4 - Conversing with Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals

In this blog, I will focus on the best approach to communicating with individuals with a hearing impairment. I will discuss practical tips when conversing with a person with hearing loss who communicates verbally. Remember, these tips do not apply to every single deaf individual out there since we all have different experiences, levels of hearing loss, and accommodation needs. 

Conversing with the Hearing Impaired

I rarely feel shy or embarrassed when showing off my Cochlear Implants. I wear ponytails often, and am currently rocking a pixie cut! However, there were times when I felt insecure when people first approached me and noticed that I have a device attached to my ears. I’ve had people ask me whether I am deaf before we even introduced ourselves. I feel uncomfortable at first and my reply usually goes something like this: “Yes I am deaf. But I can hear almost like you. I just need to read your lips and I require some extra enunciation so that I can understand you fully.” This approach leads to me being labeled as deaf, which makes me feel excluded and marginalized. I understand that it is difficult for people to know that they might be labeling someone as deviant, so it is important for us individuals with hearing loss to educate others on the best approach to converse with us.

Instead, a more positive approach would be when I meet a person for the first time, we first introduce ourselves and then they ask me what are some ways that they can communicate with me to help me understand and hear them better. I had a positive experience recently when I went to meet a new dentist for the first time. We introduced ourselves and then the dentist asked me whether his way of communication is good for me and whether additional accommodations were required. When he asked me that question, I immediately felt comfortable with him. He also told me that he is curious about my surgery and how I can hear with my Cochlear Implants and wanted to know more about it. I felt very comfortable discussing my experience with him.

Those with a hearing impairment often also have a speech impairment. I’ve encountered situations when people who do not know I am deaf have asked me why I have a “weird accent”. Sometimes, the moment I open my mouth, people would ask me whether I am deaf as they assume that I am because of my “accent”. The best way to avoid this situation is not to ask me at all about my accent if they are able to understand me. Why comment on my accent, especially in a negative way? How is that constructive? If a person is not able to understand me, they can ask me to repeat, enunciate, or through other ways that can help them understand rather than commenting on my accent. Making fun of accents or describing them in a negative way is a form of discrimination. 

Some individuals may think that they are providing the right accommodations for me without my permission to provide them. As mentioned before, it is important to understand that each individual with hearing loss would require different accommodations to fit into their lifestyle. For example, in one of my undergrad classes, my professor was providing multiple accommodations without asking me whether they are helpful or okay with me. I was sitting beside my friend and my class notetaker so that I can communicate with both of them easily during class. However, my professor forced me to sit in a different seat which she thought would be more helpful to me, so unfortunately my friend and I could not sit beside each other. This made me feel uncomfortable. It is important for others to ask the individual with disabilities permission to offer these accommodations needs and determine whether they will be helpful for them or not. 

I hope these tips are useful to keep in mind when conversing with a deaf or hard-of-hearing individual. Keeping these in mind will help us feel more included and comfortable with hearing individuals.

Practical Tips

Now we will move on to practical tips when conversing with the Hearing Impaired. Keep in mind, as mentioned before, each deaf and hard-of-hearing individual requires different accommodations to help them feel included in conversations. Some require more accommodations, while others require less.

The use of hand gestures helps me communicate with others. Even if I can’t catch every word or sentence someone says, I may be able to piece it together based on their gestures. Additionally, extra enunciation helps me hear the vowels and constants more clearly so that I can understand them better. Enunciation is not necessarily speaking slower, faster or louder, but rather focusing on the pronunciation of the words.

Perhaps the most important tip I can provide when communicating with the Hearing Impaired is ensuring your lips are visible. Avoid looking away from my face while in conversation or covering your mouth with your hands. Lipreading has been crucial to me all my life and really helps me understand and participate in conversation better.  In a group setting, it is important for the speaker to make frequent face-to-face contact with me so that I will be able to lipread them. 

Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my previous blog, COVID-19 has made it difficult for myself and other deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Masks have unfortunately prevented us from lipreading others, and thus we have a hard time understanding. Therefore, these accommodations will benefit me and other deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to feel included in conversations. 

Thank you for reading my fourth blog! I hope you learned a few tips and tricks to help you communicate with the Hearing Impaired. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, share some of your experiences or just want to chat!

- Shobana Ramesh