Imagine for a minute you’re a salesperson. Today, you’re having a very important call with a possible client. Your company is being considered for a job and several individuals from your business have come together on a conference call. All of the different voices get a bit jumbled and difficult to understand. But you’re getting most of it.
Turning the speaker up just makes it sound more distorted. So you just do your best at filling in the blanks. You’re really good at that.
There comes a point in the conversation where things get particularly hard to hear. Then suddenly you hear, “so what can your company do to assist us with this”?”
You freeze. You didn’t hear the last few minutes and aren’t certain what problem they’re trying to resolve. This is your deal and your boss is counting on you. So now what?
Do you ask them to repeat themselves? They may think you weren’t paying attention. Do you begin using a lot of sales jargon? No, they’ll see right through that.
Every single day, individuals everywhere go through scenarios like this while working. They attempt to read between the lines and get by.
But how is neglected hearing loss really impacting your work in general? The following can help us find out.
Lower wages
The Better Hearing Institute questioned 80,000 individuals using the same method the Census Bureau uses to get a representative sampling.
People who have neglected hearing loss earn, on average, $12,000 less per year.
That doesn’t seem fair!
We could dig deep to try to find out what the cause is, but as the illustration above shows, hearing loss can affect your overall performance. Sadly, he couldn’t close the deal. Everything was going excellently until the client thought he wasn’t listening to them. They didn’t want to work with a company that doesn’t listen.
He missed out on a commission of $1000.
It was only a misunderstanding. But that doesn’t change the impact on his career. If he was using hearing aids, imagine how different things might have been.
On the Job Injuries
A study revealed in the Journal of The American Medical Association found that people with neglected hearing loss are nearly 30% more likely to have a serious work accident. Studies also show a 300% increased danger of having a serious fall and ending up in the emergency room.
And people with only mild hearing loss were at the greatest risk, surprisingly! Maybe, their hearing loss is minor enough that they don’t even know about it.
Even if you have hearing loss, you can still be successful at work
Your employer has a great deal to gain from you:
- Empathy
- Personality
- Skills
- Experience
- Confidence
Hearing loss shouldn’t overshadow these. But it is frequently a factor. You might not even know how big an impact on your job it’s having. Take measures to decrease the impact like:
- Speak up when a task is beyond your abilities. For example, your boss might ask you to cover for somebody who works in a noisy part of the building. In order to make up for it, offer to take on a different job. In this way, it will never seem like you’re not doing your part.
- Asking for a written overview/agenda before attending a meeting. It will be easier to keep up with the discussion.
- Recognize that during a job interview, you’re not required to reveal that you have hearing loss. And it isn’t okay for the interviewer to ask. However, you might need to think about if your neglected hearing loss will impact your ability to interview well. You will most likely need to inform the interviewer of your condition if that’s the situation.
- Compose a respectful accommodations letter to your boss. This way, you have it in writing.
- Use your hearing aids at work every day, at all times. When you do this, lots of of the accommodations won’t be necessary.
- When you’re speaking with people, make certain you face them. Try not to have phone conversations as much as you can.
- Request that you get a hearing aid compatible (HAC) phone. The sound goes straight into your ear instead of through background noise. In order to use this technology you will need a hearing aid that’s compatible.
- Make sure your work area is well lit. Even if you don’t read lips, being able to see them can help you discern what’s being said.
Hearing loss at work
Even if you have mild hearing loss, it can still effect your work performance. But getting it treated will frequently eliminate any obstacles you face with untreated hearing loss. We can help so give us a call!