For just a moment, imagine that you have a job as a salesperson. Now imagine that you have a call scheduled today with a really valuable client. Your company is being considered for a job and several people from your business have gathered on a conference call. All of the different voices get a little jumbled and hard to understand. But you’re hearing most of it.
Cranking up the speaker just makes it sound more distorted. So you just do your best at filling in the blanks. You’ve become fairly good at that.
There comes a point in the discussion where things become particularly difficult to hear. Then suddenly you hear, “so what can your company do to assist us with this”?”
You panic. You didn’t catch the last few minutes and aren’t sure what issue they’re attempting to resolve. Your boss is depending on you to seal this deal. So now what?
Should you admit you didn’t hear them and ask them to repeat what they said? They’ll think you were distracted. What about resorting to some slippery sales jargon? No, that will be too obvious.
Every single day, individuals everywhere go through situations like this while working. They try to read between the lines and get by.
So in general, how is your work being affected by your hearing loss? The following can help us find out.
Unequal pay
The Better Hearing Institute questioned 80,000 people utilizing the same technique the Census Bureau uses to get a representative sampling.
Individuals who have neglected hearing loss earn, on average, $12,000 less per year.
Hey, that isn’t fair!
Hearing loss impacts your general performance so it’s not difficult to understand the above example. The deal couldn’t be closed, regrettably. When they thought that the salesperson wasn’t paying attention to them, they went with someone else. They didn’t want to work with a company that doesn’t listen.
His commission on this contract would have been over $1000.
The situation was misconstrued. But that doesn’t change the effect on his career. How might things have been different if he were wearing his hearing aids?
Workplace Injuries
A study reported in the Journal of The American Medical Association discovered that people with neglected hearing loss are nearly 30% more likely to suffer a serious work accident. And, your chance of ending up in the emergency room after a serious fall goes up by 300% according to other studies.
And individuals with only slight hearing loss were at the greatest risk, surprisingly! Maybe they don’t recognize that hearing loss of any type impairs a person at work.
How to have a successful career with hearing loss
Your employer has a lot to gain from you:
- Confidence
- Empathy
- Personality
- Skills
- Experience
Hearing loss shouldn’t overshadow these. But it is frequently a factor. You may not even know how huge an effect on your job it’s having. Here are a few ways to decrease that impact:
- Write a sincere accommodations letter to your boss. This way, you have it in writing.
- Ask for a phone that is HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible). The sound goes directly into your ear instead of through background noise. In order to use this technology you will require a hearing aid that’s appropriate.
- Speak up when a job is beyond your abilities. For instance, your boss might want you to cover for someone who works in a noisy area. Offer to do a different job to make up for it. By doing that, your boss won’t think you’re just trying to get out of doing work.
- Asking for a written outline/agenda before a meeting. Discussions will be easier to follow.
- When you’re speaking with people, make sure you face them. Try not to have phone conversations as much as you can.
- Keep a brightly lit work space. Even if you’re not a lip reader, being able to see them can help you understand what’s being said.
- Never disregard wearing your hearing aids at work and all of the rest of the time. When you do this, lots of of the accommodations won’t be necessary.
- Know that you aren’t required to divulge that you have hearing loss during an interview. And it isn’t okay for the interviewer to ask. But the other consideration is whether your hearing loss will have an effect on your ability to have a good interview. In that situation, you may decide to reveal this before the interview.
Working with hearing loss
Hearing loss can effect your work, even if it’s mild. But having it treated will frequently get rid of any barriers you face with neglected hearing impairment. Call us today – we can help!