For just a second, imagine that you have a job as a salesperson. Now imagine that you have a call scheduled today with a very valuable client. Your company is being looked at for a job and numerous individuals from your company have come together on a conference call. As the call continues, voices rise and fall…and are at times difficult to hear. But you’re quite certain you got the gist of it.
Cranking the speaker up just makes it sound more distorted. So you simply do your best, reading between the lines. You’ve become fairly good at that.
As you listen, the voices sound particularly muffled for about a minute. Then all of a sudden you hear, “so what can your company do to help us with this”?”
You freeze. You have no clue what their company’s issue is because you didn’t catch the last portion of the discussion. Your boss is depending on you to seal this deal. So now what?
Do you request they repeat themselves? They might think you weren’t paying attention. Do you begin using a lot of sales jargon? No, that will be too conspicuous.
People go through scenarios like this every day when they are at work. Sometimes, they try to pretend they’re okay and wing it.
But how is neglected hearing loss really affecting your work as a whole? The following can help us find out.
Unequal pay
The Better Hearing Institute questioned 80,000 individuals using the same method the Census Bureau uses to get a representative sampling.
They discovered that individuals who have neglected hearing loss make around $12,000 less per year than those who are able to hear.
That doesn’t seem fair!
We could dig deep to attempt to figure out what the cause is, but as the example above shows, hearing loss can impact your general performance. Unfortunately, he couldn’t close the deal. Everything was going excellently until the client thought he wasn’t paying attention to them. They didn’t want to deal with a firm that doesn’t listen.
He lost out on a commission of $1000.
It was just a misunderstanding. But how do you think this affected his career? How might things have been different if he were wearing his hearing aids?
Injuries on at work
A study revealed in the Journal of The American Medical Association discovered that people with neglected hearing loss are almost 30% more likely to suffer a significant work accident. Studies have also revealed a 300% increased chance of having a significant fall and ending up in the emergency room.
And it might come as a surprise that people with minor hearing loss had the highest danger among those with hearing loss. Maybe, their hearing loss is minor enough that they’re not even aware of it.
Even if you have hearing loss, you can still have a successful career
Your employer has a great deal to gain from you:
- Skills
- Confidence
- Empathy
- Experience
- Personality
These positive attributes shouldn’t be dominated by hearing loss. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t be a factor. It may be impacting your job more than you recognize. Here are some ways to lessen that impact:
- If a job is going to surpass your capability you need to speak up. For example, your boss may want you to cover for someone who works in a noisy area. So that you can make up for it, offer to undertake a different job. This way, it never seems like you aren’t doing your part.
- Recognize that when you’re interviewing, you’re not required to reveal that you have hearing loss. And it’s not okay for the interviewer to ask. However, you may need to think about if your untreated hearing loss will affect your ability to have a successful interview. In that case, you may decide to disclose this before the interview.
- Never overlook using your hearing aids while you’re working and all of the rest of the time. If you have your hearing aids in you may not even require many of the accommodations.
- So that you have it in writing, it’s not a bad idea to draft up a respectful accommodations letter for your boss.
- Request a phone that is HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible). The sound goes directly into your ear instead of through background noise. You will need hearing aids that are compatible with this technology to use one.
- Requesting a written overview/agenda before attending a meeting. Conversations will be easier to keep up with.
- Keep a well lit work area. Even if you don’t read lips, being able to see them can help you understand what’s being said.
- When you’re talking to people, make certain you face them. Try not to have phone conversations as much as possible.
Working with hearing loss
Hearing loss can effect your work, even if it’s slight. But getting it treated will often minimize any obstacles you face with neglected hearing loss. Contact us today – we can help!
