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Your hearing care professional will recommend an appropriate
schedule to help you adapt to your new hearing system. It will
take practice, time and patience for your brain to adapt to the new
sounds that your hearing system provides. Hearing is only part of
how we share thoughts, ideas and feelings. Reading lips, facial
expressions and gestures can help the learning process and add to
what amplification alone may miss.
Please review the following simple communication tips:
For You
• Move closer to and look at the speaker
• Sit face-to-face in a quiet room
• Try different locations to find the best place to listen
• Minimize distractions
• Background noises may be frustrating at first; remember,
you have not heard them for a while
• Let others know what you need; keep in mind that people cannot
“see” your hearing loss
• Develop realistic expectations of what your hearing instruments
can and cannot do
• Better hearing with hearing instruments is a learned skill
combining desire, practice and patience
For Your Family and Friends
Your family and friends are also affected by your hearing loss.
Request that they:
• Get your full attention before beginning to speak
• Look at you or sit face-to-face in a quiet room
• Speak clearly and at a normal rate and level; shouting can
actually make understanding more difficult
• Rephrase rather than repeat the same words; different words may
be easier to understand
• Minimize distractions while speaking
Tips for Better Communication
Tips for Better Communication
