Loved Ones with Hearing Loss? Hear’s to Valentine’s Day!
This year, make Valentine’s Day count for friends and loved ones with hearing loss. Although their biggest issue is understanding speech in background noise, they delight in being told that they are appreciated – and they really want to hear it.
Any efforts at even basic accommodation will be greatly appreciated. So, surprise your hearing-challenged Valentine(s) by being skilled in communication strategies that keep conversations enjoyable and fun. That in itself is a precious gift, sweeter than chocolate.
Here is a refresher of 6 important points to remember:
1) Hearing aids have their limits in a noise-confused environment. For this special day, chose a quiet place for celebrating or when visiting or delivering treats.
2) Before engaging in a conversation, get the person’s full attention.
3) Face your partner and maintain that face-to-face contact. Even with hearing aids, out-of-sight means out-of-earshot, no matter how physically close one might be.
4) Speak calmly and distinctly at a voice level and pace that are comfortable for the other person. Louder is not necessarily better. In fact, it makes things worse.
5) Take turns talking—one at a time! Do not interrupt. People with hearing loss are not good at “word wars,” jumping in and out of conversations. Finish your own thoughts and allow your hard-of-hearing friends to finish theirs.
6) Facilitate speech-reading or lipreading. Everybody does a bit of this, but for those with hearing loss it is an important communication tool. Talking while chewing, laughing or making all sorts of head movements make it impossible to speech-read (lipread).
This year let your spoken words hit the mark. Sweet, carefully crafted messages of love and caring should never get lost among communication glitches – not on any day but especially not on Valentine’s Day.
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For industry Safety Training or presentations on Noise-induced Hearing Loss Prevention, please see my website: https://www.hearing-loss-talk.com Or email [email protected]
To learn about ears and hearing, please see my book on hearing loss: What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey into the World of Hearing Loss, now in its second updated edition. Sharing my story and what I had to learn the hard way.