Remember that someone who is hard of hearing looks the same as anyone else. There are no outward signs of hearing loss. There are several things that family and friends can do to facilitate communication.
Make sure that the person can see you before you start speaking. It is often helpful to touch them to get their attention. Ideally, try to position yourself 4 to 6 feet from them, and look directly at them.
Speaking from the other room, trying to communicate in a noisy environment, or while you are moving around will only end in failure and frustration. Speak at a normal rate—do not overly exaggerate your speech or speak slowly. It is important for the person with hearing loss to be able to see your lips and see them move in a natural way. The tendency to exaggerate or to make our lip movements more precise only makes it more difficult for the lips to be read.
Thoughtful use of speech cues can also be helpful. Normal hearing people and those with hearing impairment get much of our communication from context. By including several different words that express the same thought, the hearing impaired person may be able to get understanding from context. For example, “Did you see the picture, the photograph, that she took?” Using two different words to express the same thing, you will increase the chance that you will be understood. If they are still having trouble after you have repeated yourself, try rephrasing the sentence.
Most communities have organizations for helping the individuals with hearing loss. Those organizations often have programs to help provide other assistive listening devices. These include special telephones adapted for hearing aid use, infrared devices for broadcasting television sound to personal headphones, visual cues signaling devices (doorbell lights, etc.), and hearing dogs.
