In my practice I often feel like I wear two hats, one of being a hearing healthcare provider and the second as a marriage counsellor. Good hearing is a partnership between you and us. It’s also a partnership between your family, friends and co-workers. But the most important partner is you.
You have probably taken the most important steps already. You recognized you have a hearing loss and have taken steps to make sure you’re hearing as well as possible. You sought professional care. What else can you do to make sure you are hearing as well as possible?
Educate your family and friends.
Communication is a two-way street. There is a transmitter (speaker) and a receiver (listener). When a person gets hearing aids for the first time, family and friends feel like the hearing problems have all disappeared. The reality is that hearing aids can improve communication ability by an average of 75%, they can never restore hearing completely because of the permanent damage in the hearing sense organ plus the speaker can place unnecessary burdens on the listener by trying to converse from another room, not speaking clearly or softly or not getting the listeners attention before speaking. Spouses routinely complain that the other isn’t hearing me. Listening is hard and even harder when you have a hearing loss which requires a lot of mental effort and concentration. Here are some tips for family and friends.
- Before starting a conversation get their attention. A hearing aid user may be watching a TV show intensely and using a lot of mental effort to hear the dialogue and someone starts speaking out the blue, their focus needs to be shifted from the TV to the speaker. Calling their name helps to divert their attention.
- Speak to the person. Walls are very good sound barriers and prevent poor conversation from taking place. They may hear you but can’t understand what is being said. Also, people become very good lip readers when they begin to lose their hearing and need to take advantage of any cue available.
- Speak Clearly. Some people get frustrated when they can’t hear certain people and complain their hearing aid is not working. The bottom line is hearing aids can’t help you hear the person that mumbles or speaks in a very soft voice.
Take good care of your hearing aids.
Sometimes it is not always transmitter but the actual receiver, the hearing aid. Hearing aids are sophisticated electronic devices. They require routine care and cleaning. Preventative hearing aid care and maintenance on hearing aids can be done in a matter of minutes in the office.
Other sources of help.
Telephone amplifiers, alerting devices and wireless systems for television can provide additional help for situations that are especially difficult. Smart phones are also feature rich and can help in specific situations.
As an active partner in your hearing healthcare. You have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing everything possible to hear as well as possible.