Meeting New People When You Wear Hearing Aids

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', I have a couple of overarching themes which I consider to be ‘The Realities of Life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  I have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

I wrote earlier about advocating for yourself, but I want to go into a little more detail about what to keep in mind when you meet someone for the first time.  Essentially, I want you to feel comfortable and confident enough to make strangers aware that you have a hearing loss.  Simply making most people aware of your hearing loss is usually enough to make sure that they accommodate you as much as possible.

In a face to face situation, if you’re wearing your hearing aids, chances are really good that your new acquaintance noticed your hearing aids.  Etiquette rules suggest people don’t point out someone’s disability but many people will ask.  I have found that if people ask before I mention my hearing loss, they’re coming from a place of genuine curiosity.  I really only remember one time in my entire life where someone pointed out my hearing aids with the intent to hurt my feelings (I was a kid and he was a neighborhood bully). 

Generally, the conversation is always the same regardless of who brings it up (me or them).  Almost invariably they ask 1) If I can hear anything without my hearing aids (I can, but not very well) and 2) How long I’ve had to wear hearing aids (my whole life).  Then I steer the conversation towards things that will help me hear them better. I tell them that if I’m not looking at them chances are good I can’t hear them.  After that, most people turn the conversation towards other topics.

Surprisingly, getting help from the person I am meeting for the first time isn’t too difficult if I am on the phone.  The best route to go is to let that person know up front so they know I may ask them to repeat themselves.  The other option is to say that you’re having trouble hearing them and ask them to repeat themselves.  I’ve found the majority of people adjust their phones so they get much louder and clearer as a result of that statement, and then I don’t have to go into all of the details about my hearing loss.

Conclusion

I recommend that you control the conversation with anyone you meet by mentioning your hearing loss early on in the conversation.  It not only allows them to help you hear better but it also satisfies their curiosity and alleviates any discomfort you, or they, may be feeling.  Tell them what you need from them, answer any of their questions as much as you’re comfortable with, and then move on to getting to know them.  Fortunately, most people are willing to accommodate us but may not quite know how to and having that conversation early will help them do that!

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!