factors that affect communications involving people with hearing loss
Communicating with a person who has a hearing loss can be different from
communicating with a person who has normal hearing. In some situations there may
be few observable differences; in others, the differences may be substantial.
Successful face-to-face communication requires close attention to several
factors.
Perhaps the most obvious factor is the physical environment.
We've all experienced difficulty understanding speech in a noisy environment,
and we can readily understand that it would be even more difficult for a person
who doesn't hear well.
A less obvious environmental factor is lighting. Because speech
reading is such an important strategy for many HOH/LD persons, reduced
lighting or inappropriately placed lighting can render an otherwise acceptable
situation totally ineffective.
A second important factor in promoting face-to-face communications is the speaker
and his characteristics. As you might imagine, the way in which a person speaks
has profound influence on how easily a person with hearing loss can understand
them.
Finally, characteristics of the listener, the
hard of hearing, late deafened, or oral deaf person, are also important. He must do his part to contribute to
successful communications.
