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How to "talk" to the hard of hearing

© Schatze Rasmussen

I don't know about you but I love to hear things, to "listen". I love to hear the birds singing, my baby laugh when I kiss his toes, my CD that has "Ode To Joy" and "Cannon in D" on it, my five year old crying because he can't find his little piece of paper with his new best friend's phone number scrawled on it with half the letters reversed (you'd think it was the end of the world or something) and even the squealing of those darn garbage truck brakes in front of my home on Friday mornings. I love to hear those things!

I think if I had to "make" a decision I would rather hear than see. Not that I want to stop seeing and go blind or anything, but remembering that old question I'm sure you've heard before-the one that asks "if you had to chose one sense and your choices were sight or sound, what would you chose?". My answer has gone back and forth over the years. Tonight as I sit here and write this I think I would chose to hear. Being able to hear opens up a whole new world of free expression, understanding the ideas of others and interacting with others in a very personal way. It is a lot less lonely, I would think.

We have all met a person, who if not totally deaf, was hard of hearing and struggled daily understanding what others around them said, whether they wore a hearing aid or not. I can not imagine what it must be like for them. To be left out of all interactions. To sit at a table and not understand one word anyone said. To feel isolated and self-conscious, wondering "what could those other people be talking about"? To see lips moving but having to nod and smile feeling silly and having others look at you like you are silly. Or worse yet, dumb.

Hearing difficulties afflict the young and old alike. It is not prejudice. They can range from mild to severe in nature. There are too many types of hearing difficulties to explain in this article, but I will attempt to point out the few things we can do as hearing people to better enhance communication and socialization with those we know or have yet to meet who struggle with these types of problems daily.

Eye contact is the first and foremost factor I tell people who ask me about communicating with someone who is deaf or wears a hearing aid. Don't talk only into their ear! People anywhere who interact verbally or nonverbally look at each other. This is an unwritten social rule. Not only is it polite, but it also helps the person read your facial expression and possibly lipread if they are able. I can not say it enough-eye contact, eye contact, eye contact!!

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