Hearing Center: Improving Communication With the Impaired

Your local hearing center can be a good resource when it comes to information about how you can better communicate with the hearing impaired person in your life. They will also sell many devices that can help such individuals cope with their impairment in a successful way. Communication with someone who can't hear as well as you can doesn't need to be a frustrating experience. Even people with profound deafness can move through the world with little trouble if they are given the right tools and if people around them make accommodations in certain situations. Here are some tips that can make communication easier. Get Their Attention Speaking to someone with auditory impairment without first getting his or her attention can result in frustration for both you and the other person. Give them a light tap or a signal of some sort so they can devote their full attention to you before you start talking. If you need to, envision them wearing headphones. You wouldn't just start talking to someone listening to music. Instead, you would get their attention and ask them to turn the music down before you began speaking. The same principle applies here. A hearing center will encourage friends and family to make sure the other person is listening before attempting to communicate. Eliminate Distractions Someone with auditory impairment may be able to hear clearly in a quiet room, but have a very difficult time trying to hear when there is a great deal of background noise. Try to eliminate this kind of noise before trying to communicate with them. When fitting someone with a listening aid, a hearing center will often advise customers to turn down the television and other distractions in order to clearly hear what someone else is saying. Many people think that shouting over background noise is the answer, but it isn't. Use Gestures Someone who is unable to hear well will often rely on their other senses to help give them clues when someone is talking to them. Much like a blind person may develop a heightened sense of smell and hearing, someone with auditory impairment is going to use their other senses to assist them in communication. This isn't worth much, however, if you insist on withholding any clues from them. Give them what they need. Use helpful gestures, speak directly to them so they can read your lips and facial expression, and do anything else you can do to produce effective communication.