Can You Hear Me Now?

Smoothing communications with the hard of hearing

Whenever I chat with my elderly neighbor, I can assume that anything I say will need to be repeated. Like many seniors, her hearing is weakening. Rather than get frustrated with her or the circumstance, I try to be empathetic. I’m sure she finds her hearing loss even more frustrating than I do.

If you have someone in your life – of any age – who has limited hearing, here are some simple steps for smoothing communicating with them:

• When speaking, be sure to face them, and don’t be farther away than six to eight feet.
• Do not speak to them from another room or from behind a book or newspaper.
• Slow down and speak clearly and distinctly.
• Try to find a quiet place to talk. Noisy environments can be challenging for normal hearers and extremely difficult for the hearing impaired, with or without hearing aids.
• Don’t speak directly into their ear. It prevents the hearing impaired listener from using visual cues to help understand speech. Yelling into their ear may distort your speech more rather than making it clearer.

It’s not unusual for us to experience hearing loss as we age, typically in our 50s and 60s. That’s when we might experience the following indicators that our hearing isn’t what it used to be:

• We can have trouble understanding people and will frequently ask others to repeat themselves.
• We turn up the TV or radio too loud – and not just on our favorite show or song.
• We have difficulty following conversations with competing background noise, like at parties, busy restaurants and on public transit.
• We complain of muffled or plugged ears.
• We may even withdraw from social situations, due in part to awkwardness resulting from the symptoms just mentioned.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, have your hearing tested by a licensed audiologist. Hearing aids can help many people with diminished hearing.                                                           

The Audiology experts at the Mills Health Center offer courtesy hearing aid consultations. Bring in your current hearing test results (audiogram) to a free one-hour appointment. The Mills-Peninsula audiologist can discuss hearing aid needs, devices, styles, technology, pricing and accessories available. An appointment is required, so call if you would benefit from this free consultation: 650-696-4538.