According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, “Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing.” This means the chances one of your coworkers experiences this condition are fairly high. Below we review ways to support a coworker with hearing loss.
Be Inclusive
To create an inclusive work environment, you can do things like invite your coworker to lunch or repeat or rephrase a joke someone told if they look confused. Know that group conversations, like conference meetings, are particularly difficult for people with hearing loss to follow along with, so try to include visuals when you can.
Be Patient
When you’re conversing with your coworker, they may have a hard time understanding what you’re saying, meaning they may ask you to repeat yourself frequently. It’s important that you be patient and not get frustrated. You’ll find that you can have deep, meaningful conversations with just a little patience.
Use Communication Strategies
You can use communication strategies when conversing to make the conversation flow better. For example, you can:
- Speak a little slower and a lot clearer than usual.
- Face your coworker directly when talking to them.
- Say their name and get their attention before you begin conversing.
- Don’t talk with food in your mouth or when chewing gum.
- Converse somewhere with good lighting.
- Rephrase rather than repeat when they don’t understand.
Ask Questions
You can ask them questions about communication strategies and about their hearing aids within reason. For instance, you can ask if there are any other communication strategies you could be using that would be helpful, or you can ask how their hearing aids work. However, please don’t make this the only topic of conversation with them!
Don’t Label Them
If your coworker doesn’t participate in lunchtime conversations in the kitchen or break room, or if they prefer to hang out in their hotel room during out-of-town conferences, it’s important that you don’t label them as being anti-social. It may be the case that they experience listening fatigue following complex listening situations, like happy hour at Wild Leap in Atlanta, even though they want to hang out. For more information about how to support a coworker with hearing loss or to schedule an appointment with a hearing loss expert, call Advanced Hearing today.