Chronicle of a deaf audiologist

Why you shouldn’t call a person with hearing loss from another room

Significant others and family members often speak to a person with hearing loss (PWHL) from another room. It’s not realistic to try to have a conversation when you are in different rooms, for two reasons: 1) consonant sounds can’t be properly transmitted over this distance and 2) there are no visual cues available, such as lipreading and facial expressions.

The optimal distance between you and the other person is less than 2 metres. The further away you are, the harder it will be to hear what is being said.

A suggested rule: if PWHL starts the conversation, PWHL should go to the other person’s location. If the other person starts the conversation, the other person should go to the PWHL’s location. Communication is a two-way street.

 

 

  • Photo credit:  © Alan Fortune

    Sandra Vandenhoff

    Dr. Sandra Vandenhoff is an audiologist with hearing loss, founder of HEARa, Hearing Rehabilitation teacher, and Canadian author, who does not remember saying on her first day of wearing hearing aids: "Mom, I can hear my shoelaces!"

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