The first component is the individual with a hearing loss. There is nothing straightforward about hearing loss or how people react to it. This creates a great deal of confusion for people who have little or no experience with hearing loss, and often results in beliefs and attitudes about the individual with a hearing loss that are ill founded. They do not understand why the individual might hear one person better than another, how they can use a telephone, or why they seem to hear fine in some situations or not others.
The individual may have a loss in one or both ears. That loss may be different in each ear. Hearing may continue to deteriorate or fluctuate with allergies or illness. The individual may be able to hear high sounds but not low, or vice versa. They may have difficulty interpreting what they are hearing. The person may or may not use hearing aids, or may use aids for one or both ears.
They may have been dealing with the loss since childhood, or only recently. And like the rest of us, they will have varying levels of tolerance for frustration, stress and ambiguity-all of which are a part of trying to communicate with people who do not understand the nature of hearing loss. Some have developed effective coping strategies, some have not. Their families, coworkers, and bosses, likewise, provide varying degrees of support.
Speech reading does not come naturally-it is a trained skill. Even so, only 30-35% of the English language is visible on the lips. Accents and mustaches wreak havoc with the best speech reader. People must rely on contextual cues and what they CAN hear to be effective speech readers.
Finally, hearing loss does not come with an instruction manual. Assistive technology is wonderful--if you are aware of it and know how to use it. You should not expect that the person with a hearing loss will be an expert in the hearing mechanism, the psychology of grieving their loss, or assistive listening devices.
