Hard of Hearing Alabama

Tips for Communicating with Individuals who are Hard of Hearing

If you have a problem being understood, try re-phrasing.
Keep hands away from your face and mouth when speaking.
Chewing gum and cigarette smoking make it hard to lipread.
Get the hard of hearing individual’s attention before beginning to speak.
Look directly at the person when speaking.
Speak slowly and clearly; don’t exaggerate or overemphasize.
Use body language and facial expression.
Maintain eye contact.
Face the hard of hearing person when you speak.
Use normal mouth movements and speak in a normal tone of voice.
Remember to include the hard of hearing person in everything - even minor details, especially when plans are changed.
Try write when you have trouble communicating. Many words look exactly the same an the mouth.
Demonstrate how things are done.
Take turns speaking: ONE PERSON AT A TIME.
Make sure the lighting in the room is appropriate, not too dark and no glaring back light.
Talk to a hard of hearing person in a room with little or no noise. Background noise can interfer with the hard of hearing individual being able to understand you.
Talk to a hard of hearing person in a room free of visual distractions, which not allow the hard of hearing individual to focus on lipreading.
Don’t turn your face away while you are still speaking.
Don’t use exaggerated mouth movements ("Wide Mouth Frog") and DON'T YELL!
Don’t be impatient - the communication process may be slower because of a need to repeat certain words and phrases.
Don’t assume that the hard of hearing person understands a particular process just because he/she is watching you.
Don’t let more than one person talk at a time and let the hard of hearing person know who is speaking.
Don’t assume that the hard of hearing person is not smart because he/she does not pronounce words clearly or asks you to repeat what you say.
Don’t talk in a room with low lighting or with your back to a bright light; it makes lipreading even more difficult.
Don’t talk loudly to others, sing, bang the table, or make other distracting noises when the deaf person is trying to watch the speaker.
Don’t talk in a room full of activity; it makes it difficult for the deaf person to concentrate on the speaker.