Living with a hearing impairment can be quite a difficult reality to deal with, regardless of the fact whether the disability is mild or more advanced. Family members of people with a hearing loss often feel a certain amount of pressure themselves, they are either less careful than needed, or too careful all the time. Therefore, to make these people’s lives more normal and their communication easier, there are several important things to consider.
In this article, we will go over the most important tips and techniques for maintaining a proper communication with hearing impaired people and taking care of them while avoiding to make them feel uncomfortable about their condition. Should the problem be more profound and complicated, you need to consult a respectable audiology Melbourne clinic and ask for specific and personal advice.
Lip Reading
People with impaired hearing heavily rely on lip reading in order to understand what the person in front of them is saying. What you need to do is to keep your hands and other objects off of your mouth. Light is also important in such cases, so be sure to stand where the light can reach you, or simply if you have to choose between two restaurants or other places, choose the one that has better lightning and greater visibility.
Raise Your Attention, Not Your Tone
People are often misled to think that speaking louder means speaking clearer and the hard of hearing person they are talking to will hear them better if they, well, shout. The truth turns out to be completely the opposite and it takes a while until people realize this. Speaking in a normal voice tone, but clearly and without pacing, is the right way to do it. The most important thing is to monitor the reactions of the disabled person. If you somehow feel uncertain whether they understood you, repeat it once more, this time a little bit slower.
Group Conversation Tips
When there are more people in a room and one of them is a hard of hearing, it can be difficult for them to follow the flow of the conversation. In such cases, make sure that everyone is well informed to raise the hand before speaking and not to interrupt other people.
Hearing Aids
Last in sequence, but not last in importance, the implementation of hearing aids can greatly account for better communication for people with hearing disability with everyone around them. If the impairment is profound, you should definitely seek professional help in a trustworthy Audiology Melbourne clinic.
