World Hearing Day is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness about ear and hearing care across the world. Today at Lifestart, we are celebrating all the ways that people can communicate.
Did you know that 10,000 people in Australia have Auslan as their first language?
If you are communicating with someone who has hearing loss, there are a few ways to communicate more effectively:
- Face the person. This is helpful because they can watch your face for extra clues about what you are saying, and the volume of your voice will be louder when you are looking at them.
- Reduce the distance between you and the person. Ideally, make sure you are less than two metres from the person to make sure that the sound is clear.
- Reduce background noise. Turn off the radio or television or close the door if there is noise coming from outside.
- Rephrase the sentence. If a person with a hearing loss asks you to repeat something you said, repeat it once. Then, think of a different way to say the same thing if you are still not making yourself understood.
Find out more about World Hearing Day and how you can get involved here.
