If you suffer from hearing impairment, you're not alone. According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, about 15% of Americans deal with some degree of hearing loss. While it might feel overwhelming at first to deal with hearing loss in the workplace, letting your coworkers know about your hearing impairment and utilizing strategic methods to help enhance your hearing at work can make all of the difference.

Discussing Communication Tactics With Your Coworkers

One of the most frustrating experiences you may deal with is having poor communication with other coworkers. When they don't know that you have difficulty hearing, it can be frustrating for you. Fortunately, taking the time to explain to your coworkers about your type of hearing loss and giving them necessary suggestions for how to better communicate with you can help to enhance your relationship.

For example, you may suggest that when coworkers talk to you, they do so when they're directly facing you. This can allow you to help read their lips while they're talking so that you better put together what they're saying. You may suggest meeting in areas that are not noisy, such as a quiet office. You may be surprised at how much improvement you'll notice in your communication with your coworkers when you give them a blueprint of the best way to interact with you. Suddenly, all that stress over poor communication at work can be lifted so that you can get back to enjoying what you do.

Strategic Tips For Hearing Better at Work

When you become proactive about your communication problems at work, you can suddenly realize easy methods that you can implement to fix the issue. One of the easiest things to do is rearrange your office setup. Avoid the cubicle setup, where you'll be able to be distracted by many different conversations. Instead, pick a quiet corner or private office space so that you can solely focus on communicating with one person. When other employees need to talk to you, ask them to physically meet you instead of calling you on the phone. It's typically easier to understand what the workers are saying when you can pick up on other contextual cues like their facial expressions and body language.

Helpful Resources For Hearing Impairment at Work

If you have difficulty hearing at work, it's time to get your hearing evaluated by a specialist. You can check with your employer to see if you qualify for vocational rehabilitation health services. A quick search online for vocational rehabilitation in your state can help reveal the available resources to you. Even picking up the phone and checking with your insurance provider can help get you on the path to better hearing.

Call Us Today

Seeking help with any hearing impairment problems you're experiencing should be done sooner rather than later. Simply call our local Beltone Dallas Fort Worth office today to schedule a free hearing assessment with one of our licensed hearing specialists.