Tips on talking to the Hard-of-Hearing (HoH)

Please consider passing this recap of tips and commentaries along to HOH persons, seniors centers, retirement communities, health care providers, and to those in the private and government sectors that communicate orally and interact with the HoH.

1. Whenever possible, face the HoH person directly, and on the same level.

2. Your speech will be more easily understood when you are not eating,

chewing, smoking, etc.

3. Reduce background noises when carrying on conversations -- turn off the radio or TV.

4. Keep your hands away from your face while talking.

5. If it's difficult for a person to understand, find another way to say the same thing, rather than repeating the original words again and again; also try moving to a quieter location.

6. Recognize that hard of hearing people hear and understand less well when they are tired or ill.

7. Never talk from another room. Get the attention of the person to whom you will speak before you start talking.

8. Speak in a normal fashion without shouting. Check that a light beam is not directed into the eyes of the hard-of-hearing person, making it difficult for the HoH person to see you as you speak.

9. A woman's voice is often harder to hear than a man's, because of the

pitch. Make a conscious effort to lower the pitch of your voice if you are a female.

10. Speak slowly and clearly.

11. If the person wears a hearing aid, make sure it has batteries, the

batteries work, the hearing aid is switched "ON" and that the hearing aid is clean and free of ear wax.

12. If you know (or if it becomes evident) from which side the person hears best, talk to that side.

13. It's better to speak face-to-face: Face-to-face communication in

situations where relatively diffuse lighting is adequate and also lights the speaker's face. This allows the hearing-impaired listener to see the

speaker's facial expressions as well as lip movements. Being able to do so helps the HoH understand what is being said.

14. Individuals with hearing impairment can also benefit from seating

themselves at a table where they can best see all parties (e.g., the end of a rectangular table). Asking people to let you know beforehand when they are going to change the subject of conversation can also be helpful, as it can often prevent an unfortunate "faux pas."

15. Sometimes a person who is HoH has a "good" or "better" side -- right or left -- ask them if they do. If they indicate a preference, direct your remarks to the "good" side or face-to-face, as they wish.

16. If a light is directed toward the eyes of the HoH person to whom you are speaking (or if it puts your features in deep shadow) change the position of the HoH person or the light so that you are not standing in front of it. Also, light from a window may put your head and/or face in silhouette and makes it hard for the HoH to speech-read.

17. Avoid abrupt changes of subject or interjecting small talk into your

conversation, as your HoH listener will likely use context to a considerable degree in trying to comprehend what you are saying.

18. If the HOH person wears an aid, try slightly raising the pitch of your voice. If the HoH is not using an aid, try LOWERING the pitch of your voice. Keep trying until the HOH person gets it.

19. If all else fails, rephrase or try to communicate through a relative

whose voice might be more familiar to the HOH person.

20. Don't talk too fast ... slow down.

21. Pronounce words clearly. If the HoH person has difficulty with letters and numbers then say: M as in Mary, 2 as in twins, B as in Boy, and each number separately: "five six" instead of fifty-six; keep in mind that m, n and 2, 3, 56, 66 and b,c,d,e,t and v sound alike.

22. Keep a note pad handy and write your words and show them to the HOH person if you need to -- just don't walk away leaving the hearing-impaired person puzzling over what you said and thinking you don't care.