Tips To Keep The Phone Conversation Flowing When Someone Has Hearing Loss.

Tips To Keep The Phone Conversation Flowing When Someone Has Hearing Loss.

Whether you are experiencing a hearing impairment or have a friend or family member with hearing impairment, it’s important for all parties to maintain easy and engaging communication. Just like any relationship, maintaining respect and empathy for the other person is key.

For those with hearing loss, conversations can be tiring and frustrating when you’re struggling to hear what’s being said. In addition, if you are communicating with someone with a hearing loss, it can be hard to know if are doing all you can to make it as easy and enjoyable for that person to understand you.

How to talk on the phone to someone with hearing loss:

When you’re calling someone with hearing loss, using a good phone technique and remembering to speak clearly will help them hear as much as possible. Being mindful about when and where you call from can make all the difference. Here’s five easy things to try.

1. Speak directly into the phone’s mouthpiece. Don’t hold it too close, as this can distort your voice and you’ll lose clarity.
2. Speak naturally and at a moderate speed. Talking too fast will make it hard to follow you and speaking too slowly can come across as demeaning. Speak normally and avoid making the person with a hearing impairment feel self-conscious. Use pauses rather than slow speech to give the person time to process speech.
3. Choosing the right speaking volume. There is no need to shout. Shouting actually changes the words. Try not to mumble, as this is very hard to understand, even for people with normal hearing.
4. Find a quiet place to call from. Calling from the street, a café or an environment where there is background sounds can introduce noise that will distract the listener from hearing your voice. Some people with hearing loss are very sensitive to loud sounds.
5. People with hearing loss, like most people in fact, find it harder to hear when ill or tired. So it’s best to ask them if you are calling at the right time and whether or not you should call back.