What You Should and Should Not Do When Communicating with Someone who has Hearing Loss

If there’s someone in your life who has hearing loss, or you encounter someone new who has hearing loss, here are some tips to better communicate with that person. 

Things to do
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1. Get the person’s attention prior to speaking. You may simply call their name so that they know who to focus their attention towards. 
2. Repeat things if requested. Paraphrase in order to give more information about the subject. 
3. Position yourself closer to the person, if you are in a noisy environment or more than six feet away. 
4. Use facial expressions and hand gestures to convey your message. 
5. Be patient.
6. Recommend that they get a hearing test from a hearing healthcare professional.

Things not to do

1. Do not attempt to speak to someone from a different room. Sounds do not move well through physical barriers. 
2. Do not yell. This alters your voice and facial expression, which can make it difficult for someone with hearing loss to read your facial cues.
3. Do not cover your mouth while you speak.
4. Do not say “never mind”. This is very dismissive and makes the person feel rejected from the discussion when they were trying to follow the conversation.
5. Do not speak slowly in an excessive manner. It will not help someone who has hearing loss hear better, and can actually make it more difficult to lip-read - if that person can lip-read.   

If you, or a loved one, have hearing loss and are in need of a hearing test, contact us at Pure Sound Hearing Aids for a free hearing test and consultation. 

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