How Hearing Loss Affects Your Professional Life
When you start to experience hearing loss, it can be scary, to say the least. Soon, you'll realize that hearing loss affects all aspects of your life. This includes your professional one. Knowing your rights and your treatment options can help you to get the devices you need to help you hear at work.
Laws That Protect Those With Hearing Loss
According to U.S. laws, employers must supply an equal opportunity workplace. This rule is further specified in the Americans With Disabilities Act. Your employer can provide assistive listening devices and other useful accommodations. These can help reduce your communication hurdles. Besides the Americans With Disabilities Act, the EEOC is also a great resource for workplace rights.
The Importance of Wearing Hearing Protection at Work
If you work in an environment with loud noises, you should wear hearing protection. This can come in the form of ear plugs or similar devices to help reduce the sounds that make their way into your ears. Your employer must supply you with adequate hearing protection when at work. As an employee, it's your job to always wear your hearing protection while at work.
Tips on How to Work With Hearing Loss
If you have hearing loss, then there are some things that you can do to improve your professional life. First, investing in hearing aids is a great way to help restore some of your hearing. They can make it easier to communicate with your coworkers in a professional setting. You need to have a hearing care professional program your hearing aids. This way, they can meet your individualized hearing needs.
Apart from wearing hearing aids, it's a good idea to let others in your office know that you have hearing loss. Inform them of helpful actions that they can take to better communicate with you. This may include things like facing you while they're talking. This can allow you to read their lips and their body language. You may ask them to send a friendly email with the information instead of calling you to discuss it.
If you work in a cubicle-like environment, it can be hard to deal with hearing loss due to the bustle of noise. It can be conducive to ask for a different working layout. This can be in the form of your own office or a location set off to a quiet corner. Getting away from background noise allows you to have conversations at work.
Call Us Today
If you're struggling with hearing loss, then it's time to contact us. Let our knowledgeable hearing care professionals help you with all your hearing-related needs.
