Hearing Aid Supplies Washington DC

Communicating with a person who has a hearing loss can be different from communicating with a person who has normal hearing. In some situations there may be few observable differences; in others, the differences may be substantial. Successful face-to-face communication requires close attention to several factors.

Perhaps the most obvious factor is the physical environment . We've all experienced difficulty understanding speech in a noisy environment, and we can readily understand that it would be even more difficult for a person who doesn't hear well.

A less obvious environmental factor is lighting. Because speech reading is such an important strategy for many HOH/LD persons, reduced lighting or inappropriately placed lighting can render an otherwise acceptable situation totally ineffective.

A second important factor in promoting face-to-face communications is the speaker and his characteristics. As you might imagine, the way in which a person speaks has profound influence on how easily a person with hearing loss can understand them.

Finally, characteristics of the listener , the hard of hearing, late deafened, or oral deaf person, are also important. He must do his part to contribute to successful communications.