"So, About My Hearing..."

By Marisa DeFrancesco, Educational Audiologist

Marisa DeFrancesco, Educational Audiologist

Do friends ask you about your hearing aids or your processors? Do they ask about your FM? What do you tell them?

Most people don’t know much about hearing devices or hearing! Most people don’t even think about hearing. When friends ask you about your hearing aids or processors, they are just curious and they want to understand what they do and why you wear them.

This is a great time to teach them all you know and to let them know more about you. Good friends don’t care if you wear hearing aids or processors. They just want to know more about you. Make your hearing part of who you are - your identity. You have many parts to your identity- your hearing is just one part. The more you are okay with who you are are, the more others will be, too! Their level of respect for you will most likely increase when they see that you are comfortable with your hearing and your hearing aids.

"When friends ask you about your hearing aids or processors, they are just curious and they want to understand what they do and why you wear them... Good friends don’t care if you wear hearing aids or processors. They just want to know more about you. "

Some friends just want to know a little bit of information, like why do you wear them? Some friends want to know as much as possible! How do they work? What do you tell them? How do you describe your hearing loss to them? Is your hearing loss mild, moderate, severe, or profound? Is it the same for both ears? What are easy listening situations for you? What are the toughest? If you are unsure about the answers to any of these questions, please discuss with your Audiologist or your Teacher of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing.

Most people think that wearing hearing aids is like wearing glasses. You may need to explain that it’s not quite the same. Besides wearing hearing aids or processors and FM, you still need to have them face you when they speak to you or you may need to move away from really noisy places. What strategies work best for you?

Resources to Support Conversations with Friends

Have a look below at “So you have a hearing loss…” by Oticon. Perhaps it will help you find a new way to talk about your hearing.

So you have a hearing loss.pdf

Phonak’s Life with Hearing Loss has other personal stories and ways to talk to your friends about your hearing.

Don’t forget to ask your friends questions about themselves too! What do you want to know about your friends? We have so much to learn from one other!

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