It can be challenging to communicate when you have hearing loss, especially if others do not know about your hearing loss.

The ideas here can help make communication easier.

Tell people you have trouble hearing

• Tell people you may not hear everything they’re saying, even if you use hearing aids.
• In a group, ask that only one person talks at a time. You can also practise talking in groups of family and friends to help you feel more confident.
• Ask others to let you know if your speech becomes hard to understand. You can then try to speak more clearly.
• Give others a chance to speak. Some people talk a lot because listening is hard for them.

Know the topic of conversation

• Ask people to tell you what they are talking about and if they change topics.
• Try to get the message or main idea instead of trying to understand every word.

Choose a good place to listen

• Sit across from people instead of beside them.
• Position your best-hearing ear towards the person talking.
• Move close to the person talking. The best distance for communication is about 1 metre (3 to 4 feet).
• Find a bright place to talk. Communication is easier if the lighting is bright.
• Ask family and friends to speak to you only if they are in the room with you and have your attention.
• When you’re out at a restaurant, try to go during less busy times. Sit away from noisy areas like the kitchen, bathroom, or front door.
• If you are in an audience—such as a theatre or place of worship—sit near the front or try different seats to find the spot where you hear best.

Make sounds clearer

• Ask people to look at you. Then speak clearly and at an average speed.
• Ask your audiologist about assistive listening devices and Bluetooth connections for audio devices (like the TV or phone). They may also have ideas for other times when it’s hard to hear, like when you’re in a vehicle or at a restaurant.
• Talk to an audiologist if you don’t have hearing aids but would like to try them.
• Have your hearing aids checked regularly. Keep them clean and make sure they’re charged or that the batteries don’t need to be changed.
• Use soft surfaces to make communication easier in your home. Sound bounces and echoes off hard surfaces, making speech harder to hear. Use carpet instead of smooth, hard floors, andupholstered furniture instead of wood. Put wallpaper or pictures on the walls and curtains on the windows.
• Turn off or move away from things that make noise—like the TV, a fan, or open windows—before talking to someone.

Look at people to understand what they’re saying

• Learn the position of speech sounds on the lips, teeth, and tongue. It may help you better understand speech.
• Pay attention to the speaker’s expressions, gestures, and posture. They may help you understand what the person is saying.
• Ask people to take things away from near their face before talking to you, such as chewing gum, pens, books, hands, or cigarettes. It may also be hard to see speech sounds being formed if the speaker has a beard or moustache.

Make sure you understood the message

• Ask people to change their words or repeat anything you missed. Your hearing aids will help you, but you may still have trouble understanding what someone is saying.
• Make sure you get the information right by repeating it back to the person talking. This is very helpful when a person is telling you important details such as a phone number, address, time, or their name.

Use devices and technology

• Ask your audiologist about any special features on your hearing aid. Know how to use your hearing aid and adjust it as you need to (for example, how to use the Bluetooth connection).
• Some places, such as a theatre or place of worship, may offer assistive listening devices to help people hear better. Ask if an assistive listening device is available to use.
• Use the built-in closed captioning (CC) option on your TV to show the words on the screen. For older TVs, you can buy a caption box that will connect to your TV.
• Use headphones and other assisted listening devices to help you hear your phone, computer, radio, or TV.

Where to get help

For more information about how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help, go to Adult Community Rehabilitation.​​