HOW FAMILY AND FRIENDS CAN HELP A HEARING IMPAIRED INDIVIDUAL

How Family and Friends can help
HOW FAMILY AND FRIENDS CAN HELP A HEARING IMPAIRED INDIVIDUAL• Speak clearly and slightly louder than normal. However, shouting will not make your message any clearer, and may sometimes distort your speech.• Face the hearing impaired person as you speak to him/her. Never speak from another room.• The best distance when speaking to a hearing impaired person is 3-6 feet.• Be sure to get the person’s attention before you start talking to them.• Never speak directly into the person’s ear. Doing so prevents the listener from making use of visual cues.• Avoid chewing, eating, or covering your mouth with your hands when speaking because you speech will be more difficult to understand.• Facial expressions, gestures, lip and body movements all give clues to the hearing impaired person. Therefore, good lighting on the face of the speaker is important.• Avoid excessive environmental noise. If the environment is noisy, seek a quiet spot or reduce noise as much as possible.• Phrase your speech in short, very simple sentences. If the person still does not understand, rephrase the sentence.• Be patient with mistakes due to misunderstood words.• Encourage participation in group activities. Whenever possible, give the hearing impaired person a clue as to the topic of the conversation.• Include the hearing impaired person in all discussions about him/her. Doing so will help relieve the feelings of isolation common in hearing impaired individuals.• Recognize that hard of hearing people hear and understand less well when they are tired or ill.• Write important information down if necessary. Have communication aides available (paper, pencils, etc.)• If the person is responding poorer than usual, question the function of the hearing aid (batteries, etc) or a change in hearing status due to cold, etc. A physician should examine the patient if the latter is suspected.•Speak clearly and slightly louder than normal. However, shouting will not make your message any clearer, and may sometimes distort your speech.
•Face the hearing impaired person as you speak to him/her. Never speak from another room.
•The best distance when speaking to a hearing impaired person is 3-6 feet.
•Be sure to get the person’s attention before you start talking to them.
•Never speak directly into the person’s ear. Doing so prevents the listener from making use of visual cues.
•Avoid chewing, eating, or covering your mouth with your hands when speaking because you speech will be more difficult to understand.
•Facial expressions, gestures, lip and body movements all give clues to the hearing impaired person. Therefore, good lighting on the face of the speaker is important.
•Avoid excessive environmental noise. If the environment is noisy, seek a quiet spot or reduce noise as much as possible.
•Phrase your speech in short, very simple sentences. If the person still does not understand, rephrase the sentence.
•Be patient with mistakes due to misunderstood words.
•Encourage participation in group activities. Whenever possible, give the hearing impaired person a clue as to the topic of the conversation.
•Include the hearing impaired person in all discussions about him/her. Doing so will help relieve the feelings of isolation common in hearing impaired individuals.
•Recognize that hard of hearing people hear and understand less well when they are tired or ill.
•Write important information down if necessary. Have communication aides available (paper, pencils, etc.)
•If the person is responding poorer than usual, question the function of the hearing aid (batteries, etc) or a change in hearing status due to cold, etc. A physician should examine the patient if the latter is suspected.