The other day, I was wrapping up an appointment with a dear patient of mine, who, despite doing quite well with her new hearing aids, shared with me how difficult it was to hear her husband at times. “It is as if he doesn’t remember that I have this pretty severe hearing loss and thinks I’m ignoring him. Here’s the thing about hearing loss: unlike other disabilities, hearing loss is invisible. People don’t accommodate you the way they would someone with a visible physical disability, like vision loss or limb loss.” We both stopped to reflect on how true this last statement was, and its implications. I felt her frustration and sadness.
Accommodating people we know and love that have hearing loss can look like this: rephrasing what you said (instead of repeating), moving closer so your words don’t get lost over distance, moving closer so they can see your face and read you lips, and most of all, exercising mindfulness. What I mean by mindfulness, is remembering that the hearing-impaired person isn’t purposefully ignoring you and changing your mindset so that you can take steps to ease the breakdown of communication. They are trying their best, I promise. All they need is a little bit of grace.
