For just a moment, picture that you’re working as a salesperson. Now imagine that you have a call scheduled today with a very valuable client. Your company is being considered for a job and numerous individuals from your company have gathered on a conference call. As the call goes on, voices rise and fall…and are at times difficult to hear. But you’re fairly sure you got the gist of it.
Cranking the speaker up just makes it sound more distorted. So you simply do your best, interpreting what’s being said the best you can. You’re quite good at that.
As you try to listen, the voices sound particularly muffled for about a minute. This is the point where the potential client says “so exactly how will your company help us solve this?””
You freeze. You have no clue what their company’s issue is because you didn’t catch the last part of the conversation. Your boss is depending on you to close 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 relying on some slick sales jargon? No, they’ll see right through that.
Individuals go through situations like this every day when they are at work. They attempt to read between the lines and cope.
But how is neglected hearing loss actually impacting your work in general? The following will help us find out.
Lower wages
The Better Hearing Institute questioned 80,000 individuals utilizing the same method the Census Bureau uses to obtain a representative sampling.
They discovered that people who have neglected hearing loss earn around $12,000 less per year than people who can hear.
Hey, that isn’t fair!
Hearing loss effects your overall performance so it isn’t hard to understand the above example. Sadly, he didn’t close the deal. Everything was going very well until the client thought he wasn’t listening to them. They decided to work with a company that listens better.
His commission on this contract would have been over $1000.
The situation was misconstrued. But how do you think this impacted his career? How may things have been different if he were using his hearing aids?
Injuries on the job
Individuals who have untreated hearing loss are nearly 30% more likely to sustain a serious workplace injury according to a study conducted by the American Medical Association. And, your risk of ending up in the emergency room after a serious fall goes up by 300% according to other studies.
And people with only slight hearing loss were at the greatest risk, surprisingly! Perhaps, 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:
- Confidence
- Empathy
- Personality
- Skills
- Experience
Hearing loss shouldn’t overshadow these. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t be a factor. You might not even realize how huge an impact on your job it’s having. Take measures to lessen the impact like:
- Recognize that during a job interview, you’re not required to reveal that you have hearing loss. And the interviewer may not ask. But the other consideration is whether your hearing loss will have an effect on your ability to have a successful interview. In that situation, you might decide to reveal this before the interview.
- Be certain your work space is brightly lit. Being able to see lips can help you follow even if you don’t read lips.
- Look directly at people when you’re conversing with them. Try to keep phone calls to a minimum.
- Asking for a written overview/agenda before attending a meeting. Conversations will be easier to keep up with.
- Write a respectful accommodations letter to your boss. By doing this, you have it in writing.
- Use your hearing aids while you’re at work every day, at all times. When you do this, many of the accommodations won’t be necessary.
- Speak up when a task is beyond your abilities. Your boss may, for example, ask you to go and do some work in a part of the building that can be very loud. Offer to do something else to make up for it. This way, it never seems like you aren’t doing your part.
- Request a phone that is HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible). The sound doesn’t go through background noise but rather goes directly into your ear. In order to use this technology you will need a hearing aid that’s appropriate.
Working with hearing loss
Hearing loss can effect your work, even if it’s slight. But getting it treated will frequently eliminate any barriers you face with neglected hearing impairment. We can help so contact us!