How to cope with hearing loss or deafness

DON’T:

• Speak to me from the side
• Speak to me from the back
• Speak to me with your back to me
• Speak to me from another room
• Speak to me in the same room, but some distance from me
• Shout at me: speaking loudly does not necessarily make it easier for me to hear you and it upsets me enormously if I am shouted at
• Keep repeating something: if I have not heard it the first time in good conditions, it means that whatever words are being used are particularly hard for me to hear. JUST REPHRASE IT and hopefully I will then pick it up. Example, if I can’t hear ‘Monday’ then say ‘first day of the week’!
• Speak softly; just ENUNCIATE YOUR WORDS CLEARLY
• Speak too quickly
• GET IMPATIENT WITH ME: I am deaf, not stupid, and can’t help it. It is a dreadful, isolating and heartbreaking condition so be kind!

DO:

• Speak to me standing in front of me, close by
• Speak clearly and relatively slowly
• Remember my good side, if there is one
• Remember that in noisy situations such as shops, crowds, malls, restaurants, car, my hearing is even worse as the extraneous noise is magnified greatly by the hearing aids
• Remember that if I don’t respond, it is just that I have not heard what is being said
• Tell me that you are changing the subject in a situation such as round the dining room table and I am trying to follow what people are saying. I often get lost if they go on to speak of something else
• Text rather than calling on the cell phone – it is often difficult if not impossible to hear people speaking on the cell.