8 Helpful Tips
To Help You Communicate Better with Reduced Hearing
Reduced hearing can greatly affect the quality of communication you have with others. Not being able to communicate well is challenging because it is an essential component of all relationships.
If you are experiencing reduced hearing, here are some tips for improving communication with others.
1. Self identify
Let people know you have difficulty hearing and what they can do to help you understand.
Your reduced hearing is invisible, the signs of your reduced hearing are not. Unfortunately, some of the signs may be misinterpreted by others.
2. Get plenty of rest.
It takes a lot of energy to listen when you have reduced hearing.
Take listening breaks.
When you are tired and you are finding it difficult to understand what is being said, ask if a particular discussion can be postponed to a better listening time for you, such as the morning.
3. Look for cues and clues
Pay attention.
There is a lot you can learn from body language, expressions, and context.
4. Be a good listener
It is a lot of work to listen to someone speaking. If you are tired and inattentive, it may be misinterpreted by others as boredom or rudeness.
Let the speaker know your communication needs.
5. Wear your hearing device
If you have a hearing aid, cochlear implant, or another hearing device, wear it.
Learn all that you can about adjusting to the technology. If you need a hearing device, get one, or use other assistive technology that suits your lifestyle and listening needs.
6. Use Hearing Assistive Technology
There is a large variety of hearing assistive technology available.
For example, amplification technology for the phone, signaling devices, and listening devices.
7. Learn to Lipread
Improve your relationships, communication, independence, and more when you learn to lipread.
You can learn to lipread with Read Our Lips on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, wherever you have internet.
Lipreading can teach you lip movements that will help you “fill in the blanks” during conversations.
Get your first Read Our Lips lesson for free!
8. Let yourself catch up.
Let conversations flow for a short time while you gather more clues.
If you are still unsure what is being said, explain that you are lost and ask for a summary of what you have missed.
Stay in touch! Subscribe to the Read Our Lips newsletter.