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Coping and support

By Mayo Clinic staff

These tips can help you to communicate more easily despite your hearing loss:

  • Position yourself to hear. Face the person with whom you're having a conversation.
  • Turn off background noise. For example, noise from a television may interfere with conversation.
  • Ask others to speak clearly. Most people will be helpful if they know you're having trouble hearing them.
  • Choose quiet settings. In public, such as in a restaurant or at a social gathering, choose a place to talk that's away from noisy areas.
  • Consider using an assistive listening device. Hearing devices, such as TV-listening systems or telephone-amplifying devices, can help you hear better while decreasing other noises around you.
Prevention Treatments and drugs
References
  1. Hearing loss. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. http://nihseniorhealth.gov/hearingloss/hearinglossdefined/01.html. Accessed April 21, 2011.
  2. Weber PC. Evaluation of hearing loss in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2011.
  3. Lustig LR, et al. Ear, nose, & throat disorders. In: McPhee SJ, et al. Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2011. 50th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2613. Accessed April 25, 2011.
  4. Weber PC. Etiology of hearing loss in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2011.
  5. Weener DJ, et al. Evaluation and management of hearing loss in older adults. Clinical Geriatrics. 2010;18:20.
  6. Common sounds. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/education/teachers/common_sounds.asp. Accessed April 21, 2011.
  7. Learn more about hearing loss prevention: Noise meter. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. http://198.246.98.21/niosh/topics/noise/abouthlp/noisemeter_flash/soundMeter_flash.html. Accessed April 28, 2011.
  8. Occupational noise exposure — 1910.95. U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9735. Accessed April 28, 2011.
  9. How loud is too loud? American Tinnitus Association. http://www.ata.org/about-tinnitus/how-loud-too-loud. Accessed April 28, 2011.
  10. Isaacson B. Hearing Loss. The Medical Clinics of North America. 2010;94:973.
DS00172 Aug. 23, 2011

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