What do a good glass of wine, a beautiful sunset, and a great conversation have in common? All three qualify as some of life’s simple pleasures.
In the same way it would be painful to miss out on tasting the notes of a fine wine, being unable to enjoy a meaningful phone conversation with a friend or family member can be downright depressing.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
With a little help and pro-active planning, you can look forward to talking on the phone with complete confidence!
Here are some great tips for tackling phone conversations with hearing loss:
- Be aware which ear is your better ear and hold the receiver accordingly.
- Too much background noise can make it hard to hear the person on the other end of the line. Take and make your calls in quiet surroundings
- Tell the person on the other end that you have reduced hearing and ask him to express himself clearly. Focus on doing the same.
- If you are well informed about the topic of the conversation but find it difficult to hear everything, ask the other person to spell out key words.
- Don’t be afraid to guess what the other person is saying. In many cases you will be able to deduce the right meaning from the context alone.
- Use close-ended questions that lend themselves to yes or no responses or short answers.
- Listen for changes in tone of voice, which may indicate whose turn it is to speak.
- In certain situations you could ask a friend to listen for you and repeat back what the person on the telephone is saying, while you give your own answers in response.
And finally, you may want to consider an assistive listening device, which will allow phone conversations to stream directly to your hearing aids. See more about assistive listening devices here.
Don’t let hearing loss keep you from one of life’s simple pleasures.
We refuse to settle for less than the best and we hope you will do the same.
