The sense of hearing is a vital link to the world, a source of pleasure and information and connection to others. When someone you know has a hearing loss, you can help make things easier. Communication is a two-way street, starting with a transmitter and a receiver. All too often, when I fit patients with hearing aids, on return visits the spouse will inevitably say, “he/she still doesn’t hear me”.
Advancements in hearing aid technology have made a huge impact in the way people with hearing loss can function today. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that even the best technology does not eliminate the need for good communication skills.
Lipreading is often referred to as the “3rd hearing aid”. You probably get help from lip reading even if you don’t know it. When you use lipreading skills your understanding of speech improves by about 30%! For the hearing impaired, listening is hard, even with hearing aids. Here are some tips to improve communication.
- Get their attention. Hearing impaired persons expend a lot of concentration when listening to TV or radio and may not hear a voice coming from nowhere. Call them by there name to shift their focus onto the speaker.
- Face the person you are talking to. Don’t try to converse from a different room or with your back turned. It is easier to hear what people say when you can see what they are saying. Visual cues like facial expressions and lip movements help listeners better understand your words.
- Try not to talk while chewing or eating. It makes it harder to understand what you are saying and almost impossible to see your mouth and face as you speak.
- Stand or sit where your face is well lit. It makes it easier to see your facial expressions and your mouth movements as you speak.
- Do not talk while reading the newspaper or speak as you are looking out the car window or lean on your check while talking as this make speech reading difficult for others.
- Speak at a natural pace. You do not need to shout. It is perfectly fine to speak at a normal tone of voice as most hearing aids are programmed to amplify normal levels of speech.
- Try not to talk too fast. Speak naturally, but try to pronounce your words more clearly, take pauses between phrases so the listener can digest what you are saying. Rephrase your thoughts if necessary.
Try to reduce background noise. For someone who has a hearing loss the most difficult listening environment is background noise. Voices are difficult to hear because they are in competition with other noise. Turn off TV’s, appliances, car windows, anything that can reduce a person’s ability to understand conversation.
When I counsel patients in my practice, I feel like I am both hearing healthcare professional and marriage counselor and I hope I have saved a few marriages through my work. The bottom line is, Hearing aids can help, but they cannot fully restore hearing abilities. It requires a commitment from family members to understand what it takes to help the hearing impaired maximize their communication ability.
Dr David Groesch Au,D
Central Illinois Hearing /Jacksonville