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Education
CHHA Manitoba Chapter is committed to delivery of education programs and provision of communications tools that help hard of hearing people reach their full potential and function effectively at home, at work and in social settings. This page includes information about the ten-week Living With Hearing Loss sessions offered by SMD throughout the year, as well as scholarship opportunities, tips for communicating effectively, a link to the Savvy Consumer's Guide to Hearing Loss, and a variety of other resources.
Living With Hearing Loss Program Scholarship Programs Tips for Effective Communication with Hard of Hearing People Tips to Help Hard of Hearing People Communicate The Savvy Consumer's Guide to Hearing Loss Other Resources
Living With Hearing Loss Program
If you are hard of hearing and having trouble, you are not alone.
Do you want to learn to speech read (lip-reading plus) and cope with your situation?
Do you want to enjoy conversing with family and friends again?
Then come and join us! Family members are always welcome.
Share experiences, fun and friendship. Learn about hearing loss and coping techniques. Basic speechreading (lip-reading plus) instruction is included in the program.
Maintenance classes are also offered for those wishing to continue improving their speechreading skills.
For more information on class times, locations, and registration, please contact The Society for Manitobans with Disabilities, at 975-3107, or 975-3037. Outside Winnipeg, call 866-282-8041 toll-free. You can also email sblake@smd.mb.ca or kgrabowecky@smd.mb.ca. The next two 10-week sessions begin on Wednesday September 16th and Tuesday September 22nd. Additional classes may be announced later.
CHHA Scholarship
The CHHA Scholarship was established to offer financial assistance and recognition to hard of hearing and deafened students registered in a full time program at a recognized Canadian college or university, in any area of study, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a diploma or degree. For details, and to download an application form in pdf format, visit the CHHA national website
Herbert Victor Dimock Memorial Bursary
Mrs. Elizabeth Dimock, a former president of CHHA Manitoba has recently established the Herbert Victor Dimock Memorial Bursary at the Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg in memory of her late husband. The bursary is designed to assist a full-time student having a physical challenge, with priority given to a student with hearing impairment. More details about this new bursary will be available soon.
Tips for Effective Communication With Hard of Hearing People
Communication
Communication means being heard and understood. Before communication breaks down between the hearing and hard of hearing, there are ways that both can work to achieve positive and effective interactions. Communication with hard of hearing people can be managed with a little understanding and a few adjustments on the part of those who have normal hearing.
Understanding Hearing Loss
Hearing loss varies from person to person. It varies by the degree of loss, the type of loss, the suitability of hearing technology available to meet the loss, and the ability of the individual to adapt. What works for one person is not always the answer for others with hearing loss.
Understand the complexity of hearing loss and show support for the hard of hearing person's efforts to deal with their loss of hearing.
Understand that hard of hearing people do not hear more softly; they hear differently. People may lose the ability to hear high pitched sounds, or low pitched sounds; they may lose hearing in one ear and be unable to determine sound direction or origin; or they may lose the ability to hear in background noise; they may have tinnitus or masking noises in their ears that interfere with hearing at certain times. Speaking more loudly, shouting, turning up the volume, or exaggerating speech does not improve communication. Knowing the unique needs of a person who is hard of hearing is a first step in support.
Understand that a hearing aid can not restore normal hearing. A hearing aid amplifies certain sounds that the hard of hearing person can pick up by the ear. If the person is unable to hear certain types of sounds at all, a hearing aid will not restore their ability to hear them.
Understand that hearing can depend on the situation or setting. A store or restaurant with background music, a room with airconditioning or fans, or the background noise of TV or radio can create a poor listening environment for the hard of hearing person. Yet a small room with one or two people facing each other may provide an easy listening situation. Since many hard of hearing people rely on seeing a speaker's face and gestures, facing the person in a well-lit room can be an ideal communication environment.
How to Improve Communication With Hard of Hearing People
Here are some techniques that will make a listening situation more comfortable and productive for a hard of hearing person.
Speaking:
- Enunciate clearly, but do not exaggerate as this can be confusing and embarrassing for the listener
- Speak at a normal pace using appropriate pauses.
- Speak at a normal volume; do not shout. Shouting can be a further impediment to hearing clearly.
- If necessary, spell or write missed names or words.
- Try to clarify your meaning by re-phrasing something that the person has missed.
Body Language:
- Wait until your are facing the person before you begin to speak.
- Use body language (eye contact, a gentle touch or motion) to get the person's attention before you begin to speak
- Keep your face in view and limit head movements - this allows the person to speech read. Avoid putting your hands up to your face, smoking or chewing gym while talking. These behaviors can interfere with the person's ability to hear and speech read what you are saying.
- Do not whisper or speak into the ear of a hard of hearing person. This prevents the person from seeing your face and reading your speech. If a person is wearing a hearing aid, whispering into their ear is ineffective.
- Speak directly to the hard of hearing person, not a third person who is present for support.
- Be aware that moustaches and beards can mask your lips and facial expressions to such an extent that the hard of hearing person has great difficulty understanding you.
Environment and Location
- Select a quiet spot to talk
- Avoid standing in the sunlight or at a window where you are backlit while facing a hard of hearing person. This puts them in a position of looking into your shaded face, and unable to read your speech and expressions.
- Avoid walking and talking. Since both of you are facing forward, neither the sound nor view of your face is available to the hard of hearing person
- Other situations that prove difficult for the hard of hearing are talking in stairwells due to the echo, carrying on a conversation in a car while one of you is driving, or talking on a busy street where traffic noise and vehicle and pedestrian movement are distracting.
- When in doubt, check with the hard of hearing person. He/she is most able to identify the ideal place for talking.
