Helping Someone (Like Me) Who Has a Hearing Loss

Several months ago I was diagnosed with a hearinghearing loss to understand these people. On the other
loss in both ears. Now I wear two hearing aids andhand, if you speak clearly and pronounce all of the
they have improved my life. I can hear wholesyllables you will be understood.
conversations, not just snatches, and pick up onEXPERIMENT WITH PITCH. Some people have a high
subtleties. Most of the time my hearing aids work well,frequency loss, others have a low frequency loss, or
but they don't work as well if there's lots ofsomething in between. I have high frequency loss, so a
background noise.low pitch works best for me. Ask the person you are
Even with hearing aids I can misunderstandspeaking with which pitch works best for her or him.
conversation. One snowy morning my husband lookedUSE SHORT SENTENCES. It's easier for a hearing
out the window and called, "Deer have been on ourimpaired person to track short sentences. You can still
front steps." I heard the sentence as "Beer is on ourhave long conversations and tell long, involved stories,
front steps." "Why would anyone put beer on our frontbut please use short sentences when you speak.
steps?" I asked. Though the conversation didn't makeREPHRASE IF NECESSARY. My father-in-law is
any sense, it did make us laugh.profoundly hard of hearing. He has a hearing aid and a
You may have a relative or friend who has a hearingcochlear implant. Still, he is unable to hear many of the
loss. Communicating with this person can be difficult,words I say. I've tried many things, such as moving
but you can do things to foster communication. Beforecloser to him and speaking loudly, but rephrasing works
you say anything move closer to this person, withinbest. Believe me, I've learned lots of synonyms.
two or three feet. To get the person's attention youSIGNAL A TOPIC CHANGE. Telling me when the
may have to say their name.topic has changed helps me to track conversation. My
SPEAK IN A NORMAL VOICE. Shouting at a personhusband also uses a hearing aid so I come right out
who wears a hearing aid may cause the aid to turnand say, "I'm changing the topic from ________ to
off automatically. Besides, nobody likes to be yelled at.________."
Of course, there are times when talking loudly is theDON'T TALK WHEN YOU ARE LEAVING THE
only thing that works.ROOM. People who have a hearing loss miss miss
LOOK AT ME WHEN YOU ARE SPEAKING. Akey words if you speak to him or her when you are
person who wears a hearing aid may still rely on lipturned away or moving away. Though it has taken us
reading. Seeing your lips form words, phrases, andmonths, my husband I have learned to speak
sentences helps me to understand what you areface-to-face.
saying. I can see the difference between the letter dASK "DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?" This question
and the letter b and won't mistake beer for deer.is a question of caring. Don't be afraid to ask it if you
PLEASE SPEAK SLOWLY. Several of my friendsthink the person you're speaking to has missed a key
are so smart they speak at double speed. I can hardlypoint. From experience, I can tell you the person will be
keep up with what they are saying. If you speakgrateful.
normally, or even a bit slower, I can understand youLast, and most important, remember that hearing
better. I also feel like you really care about me.impaired people aren't intellectually impaired. We're the
SPEAK CLEARLY AND PRONOUNCE ALL OF THEsame people as we were before, tuned into life and
SYLLABLES. People who speak fast often slur theirraring to go!
words. It can be hard for those of us who have a