Hearing Loss and Your Employees

"Isolated", "frustrated", and "worried" were three words used recently by a group of corporate employees to describe their feelings about their hearing loss. Hearing loss affects 10% of the population, including 33% of those age 65. Now a worrisome 20% of late teens report some of the signs of hearing loss, for the first time in history. Yet few corporations offer training in techniques to cope with hearing loss.

Employees report that they may hesitate to speak during department meetings, because they are not certain of what has already been said or, sometimes, even the topic under discussion. When a group has a meeting in a noisy room, such as a restaurant, that makes the communication worse.

"What Did You Say? Strategies for Helping a Person with a Hearing Loss", is an e-book for helping supervisors, colleagues, friends and spouses learn better ways to communicate with people with hearing loss. It provides information on simple techniques that can
be easily implemented.

Can't Get Up Early in the Morning?

Many people have difficulty getting up early in the morning for classes or work. They have an alarm clock but ignore it or don't hear it. A wonderful solution is an innovative product called a ShakeAwake. This is an alarm clock that you strap on your leg and it vibrates - strongly - to wake you up. It's designed for people with hearing loss, but it works wonderfully for people who hear (but maybe don't want to listen)! ShakeAwake can be gotten from www.devices4less.com, and is terrific!