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Communication is a two way street. In any conversation, we alternate between sending a message to another, and receiving a message back. The messages we send and receive aren't only those spoken and heard. Messages are also conveyed through body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and the distance between us. We may be communicating feelings or ideas we did not intend to share. Communication involves much more than speech and listening alone.
Communicating through conventional means can be very difficult for hard of hearing people and others. The usual habits of communication within a family, social or work group may have become well-established and can be difficult to change when a member of the group experiences hearing loss. With co-operation and effort from both hearing and hard of hearing members, the the group can develop new and effective ways to communicate
Effective communication between ourselves and others is our goal. It involves not only being a good listener, but making ourselves understood by others. Good communication can be a challenge even at the best of times. When one or both of the people in the communication process is hard of hearing, effective communication becomes a new challenge. The good news is that there are ways we, as hard of hearing people, can become better at communicating with others. In the process, we can assist our family, friends and co-workers to achieve effective communication with us.
Consider these situations and ask yourself how you may have handled similar challenges.
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You were buying groceries and couldn't hear what the cashier was saying, so you ignored her, paid and left.
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You were at the dinner table with your family and couldn't hear anything being said, so you did the dishes and cleaned up.
- When you were unable to hear your son or daughter, you said angrily, "If you would only speak up and slow down, I would be able to hear you!"
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A friend asked you out for lunch at a restaurant you know to be very noisy. You realized you wouldn't be able to hear so you made an excuse for not going.
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In a discussion a friend was unable to get you to understand a comment and after two tries said "never mind, just forget it".
It's not unusual for hard of hearing people to isolate themselves from social situations and sometimes even from family, to react with anger and frustration when unable to communicate well, and to blame others for their own challenges. Some of the following tips for communication with others will help you to deal with these kinds of difficult situations more effectively. Once you can apply some of the following strategies, in you will be able to share your improved communication methods with others.
For the Hard of Hearing - How to Better Communicate with Hearing People
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Let others know you have a hearing loss. Once you let the person you are speaking to know about your hearing loss he/she will be more responsive to your needs.
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Learn speech reading skills and attend a class for people with hearing loss. In this setting you benefit from the support of others who have experienced hearing loss. By sharing your own experiences and learning from theirs, you will become more adept at meeting new situations.
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Let others know how they can help you to hear and understand them: You might say "If you face me and speak slowly and clearly, I will be able to understand you better. You don't need to raise your voice"
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Don't hesitate to ask for help whenever you need it. Be sure to begin by disclosing that you are hard of hearing and explain what help you need.
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Do not hesitate to ask someone to repeat what he/she said. Don't accept a response of "Never mind". If it was important enough to say the first time, it is worth repeating.
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In a social setting, structure where and with whom you wish to interact. If you want to interact with one or two others, you could suggest moving to a quieter area to carry on a conversation.
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When attending a group event or lecture, get there early to find seating close to the speaker where you will be able to speech read. Do not hesitate to ask if someone can make room for you where you will be able to hear and see better.
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Be positive, but realistic in your expectations of yourself. When you set your goals at an achievable level, you won't be disappointed, and may even be able to aim higher the next time.
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We've saved the best for last - Maintain your sense of humor!
The Savvy Consumer's Guide to Hearing Loss
he Savvy Consumer's Guide to Hearing Loss, is an excellent resource for people learning to understand and cope with hearing loss. The book by Karen Rockow provides helpful strategies for dealing with hearing loss. A quote from the book's introduction, "... If only I'd known where to turn to learn how to speechread or to learn sign language. If only I'd known there was such as thing as CART servicie ..." demonstrates the practical nature of the material covered. The book was made possible through the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and is available in pdf free of charge at http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/mcdhh/savvy_guide.pdf
Noise is unwanted sound. Any sound that makes us irritable, angry, tired or interferes with sleep is noise. Noise is now the number one cause of hearing loss in our society. A Vancouver-based organization, The Right to Quiet Society, provides information about International Noise Awareness Day, which was held April 16, on its website at http://www.quiet.org.
Universal Design and Barrier-Free Access, Guidelines for Persons with Hearing Loss. In the spring of 2008 CHHA National announced the publication of its excellent new resource guide that provides the information necessary to ensure accessible communication is prevalent in mainstream society, thus ensuring access for persons with hearing loss. The document addresses best practices and policies, facility-specific guidelines, service-specific guidelines and more. The document can be downloaded for free from the CHHA National website - look under publications/booklets. For a direct link to the pdf document click here.
Working with Hearing Loss - A Guide for Employees, Employers and Entrepreneurs, published by the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association in 2008. This is an excellent resource, available in both English and French, and can be downloaded in pdf format for free from the CHHA National website. Hard-copy versions can be ordered by contacting the CHHA National office toll-free at 800-263-8068, TTY 613-526-2692 or email chhanational@chha.ca.
The Society for Manitobans With Disabilities (SMD) has an Assistive Technology Support Program and Funding Source Guide. These two new resources, announced in 2008, provide financial assistance to people who require assistive technology, as well as a reliable guide to other available funding sources. The programs are delivered by the SMD Foundation and Easter Seals Manitoba, with funding provided by the Assistive Technology Fund, a special initiative of the SMD Foundation. The funding program is available to all members of the self-help organizations that participate in the SMD Self-Help Clearinghouse network, which includes members of CHHA Manitoba Chapter. For more information about the Assistive Technology Support Program and application process, and the Funding Source Guide, visit the SMD website at http://www.smd.mb.ca.
In 2008 the Clearinghouse hosted a conflict management course which was attended by volunteers and staff from several organizations. A similar course is planned for later this year. Meanwhile, those interested in an in-depth program may wish to consider the two-day program offered by Mediation Services, How to Deal with Difficult People. For more information visit their web site at http://www.mediationserviceswpg.ca/training/?show=icr, or phone 925-3410