Hearing loss is a common problem and can happen to anyone so it is important that the people with hearing loss are treated normally in society. It is simply an inability to hear some sounds or no sounds. 

Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. This can be caused by many factors such as exposure to loud noise i.e. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), age, genetics, infections, etc. Hearing aids are beneficial in many situations for the person suffering from hearing loss. But, in some cases, a hearing aid cannot help alone or provide proper benefits. In such cases, communication with a partner can help a person with a hearing loss in the more effective hearing experience. This communication should involve two members. Such communication and understanding can improve the relationship between two people and help the person to be more successful communication. This can be carried out by following a few simple actions.

    1. Speak Naturally

      You don’t need to shout while making a conversation with a hearing impaired or hearing loss person. Do not mumble as mumbling makes them difficult to understand some sounds. Speak at a moderate rate, talk slowly enough to comprehend. The pace of communication will help build better relationships and clarity of thoughts.

    2. Maintain eye contact

Maintaining eye contact is one of the important things while communicating with people with hearing loss. So face the person while talking with them and maintain eye contact. Maintaining eye contact can convey your message effectively. It also helps the person understand your body language and facial expressions which helps them to understand what you are saying.

 

   3. Gather attention

Before you begin talking, gather listeners attention. Touching the listener’s hand, shoulder or arm lightly can help you to gain their attention. If the person with hearing loss can hear better from one ear, move to that side of the person. These simple steps make a person with hearing loss listen to you with attention and avoid the chances of missing words or sounds.

 

 4. Keep hand away from the face

Try to keep your hands away from your face when talking with a person with hearing loss. This will surely help you to produce clearer speech and make your face visible to the listener which makes them better understand what you wish to say. People with hearing loss use their perception to understand what others are saying. They improve this perception by watching talker’s face which is known as speech reading. Speechreading can help in improving speech perception as most of the words cannot listen or can be understood by the people having hearing loss but they can understand this by speech reading.

 

5. Rephrase. Don’t repeat.

If the listener has a difficulty to understand what you are saying, try to say it in a different way. If a particular word is not understood by the listener, repeat it once or twice. If they still have difficulty listening to that word, change the way you are saying or use a different word with the same meaning. If the listener does not understand the word for the first time, there are more chances that he/she will not understand it for the second time. So, it is better to rephrase word rather than repeating it. Also, be patient. Your listener is trying to hear it correctly.

 

6. Stay away from background noise

If a person is suffering from hearing loss, he/she prefers quiet places to talk. So, try to avoid background noises when you are talking, such as turn off the TV, Radio, etc. Also, try not to start a conversation in a crowded place as it makes it hard to hear. Always move to quiet places from crowded places to start a conversation.

7. Give some time. Make the conversations meaningful.
Every conversation you make can leave an impact. Even generally. Ensure you convey your message clearly by asking them. Your conversations can make them comfortable with you and with others generally. You always leave a mark with each conversation so make it more meaningful. People with hearing loss at old age bear stress, your patients can help them relieve their stress with a meaningful healthy conversation.