with your hair, car keys, or phone while you are speaking. Make sure you are in a place with enough light. Lip reading takes a lot of mental energy. Make sure this isn\u2019t wasted while trying to ignore extra visual information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Voice<\/strong> Someone who is deaf can\u2019t rely on intonation or verbal cues like \u201cuh-huh\u201d to be assured that you are listening. Use facial expressions to show emotions. There isn\u2019t any need to exaggerate, but you can nod in response to what they are saying, or smile, or grimace, as may be appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Message<\/strong> Don\u2019t talk over people. When hearing people have a conversation in a group, it is common to speak at the same time, or overlap each other in the conversation. For someone relying on the visual aspect of the conversation, this can be a problem. If the topic suddenly changes, make sure the hearing impaired person is caught up before you move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Persist<\/strong> Whether you are an office worker, student, or cashier \u2013 your chances of interacting with a person who has hearing loss are pretty good. An estimated 15 percent of Americans (37.5 million) have it to some degree. As with many types of disabilities, you may feel nervous about how to approach a person that doesn\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2606,"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/2606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southvalleyent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
It seems obvious, but when approaching someone with hearing loss, don\u2019t begin the conversation before you have their attention. You are used to having the sound of your voice signal the start of an interaction. But if someone needs to read lips or use facial cues to understand what you are saying, make sure they can see your face. It puts a person at a disadvantage if you are already mid sentence when they realize you are addressing them. For the same reasons, don\u2019t turn away while you are speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speak at a normal pace. People who can lip read have learned it by watching speech at a standard pace. If you speak too fast or slow it may be harder for them to understand. Don\u2019t exaggerate lip movements or mumble for the same reason. Keep eye contact during your conversation, and don\u2019t cover your mouth. Shouting is usually not helpful. If a person has profound deafness, raising the volume doesn\u2019t help, and can actually hurt people who wear hearing aids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t use introductory words like, \u201cIf you feel like it, perhaps, would you like to go hiking today, or maybe tomorrow.\u201d Just get to the point \u2013 \u201cWould you like to go hiking?\u201d The meaning of the sentence often only becomes clear at the end, so keep things concise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most importantly, don\u2019t give up. If you think you aren\u2019t being understood, don\u2019t just drop the effort. Keep trying by rephrasing and using visual cues. If you feel stuck, use a pen and paper, or type a word or phrase into your phone. But if you say, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d you risk communicating to your friend or colleague that they<\/em> don\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"