10 Tips For Speaking To The Hard Of Hearing
- Face the person with the hearing loss directly when you speak. Avoid talking from another room.
- Speak naturally. It is more important to speak slowly rather than louder.
- Avoid using long sentences.
- Rephrase rather than keep repeating the original words.
- Avoid sudden changes of topic.
- Make one point, then stop and wait to make sure that you have been understood before continuing.
- Don’t lower your voice or trail off at the end of sentences.
- Get rid of unnecessary background noise.
- Keep your hands away from your mouth while talking. If you are eating, chewing, smoking, smiling, etc. while talking, your speech will be more difficult to understand.
- If in a group, encourage speaking one at a time.
Be patient. Showing impatience only stresses the deaf person and stress makes it hard for all to hear.