Communication Tips – Hard of Hearing

Many hard of hearing people rely on amplification devices for sound (hearing aids and assistive devices) and or lip reading (matching mouth movements to attempt to understand what is being said.
These suggestions will help you have am ore productive conversation with someone who is hard of hearing.
  • Gain the hard of hearing person’s attention and be in full face view before beginning the conversation.

  • Say about four words then pause and say about the same number again always putting in a significant pause . This helps the listener sort out/decipher what you are saying.
  • Move away from noisy areas.  Background noise makes it very difficult to hear and focus.
  • Open the conversation with a familiar topic.
  • Clearly state the topics to be discussed to help focus the conversation. Try to be specific and concrete in your language. Use gestures if needed to supplement understanding.
  • Speak clearly and without exaggerated lip movements and at normal conversational loudness. Talk at a normal loudness but present the information more slowly.
  • If a statement is misunderstood, rephrase the statement.  A common mistake when talking to someone with a hearing loss is to repeat the same statement only at a louder level.
  • Don’t place anything in your mouth when speaking.  Chewing gum or having anything in your mouth obscures the lips.
  • Don’t put your hands in front of your face or near your mouth when speaking.  This makes lip/speech reading more difficult.
  • Don’t stand with bright light (sun or window) behind you.  The glare makes it more difficult to see your face.
  • Understand that hard of hearing people understand less when they are tired or ill.
  • Don’t talk to a hard of hearing person from another room.
  • If the hard of hearing person wears a hearing aid, make sure that it is in place, turned on and that the batteries are working.
  • Ask the person if they can hear better on their left or right side and then accommodate that need.
  • Don’t speak too fast. Remember if the person is wearing a hearing aid, louder distorts sound, slower enhances understanding.
  • Use the military alphabet for over the phone use. Did you say /p/ as in popcorn or /b/ as in baseball.
  • Keep a notepad handy. If a communication breakdown occurs in either direction, one can always write things down to ensure better understanding.
  • Facial expressions should match the words.
  • Don’t restrict the person’s hands for writing or signing purposes.
  • NEVER pretend to understand when you don’t!
  • Relax!  Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you are unsure of what to do.