Finding ways to communicate effectively with your family can be tricky for anyone, but especially for people with hearing loss. When hearing loss makes it difficult to understand your family, arguing, distance and hurt feelings can arise. Luckily, there are a few ways you can encourage healthy communication in your home, regardless of everybody’s hearing abilities.
Let’s look at a few signs that your family communication might not be functioning as well as it could and a few effective strategies to improve it.
Signs of Poor Communication
A few ways you might see poor communication exemplified include:
- Yelling
- Talking over one another
- Excluding someone from the conversation
- Mumbling on purpose
- Giving the cold shoulder
- Avoid important discussion topics
- Criticizing someone for having trouble hearing
- Frustration after a conversation
For many families in which one or more members have hearing loss, these examples might arise from good intentions. For example, if your partner knows you have trouble hearing, they might yell to make themselves heard. What they don’t realize or remember in that moment is that yelling almost always comes off more aggressive than helpful. Those misunderstandings are why effective communication strategies are crucial.
How To Communicate Effectively
The first way you can improve family communication is to wear hearing aids. These remarkable devices can benefit as many as 28.8 million U.S. adults.[1] They collect, amplify and send speech right to your ears to help you understand and communicate effectively with your family. Wearing your hearing aids also serves as a reminder to your family that shouting isn’t usually helpful.
In addition to wearing assistive technology, you can employ the following communication strategies:
- Limit distractions. Distractions like your phone, the TV or other diners during a family dinner at Fareground Austin, can make it difficult to understand each other. When possible, lower the volume and minimize the distractions in your environment for clearer conversation.
- Look at each other. You might have noticed that hearing is more difficult on the phone. That’s because speech comprehension relies more on visual cues like lip movements and body language than you might think. You can improve your understanding by talking face-to-face as much as possible.
- Be open when you don’t understand. Sometimes, it feels easier to nod along to something than to ask someone to repeat themselves. Unfortunately, that tactic can leave you with more questions than answers.
Practicing effective communication techniques will help your family stay connected. For more information on managing hearing loss, contact Austin Auditory Specialists today.
[1] National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2024). Quick statistics about hearing, balance, & dizziness. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing