Deaf Navigator Program

02/11/2026

Change the dynamics in communication and reduce frustration.

They say hearing loss is invisible but I recognize it in others because their habits are visible. It's not just asking for a repeat because everyone needs repeats now and then. It's also...

-one ear forward, the better ear
-stops eating to hear
-constant need for repeats when they aren't looking at me
-their intense focus when I am talking (because communication isn't casual with hearing loss)

Even if they don't fess up to having a hearing loss, I know it.

Instead of getting angry, or frustrated with repeating, I change the dynamic helping them and me by...

-making sure they are looking at me before talking
-getting their attention if I want to talk
-moving closer
-projecting my voice (not yelling because that distorts words)
-ensuring I enunciate

A few simple changes make a big difference.

Communication takes two. Hearing Loss LIVE! welcomes hearing partners to all events and our membership.

02/10/2026

02/10/2026

Hearing loss, accommodations and communication are individual.

We are alike in some ways and different in other ways. There is diversity so don't make assumptions. Ask each person what's best for them.

This is something those of us in the hearing loss community sometimes forget too. What works for one person doesn't work everyone. We can respect differences and individual paths by meeting them where they are instead of telling them which path they HAVE TO take.

02/08/2026

02/07/2026

02/07/2026

02/05/2026

Or, why did I hear 'this' and not 'that'?

Hearing loss is confusing and in the past, I have been accused of 'selective hearing'. (I wish I could turn it on and off at will.)

How well I hear, and understand, a message depends on a lot of variables. It depends a whole lot on the speaker and how they deliver the message. Background noise is a bigger issue than people realize.

-I cannot hear someone speaking when a helicopter is flying overhead so I ask to halt the conversation until it goes by.
-When I'm on a plane, I don't hear people's words over the sound of the jet engines.
-If your face is in the fridge while talking, it swallows your words.
-The word 'cat' has two sounds I cannot hear, the hard C and the T, even with my hearing aids in.
-I have to get used to how strangers talk and the words they use.

That is the nature of hearing loss. We have to learn how to manage other people's expectations by educating them. To do that, we need to educate ourselves first.