Make phone calls more enjoyable with these effective communication tips.
For people with hearing loss, talking on the phone can be challenging. Background noise or volume issues can make it hard to follow along with what the other person is saying, meaning some details of your conversation could be missed.
Whether you, a family member, or a friend are experiencing difficulties making phone calls because of hearing loss, there are ways to make phone conversations go more smoothly:
- Let people know what works best for you
- Create a quiet place for calls
- Adjust your devices
- Turn to assistive technologies
Read on to learn more about these helpful tips for talking on the phone with hearing loss.
Let people know what works best for you
If you’re in regular contact over the phone with someone like a friend or family member, let them know your preferences for phone calls in advance. Perhaps you can understand conversations better over a landline than a cell phone, or you prefer calls at certain times in the day when you know you have an easier time hearing. By letting the people you keep in contact with know in advance what your preferences are, you can make future phone calls easier and more comfortable.
Create a quiet place for calls
Talking on the phone with hearing loss can be difficult enough without background noises like traffic, construction, or other people talking. Make phone calls easier for yourself by setting up a quiet place for making or receiving phone calls, such as a bedroom or office with a door you can shut to block out background sounds. If you have a television or radio going, put it on mute or turn it off before beginning your call to eliminate distracting noise that could make it difficult to follow your conversation.
Adjust your devices
Setting up the phone, hearing aids, headphones, and any other assistive devices you use to talk on the phone to best meet your needs can be a process of trial and error. You may want to try adjusting the volume on your phone to make the person on the other end easier to understand or using headphones along with your cell phone to block out background noise. If you use hearing aids, the type of phone you have and how you hold it can also impact how you hear the conversation.
Turn to assistive technologies
As you continue on your hearing loss journey, you might find that your usual phone isn’t the best for making phone calls, even with the volume turned up. In this case you may wish to try assistive technologies such as hearing aids equipped with Bluetooth for connecting to your cell phone, or telephones specifically designed for people with hearing loss that reduce background noise and amplify your conversations.
Another option is a CapTel captioned telephone, which works like a traditional phone but provides conversation captioning so you can read along with what the person on the other end of the line is saying. CapTel phones also come with tone and amplification control, so you can pinpoint the sound levels that best fit your needs.
For more hearing loss technology resources, updates, and news, keep reading the CapTel blog or browse our selection of captioned hearing loss telephones that can help make talking on the phone with hearing loss easier than ever before.
