HEARING LOSS IN THE WORKPLACE
In every company, there is undoubtedly someone experiencing hearing loss, whether a new hire who has disclosed the hearing loss to the company or a long-time employee whose hearing may be deteriorating and they're not even aware. But, their co-workers are!
According to the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the United States and is twice as prevalent as diabetes or cancer.
Have questions?
COACHING AND WORKSHOPS
Hearing Loss Evolution can help your company by:
-
Ensuring any employee with a hearing impairment is equipped with the right accommodations to perform at peak productivity.
This includes:
1. technical tools
2. One-on-one coaching
3. workshops
-
Offering one hour Lunch and Learn Workshops on Communication Strategies. This workshop is for both people with hearing loss BUT ALSO whomever they communicate with including co-workers, friends, loved ones or parents who may have hearing loss.
-
Helping your entire HR department be more knowledgeable about accommodating employees with hearing loss with a presentation to an entire HR department.
-
Private consultation with employee with hearing loss and their manager.
Results:
-
Communications will be improved
-
Group will be more productive
-
Group will work better together
Hearing Loss in the Workplace
Have you ever had an employee complain about another employee being unfriendly, disinterested or perhaps less intelligent? It’s possible the person they are referring to has a hearing loss and is not aware of it or has not disclosed it.
Hearing Loss affects over 48M Americans (60% of them in the workforce). Chances are workers are affected directly if they have hearing loss or indirectly if they communicate with someone with hearing loss either in the workplace itself or a friend or relative outside of the workplace.
In every company, there is undoubtedly someone experiencing hearing loss, whether a new hire who has disclosed the hearing loss to the company or a long-time employee whose hearing may be deteriorating and they're not even aware. But, their co-workers are!
Those with a hearing loss in a work environment could have negative experiences if co-workers don't fully understand how to communicate with them. People with a recognized hearing loss tend to be more sensitive about being included; they can "feel" when they're being left out because they didn't hear or understand something said by a co-worker.
Sometimes they'll bluff their way through a conversation that can leave co-workers confused and incapable of knowing what to do next.
At times, the person with the hearing loss might be thought of as unfriendly, uninterested, or less intelligent. Nothing could be further from the truth, however; they just didn't hear or understand something that was said.
Bottom line, the group is not as productive as they could be.
“I never realized why my co-worker never seemed to be on the ball or contribute to our discussions. Now I know he simply didn’t hear. From this workshop I learned how to recognize someone with a hearing loss and how to talk to them so that they hear me best.”
~ Robert, a person with normal hearing