Tactics for good hearing

No two hard-of-hearing people experience exactly the same hearing difficulties. This is party because different people develop different ‘tactics’. These tactics are ways of getting around the difficulties caused by hearing loss.

Some of the following eight tactics, produced by the Institute of Hearing Research, Nottingham, will probably work for you. You may find it helpful to show this to your family and friends and ask them to read through it.

Use your eyes

Make sure that you can see the face of the person you are talking with. Watch their lips - this gives vital information about what is being said. If the person’s face is in shadow lipreading will be more difficult.

Always try to position yourself so the light falls on the face of the person talking. Try not to have anything between you and the other person that might obscure your view of their face. Move closer to the person who is speaking, but not so close that you make them feel uneasy – the ideal distance is between 3 and 6 feet.

Don’t try to shout from another room – communication is very difficult if the speaker and the listener are in different rooms.

‘Body language’

Many people are as expressive with their hands and face as they are with their words. So take note of the speaker’s facial expressions and gestures. They help to illustrate the speaker’s topic, attitude, and also their mood and feelings. Their tone of voice, speed of talking, and stress on particular words also give clues. You can probably encourage friends and family to use gestures more.

Controlling and coping with noise

When having a conversation, try to keep the background noise to a minimum. Avoid corridors, roadsides, and pubs when they are full and busy – suggest going to a quiet room to talk. At home it will help to have soft furnishings such as heavy curtains. In a hall, church or theatre sit close to the front, or close to one of the loud s