You can help too
It's not just hearing aids that can help improve your loved one's hearing. You can too. Follow the tips below to help them make the most of the hearing aid:
- Ensure they are facing you when you engage in conversation so their hearing aids can focus on your voice (digital hearing aids these days are very clever!)
- Try to speak clearly at a normal level.
- Lipreading and facial expressions help with understanding so ensure yours are in sight!
- Do not smoke or chew whilst talking to them as this will hinder their lipreading ability.
- Try only to communicate in the same room, rather than shouting from another one.
- Try not to interrupt others talking in a conversation as it will be difficult to differentiate between your voices
- Rephrase your sentence instead of repeating yourself.
- Try not to talk whilst there is a lot of loud background noise. For example, if you are conversing, turn the TV or the radio down.
- Try to sit in the quietest areas of restaurants and cafes.
- Sit them at the front of anything involving live speakers (i.e. meetings, lectures, stage performances, concerts)
- Enquire about assistive listening devices at venues such as museums, theatres and cinemas (these work with the hearing aids to improve the wearer's listening ability)