Stigmas Around Communication Challenges

According to ASHA, 65% of people over 18 years old with hearing, speech, and/or language difficulties say that they encounter stigmas.

Here are some tips for communicating with people who have hearing challenges.

• Speak clearly and in your regular tone of voice.
• Don’t shout. Shouting just makes it harder for the person with hearing loss to
  understand you.
• Talk in quieter places. Eliminate background noise, such as sounds from the TV.
• Say the phrase or message in a different way if it appears that a person is having
  difficulty understanding you.
• Intentionally build “breaks” into your conversation. People with hearing loss expend extra effort listening, which can cause fatigue.
• Turn on captioning when watching TV or talking over video platforms such as Zoom.
• Be patient. Understand that the person with hearing loss may be frustrated with any communication breakdowns.

Communication is a two-way street, so do your part to ensure a successful interaction.

More tips can be found at https://www.asha.org/about/press-room/articles/tips-for-communicating-with-someone-who-has-hearing-loss/