Communicating with your child

Each hearing loss is unique. Your hearing healthcare professional can describe your child’s hearing loss in terms which help you to communicate as effectively as possible with your child.

In the list below you can read about good verbal communication strategies that may work for you if your child has hearing difficulties.

How to communicate with a hearing impaired child
   

Never speak with your back to the child.

Be close to the child when you communicate. The volume level is reduced by half when the distance is doubled, and an increase of the distance of just a few metres can prevent the message from being understood.

Make eye contact and look at your child when addressing him or her. Your lips, facial expressions and body movements hold important information.

When you address the child in a room where others are present, always say the child´s name.

Speak in a clear audible voice without shouting. Raising your voice too much can distort the sound of your voice making it more difficult to understand.

Make sure that there is adequate lighting when speaking to your child, so the child can see your face clearly.

Continue to play, sing and talk with your child. As with all children, positive human contact is essential for emotional growth and well-being. A hearing impaired child has perhaps an even greater need for close one-on-one contact to lay the groundwork for communication.

Total communication

In the case where your child may have a severe or profound hearing loss on both ears (bilateral hearing loss), you may consider an alternative communication method as a supplement to verbal communication.

Total communication is a combination of methods whose aim is that the child learns to communicate and acquire vocabulary and language in any way that works. These methods may include the use of lip-reading, gestures and expressions, finger spelling and certain signs together with speech.