Communicating
Communicating with people who have a hearing loss is not difficult and need not be frightening. The most important thing to remember is PLEASE DO NOT SHOUT!

For some people shouting is physically painful - and for anyone trying to hear, it is only confusing because ... you cannot shout without looking ANGRY ... so the person trying to hear is only aware of a very cross person facing them.

In addition, DO NOT try to speak into the person's ear! This distorts the speech terribly and is in no way helpful.

Here are some other ways to help communication with a person who has a hearing loss.

• Face the person you wish to speak to - try not to look down or turn away while you are speaking, or speak while you have your back turned.
• Please keep your mouth clear for the person reading your lips - don’t cover it with your hand or a newspaper, don’t speak while chewing or smoking; and an untrimmed beard or moustache makes it more difficult.
• Make sure there is light on your face so you can be seen when you are speaking; and please take your sunglasses off, hard of hearing people need to see your whole face to know how you are feeling.
• Make sure the person with hearing loss knows the topic of your conversation; and if the subject is changed, please tell them, so they can keep up with your train of thought.
• Please turn off any background noise. If the person with hearing loss is wearing a hearing aid, these are just amplifiers so they will amplify background noise as well as your voice.
• Try not to use jargon, or professional, technical or unfamiliar language. These are not everyday words and need better explanation, unless you are speaking to a work colleague about familiar topics.
• Get straight to the point. If a hard of hearing person is Lipreading, this requires a lot of concentration and is very tiring so they will appreciate your conversation in simpler terms, leaving out un-necessary words.
• Try to speak clearly and, if necessary, a little slower, but not too slow because this destroys the pattern of speech. Lipreading is based on the word patterns made with your mouth and face as you speak. For this reason you should not stand too close to the person you are talking to - it is not so easy to 'read' the lips properly. Visit the Lipreading Website here
• If someone is having problems understanding you, try to rephrase - some words are much easier to lipread than others.
• Don’t be afraid to use natural body language and facial expression, a lot of information comes from these two facets of communication and they can help enormously.
• If all else fails, write it down, especially if it is an important issue, or date to be noted, or something unexpected. Numbers and names are usually things that need to be understood correctly.