How Hearing Impaired Person Can Be Effective In Communication In 2022

LAST UPDATED: December 23rd, 2022 | BY: Stacy Merci

Hearing-impaired people have many challenges in their day-to-day lives. They can’t hear as well as others and may have trouble communicating in a group or even with a single person. But in some ways, hearing-impaired people can be effective communicators, so it is important to learn these methods to help them communicate better with others. If you or any of your loved ones suffer from hearing impairment, follow these steps and tricks to improve English communication skills.

8 Tips Of Hearing Impaired Persons For Effective Communication

Make Eye Contact & Read Lips While Speaking

It is important for hearing-impaired people to understand what is being said. Making eye contact can help you understand what the person is saying. For example, when someone speaks with you, always try to read their lips. Their voices might be difficult to hear, but reading their lips helps you understand better than just words alone.

Avoid Noisy Places Where There Is Lots of Background Noise

Ask them to repeat themselves if you need help understanding what someone is saying. If you are in a noisy place, try to find a quiet place to talk. Since noise interrupts the sound pitch of the words, avoiding such places is best for good understanding and communication with others.

Staying in a noisy place can evoke a feeling of embarrassment or fear about being unable to communicate properly. Maximize your hearing chances by avoiding such places to give appropriate responses to enhance your communication.

Use A Hearing Aid

Well, it’s the most common and accessible solution for people with hearing impairment. It’s the most expensive as well. A good quality hearing aid can cost you several thousand dollars, and its shelf life is short.

But on the other hand, these hearing aids can also play a vital role in your daily communication. When you can hear clearly, you can communicate easily without interruptions.

Use Sign Language

One way a hearing-impaired person can communicate effectively is by learning sign language. As we all know, a person cannot convey his message if he cannot hear what is being asked of him. So learn sign language as a secondary mode of communication.

There are dozens of simple signs that you can use for communication. You can avoid being called impaired by learning and applying these. One easy sign language of showing your happiness is by raising your hand for a “thumbs up.” These signs are easy to master and use in any situation.

Ask For Repeats or Allow Time For Repeating

One best way to avoid confusion for any hearing-impaired person is to ask for repeated words or a question. This way, you can make sure what you hear is exactly what the person in front of you has asked.

Also, you can allow yourself to be silent since you don’t know what is said to you, so this way, the person will ask the question again, and you will listen to it carefully and answer. If you don’t understand, ask for clarification or rephrase: “Can you please say that again?” This way, the person knows they have been understood correctly and in a way that makes sense to them but not necessarily to others.

It’s not considered rude when you’ll ask for repeats. It will build trust and let you clarify the ambiguity. If still confused after asking questions and repeating what was said, ask if there’s another way of saying something: “What do you mean by XXX?”

Confirm That You Understand

Repeat the information back to them to confirm that you are right. Repeat the same thing several times, if necessary, until the person is confident about your understanding of their message. Hearing-impaired people may need more time than other people do for them to process what has been communicated to them by other people. By confirming you have got the information, you can actively respond to its answer.

Write Down Numbers, Names, or Other Important Details

• Use a pen and paper.
• Record the date and time of each meeting along with where they took place so that if someone asks what day it was when they met up with someone else, you can quickly look back at your notes and see which one it was without having to ask them multiple times until they get annoyed enough by your forgetfulness that they say “just forget about it already!”

Use A Notebook Or Writing Pad

One highly productive way is using a notebook or a writing pad. If someone asks you a question and you barely hear it, write down what they say in your own words. Check to ensure that what you wrote is correct by asking them if this is what they intended to say. Using this way you can easily understand others and they will also get an idea about your problems.

Conclusion

So these are some of the widely accepted ways a hearing-impaired person can communicate effectively. These steps will help you enable better, two-way communication with others effortlessly.