With the exception of the occasional hermit evening, most of us spend our days communicating with other people. Communication doesn’t have to mean speaking verbally. It could include other forms like sign language or texting. If you’re among the 15% of U.S. adults with hearing loss, your communication may need to change slightly, especially when it comes to maintaining a healthy home life.
How Does Poor Communication Affect Home Life?
You’ve probably heard the adage that healthy communication is the bedrock of a good relationship. Well, it turns out that’s true, and not just for romantic relationships. Effective family communication helps prevent misunderstandings, hurt feelings and interpersonal rifts.
A few examples of poor communication include:
- Talking over each other
- Yelling
- Leaving one person out of the conversation
- Criticizing one person’s trouble hearing
- Giving the cold shoulder
- Avoiding important discussions
If you have hearing loss, these examples might stem more from your family members trying to be helpful than from any ill intent. Because the effects can be corrosive, it’s important to learn effective communication strategies.
Effective Communication Strategies
Hearing loss doesn’t have to take a toll on how you and your family interact. Try the following to gain a little more understanding in your household:
- Wear hearing aids. Hearing aids pick up, adjust the frequency of and amplify speech to make it easier to understand those around you. Not only will they help you decipher speech more easily, but they’ll discourage your family members from yelling to be understood or sidestepping you during important conversations.
- Turn off background noise. If you’re trying to have a conversation with a member of your family, turn off the TV or radio. It’s common to chat while watching your favorite TV show, but the added distraction will only make speech harder to understand.
- Make it clear when you can’t hear. You may feel the urge to nod along when you don’t hear something. Instead, pause the conversation and ask the speaker to repeat or rephrase themselves. If they’re speaking to you from a different room, join them and ask them to look at you while talking.
- Be honest about how you’re feeling. It can be frustrating to be left out of the conversation, even if nobody is doing it intentionally. Let your family members know that you’re feeling left out and ask them to include you in the future. Likely, they didn’t even realize they were doing it, and they’ll be happy to adjust.
- Schedule family outings. If your hearing loss is new, your family might be inclined to stay indoors. It’s essential to remember that hearing loss doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy time together outside the house. Try to go out to one of Derry’s restaurants or spend time in Moonscape Park together at least once a month.
For more information on communicating effectively, or to schedule a hearing aid adjustment, contact Massachusetts Hearing Group today.