Communication Strategies

Areas of interest for hearing improvement

Choose an area of interest to explore ways to improve your hearing

General
Wide variety of insights and experiences related to hearing and everyday living.

Communication Strategies
Information specific to speaking with others resulting in clarity and understanding.

Skill Development
Information specific to developing skills that help improve hearing.

Hearing Aids
Information specific to purchasing and wearing hearing aids.

For Significant Others
Information specific to spouses, partners, family and friends of people with hearing difficulties.

For Hearing Care Professionals
Information specific to those who work in the hearing care industry.

Hear Better by Knowing More

As we get older we have more difficulty hearing in noise. This applies even to people with normal hearing. If hearing becomes more difficult even with normal hearing, there must be something beyond hearing loss that makes hearing in noise harder. We now know what that something is: our brains change as we age. Our […]

Be Direct About Hearing Loss

You may have heard of JR Martinez. He joined the army after high school, and at 19 years old, was deployed to Iraq. The Humvee he was driving hit a land mine, and he was trapped inside the burning vehicle. JR suffered severe burns to over a third of his body. JR was in the […]

Hearing Loss: There Are No Universal Truths

Why are we more likely to believe something if it’s in a bold type face? The answer is in the book, Thinking Fast and Slow, by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. According to Kahneman, there are many common biases that play a role in shaping our view of people and of situations. Another one is the […]

What? Pardon? Sorry?

Three Times, You’re Out! In a Hearing Strategies class recently, I gave the class some homework. I asked people to observe why and when they wing it (pretend to understand). A week later, when the class re-convened, one of the class members said, “I had no choice. What else could I do? I said […]

Can’t Hear When People Mumble?

Get help from the chameleon effect! Is there a person in your life who talks way too fast? Or mumbles? Or becomes practically inaudible at the end of the sentence? There is a way you can influence them to do otherwise. It’s called the chameleon effect. The chameleon effect is at play when you […]

Communication is a Two-Way Street

Have you ever thought about your hearing loss as “not your problem”? You are partly right, if so. Everyone you communicate with shares this problem. Communication is a two-way street. In a conversation, both people need to take responsibility. The fact that you have hearing loss doesn’t make it your fault when the conversation breaks […]

To Hear the Stars Sing

In the movie Revolutionary Road, the last scene is powerful and apt—a man turns down his hearing aid while pretending to listen to his wife. He is doing more than just ignoring. He is escaping from her. In A Screaming Kind of Day, a beautifully illustrated children’s book by Rachna Gilmore, a young hearing impaired […]

Trouble Understanding?

How to Ask For Help So Others Will “Hear” You Susan Binzer, an audiologist, identified five keys to success for people with hearing loss when they ask others for help. Use “I” statements. Do not blame others. Example: Instead of “Your hand is in the way!” try “Excuse me—I will understand you better if […]

Reminding Others About Your Hearing Loss

Eighteen years ago, I read an article entitled, “Reminding Them When They Forget”, an article co-authored by Sam Trychin. Dr. Trychin is a psychologist and educator, and has an online self-management program for hearing loss. This article has stayed with me for all of these years, because it’s practical. I’ll give you a short recap […]

Four Ways to Have Meaningful Conversations

According to a study published in Psychological Science by researchers at the University of Arizona, people who have meaningful conversations are happier than those who primarily engage in small talk. The study looked at the different kinds of conversations among people who are happy and those who are unhappy. Participants were requested to wear an […]

Communication Strategies

Areas of interest for hearing improvement

General