Did you know that being assertive about your hearing loss actually helps both you and the person you’re talking to have successful communication?
Even when we generally hear well with our hearing aids and or cochlear implants, we can still find ourselves in situations with lots of background noise, and lots of people talking that makes it difficult to hear. Or sometimes we might find ourselves talking on the phone to somebody who has a ‘tricky’ voice. In these circumstances, it’s important that we let people know what we need from them instead of just assuming that they know we are wearing a cochlear implant.
Prepare.
Be prepared to tell people about your hearing loss, instead of just saying “I’m deaf” or “I’m hard of hearing”. You need to qualify that with some information. You could say, “I have hearing loss. It’s really noisy in here which I find hard. I will hear you so much better if you could face me and speak at a normal pace and volume. Thank you.”
Rephrase.
If you’re having trouble with a particular word instead of just asking the person to keep repeating that word, ask them to say it in a different way.
For example, “It’s noisy in here and I’m having trouble following what you’re saying. Could you try saying it in a different way so, I’ll understand you better? Thank you.”
Context and keywords.
If you find you’re in a conversation that takes a sudden turn and you’re not quite sure what people are talking about, ask. For example, “It’s noisy in here and I’m having trouble following what you’re talking about right now. Can you please give me some context so I can get back in the conversation?”
Clarify and reflect.
Confirm what you’ve had when you’re talking to a tricky person so that you can make sure that you’ve understood them correctly and they can be confident that you’ve heard them.
For example, maybe you’re talking on the phone to the bank or the insurance company and there are some details that you want to make sure that you’ve got completely right. So, they might say, “We’re going to make a deposit into your account on Tuesday for five hundred dollars.”
What you would say is, “Okay, I will be receiving a bank deposit on Tuesday for five hundred dollars. Have I got that right?”
Seeking clarification gives you more confidence in your ability to hear people and it’s also a great opportunity for you to check with the person speaking to you that you’ve received the message correctly.
Being assertive about your listening needs takes practice but it’s really important to put some time and energy into practicing these types of skills. It will definitely pay off.