By Erin Seamer – Audiologist Hearing Help Newport
Effective communication can be a challenge when you’re experiencing hearing difficulties, but there are several strategies that can help you navigate conversations more smoothly. By implementing these strategies and seeking professional help, you can enhance your communication skills and maintain meaningful connections with those around you.
Here are some practical tips to improve your interactions and ensure you stay connected:
- Minimize Background Noise: Choose quieter settings for important conversations. If possible, turn off or move away from distracting noise sources like the TV or radio to help you focus on the speaker. Move away from noisier environments and if you have the opportunity select a location with better acoustics (e.g. if it is a gathering for your birthday plan ahead and avoid reserving a table at a notoriously noisy restaurant).
- Use Contextual Clues: Pay attention to the overall theme of the conversation. Context can help you piece together missed words or phrases. Don’t hesitate to confirm your understanding to ensure you’re on the right track.
- Face the Speaker: Make sure you’re facing the person you’re speaking with. Seeing their facial expressions and lip movements can provide valuable visual cues that aid in understanding their words. It also helps if you have good lighting, wears your glasses and sit closer (i.e. in seminars or lectures).
- Be Open and Assertive: Advocate for yourself, avoid agreeing with the conversation if you really didn’t understand it. Don’t hesitate to inform others about your hearing difficulties. Let them know the best ways to communicate with you, such as rephrasing, speaking clearly or avoiding background noise.
- Ask for Clarification: If you misunderstand speech, ask the speaker to clarify what was said instead of repeating it verbatim. As good way do this is by putting it back into a question like, “did you say…..?”. Use some of the words you thought you heard and rephrase this into a question or phrase. This can help you grasp the meaning more effectively; it checks the information you thought you heard was correct and it reduces the speakers need to repeat the whole conversation (which becomes tiresome for your communication partner).
- Rephrase the conversation: If you continue to have difficulty understanding, ask the person to express their point in a different way. Rephrasing can sometimes make the message clearer.
- Be Patient with Yourself: Recognize that there will be times when hearing challenges are unavoidable despite your best efforts. It’s important to be patient and kind to yourself during these moments.
- Be Patient with others: Even if your friends and family are aware you have hearing difficulties it is normal for them to fall back into the habit of not speaking directly to you. It’s normal for people to speak faster if excited, speak while turning away while getting something from the fridge, speak to you while not looking directly at you because they are tying a child’s shoelace. If you ever find yourself saying, “I can hear fine if you just look at me” you are essentially saying you expect others to take on all the effort in the conversation to overcome your hearing problem, and unfortunately this is not fair or realistic. If you have ever said this, you really need to attend for a hearing test.
- Experiment with Strategies: Try different approaches to find what works best for you. Developing personalised strategies can make a significant difference in your communication experience.
- Seek Professional Assistance: A hearing test is not just about hearing beeps but a key step in better understanding an individual’s specific hearing difficulties. The Audiologist at Hearing Help can provide support and discuss these effective communication strategies with you and your loved ones.
Visit us at Hearing Help at Newport Marketplace Shopping Centre (Tenancy M01, 10 Lakeview Promenade, Newport QLD 4020, located inside Newport Physio rooms). Call the clinic on Ph:07 3214 3641 or email hello@hearinghelpredcliffe.com.au to book.
