Hearing impairment

A hearing impairment is a decrease in one's ability to hear (i.e. perceive auditory information). While some cases of hearing loss are reversible with medical treatment, many lead to a permanent disability (often called deafness).

How to communicate

Some guidelines on communicating with a hearing-impaired person:

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• Ask the person what will be most useful for them; this varies from one individual to another. Not all items on this list will apply for all individuals. Most likely, the person will appreciate that you are communicating with their needs in mind and not stereotyping them according to often-expressed common preconceptions of hearing impairment.
• If the person uses sign language to communicate, take a class in sign language (possibly with the individual or along with family and friends). Show your support by striving to master the language. Don't be afraid to use an interpreter or write things down when you cannot communicate.
• Speak clearly and loudly, but do not shout or over-enunciate. Both of these make it more difficult to understand speech, not less.
• Do not mumble, cover your mouth, or whisper when speaking. All of these can conceal vital speech-reading cues that hearing impaired people use to decipher what is being said. A "favorite" pet peeve of the hearing impaired is people who speak from another room - How are they to speech-read with a wall between them and the speaker? Additionally, speak while facing the hearing impaired person.
• If asked to repeat yourself, remember that it is often more beneficial to rephrase instead. By using different words, your friend will be able to use two data sets to understand what you meant. (This is good advice for those with normal hearing, too!) Obviously, if only one word was missed, you can try just repeating that word, or a synonym. However, some hearing-impaired people would prefer that you repeat exactly instead of rephrasing; when a sentence is repeated, they can put together the syllables or words they heard the first time with those in the repetition. It is best to use the technique that the hearing-impaired person most prefers.
• Emphasize keywords in your phrases. Most hearing-impaired people can piece together keywords (along with the context of the conversation) into a statement that they can understand.
• Reduce background noise by turning off the TV and radio, and closing windows. All of these can provide distractions that cause communication to break down completely. They also impede the perception of whatever auditory cues your friend is able to pick up and use.
• For small children learning to talk, use context to help them decipher what you are saying. Use full sentences and refer to objects by their names. (Additionally, some studies indicate that hearing impaired children who are allowed to lead conversation acquire speech much more successfully than those whose parents attempt to guide conversation for them.)