Sound Advice

Resisting Hearing Help

Many people with a hearing loss never realize how much communication they actually fail to understand or miss completely because you have become their ears. However, it takes only a short time to realize that without your help, they are in trouble. It is through this realization that one becomes inspired to take positive action to solve their hearing problem. Therefore, as a loving spouse or family member, you must create the need for your loved one to seek treatment by no longer repeating messages and being their ears. Your ultimate goal is for them to hear independent of you.

So here are some practical tips that you can utilize when a loved one resists help:

• Stop repeating yourself! This will allow the hearing impaired individual the opportunity to realize the significance of their hearing loss.
• Stop raising your voice (then complaining you are hoarse).
• Do not engage in conversation from another room as tempting as this is and as convenient as it appears. This sets up your communication process for failure.
• Stop being the messenger by carrying the communication load for the family. Do not tell your loved one "he said" and "she said" when he or she needs to be responsible for getting this information directly from the source.
• Create a telephone need. This means for you to stop being the interpreter on the telephone. Allow your loved one to struggle in order to recognize how much help he or she needs. We are looking for motivation (to hear) from your loved one - not you.

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