Many people suffer from impaired hearing. Whether it be total or partial deafness, it is an ‘invisible disability’, which often only the presence of a hearing aid reveals.

I will deal only with the aspect with which I am most familiar – that of ‘partial deafness’ where the problem only becomes obvious in conversation. The sufferer from partial hearing loss is embarrassed, repeatedly having to say “Pardon? I’m sorry but I did not quite hear what you said”, or words to that effect.  This can result in a number of responses:-

1. The speaker may repeat more slowly and clearly what they said.
2. He or she may shout whilst answering the request.
3. The speaker may dismiss a request with a wave of the hand.
4. The request by the sufferer may well cause  unconcealed mirth on the part of some people present. Even if the speaker’s diction is good, it often becomes unclear in a room full of other ambient noise, and requests for repetition from the partially deaf listener are made with increasing frequency.

Of those responses mentioned above the first one is the only response which indicates an appreciation of the problem, the others reveal a lack of understanding by the ignorant, cruel or unkind. Yet if the partially deaf were, instead, partially blind and were seeking assistance in reading small print – most people would be sympathetic and helpful.

What the ‘audience’ does not understand is that ‘Hearing Aids’ are merely ‘Amplifiers’, which amplify electronically a sound (including speech) but do NOT clarify the sound, so someone who is softly spoken, whispering or with indistinct or slurred speech will simply have the sibilance in their ‘voice’ amplified. Modern speech patterns with rapid delivery and a blurring of consonants from one word to the next, make distinguishing key words in a sentence quite hard, especially if the context is unclear. As they follow a group discussion, this can put the ‘hard of hearing’ a sentence or two behind everyone else. This is particularly common when the hearing loss has been comparatively recent, for example age-related, so that they do not have a lifetime of ‘learning to compensate’ to ‘overcome’ their disability.

Another thing to understand is that, in some cases, the partial loss of hearing may only affect one aspect e.g.:-

1. The inability to hear ‘low volume’ speech.
2. their tonal range is affected.
3. the pitch at which voices work – especially in a room full of other noises or conversations.

Laughter is certainly an inappropriate response to any disability and likely to provoke an angry response. Before laughing at a person with a partial hearing problem, consider how you would feel in their place.  Remember too, that when someone speaks more loudly than you do, it may not mean that they are shouting – it may be that they are instinctively raising their voice to the level it is comfortable for them to hear – in the hope that the people around them will follow suit.

In a Business meeting, clarity of speech is essential, especially when you are trying to ‘sell’ yourself and your business, and the speaker needs to remember that no two people have the same hearing capabilities. The volume, therefore,  must equal clarity, which is where the pitch comes into play. The tone should be modulated so that it is comfortable for everyone.

Clues to whether you are succeeding in communicating include:

• No-one in your audience is staring fixedly at your mouth and frowning in a concentrated way.
• No-one in your audience is looking down at their paperwork and reading the notes you have given them instead of looking at you
• No-one in your audience is doodling or staring away from you because they have given up trying to hear you and are bored
• No-one in your audience is asking their neighbour what you said – or constantly interrupting your flow with requests for repetition.

Remember also, when you are ‘selling’, that the person most interested could be someone with hearing problems and if they cannot hear clearly what you are saying, you may well lose out on the ‘sale’.

Still think that very few of your clients and colleagues are likely to have a hearing problem? Then you might be interested in these statistics from the RNID:-

Deaf and hard of hearing adults in the UK 

The most recent estimated figures for the number of deaf and hard of hearing adults in the UK are: 

Total number of deaf and hard of hearing people:  8,945,000

• 2,474,000 aged 16 to 60.
• 6,471,000 aged over 60.

 Total number of people with mild to moderate deafness: 8,257,000

• 2,366,000 aged 16 to 60.
• 5,891,000 aged over 60.

 Total number of people with severe to profound deafness: 688,000 

• 108,000 aged 16 to 60.
• 580,000 aged over 60.

 Age-related hearing loss

The most common type of hearing loss in the UK is among people who are gradually losing their hearing as part of the ageing process. 

Of over 70 year-olds in the UK, a total of 71.1% have some kind of hearing loss:

• 26.7% have mild hearing loss.
• 36.8% have moderate hearing loss.
• 6.3% have severe hearing loss.
• 1.3% have profound hearing loss.

 A total of 41.7% of over 50 year-olds in the UK have some kind of hearing loss:

• 21.6% have mild hearing loss.
• 16.8% have moderate hearing loss.
• 2.7% have severe hearing loss.
• 0.6% have profound hearing loss.

 It might be worth checking your own hearing Deafness creeps up unnoticed and acknowledging your own weakness early in its advance, you might avoid the embarrassment of becoming a figure of fun.