Just picture for a minute you’re a salesperson. Now picture that you have a call scheduled today with a really valuable client. Numerous agents from their offices have gathered to talk about whether to employ your business for the job. All of the various voices get a little jumbled and difficult to understand. But you’re pretty certain you got the gist of it.
Cranking up the speaker just makes it sound more distorted. So you just do your best at filling in the blanks. You’re quite good at that.
As you try to listen, the voices sound particularly muffled for around a minute. Then all of a sudden 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 sure what issue they’re attempting to resolve. This is your contract and your boss is depending on you. So now what?
Should you confess you didn’t hear them and ask them to repeat what they said? They may 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. Oftentimes, they try to pretend they’re okay and wing it.
So in general, how is your work being impacted by your hearing loss? Let’s find out.
Unequal pay
A representative sampling of 80,000 people was collected by The Better Hearing Institute utilizing the same approach that the Census Bureau uses.
People who have neglected hearing loss earn, on average, $12,000 less per year.
Hey, that’s not fair!
Hearing loss effects your overall performance so it isn’t difficult to understand the above example. The deal couldn’t be closed, unfortunately. When they thought that the salesperson wasn’t listening to them, they pulled out. They decided to go with a company that listens better.
He lost out on a commission of $1000.
It was only a misunderstanding. But that doesn’t change the effect on his career. How might things have been different if he were using his hearing aids?
On the Job Injuries
A study reported in the Journal of The American Medical Association found that individuals with untreated hearing loss are almost 30% more likely to have a significant work accident. And, your chance of ending up in the emergency room after a serious fall goes up by 300% according to other research.
And it may come as a shock that individuals with minor hearing loss had the highest chance among those with hearing loss. 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 lot to gain from you:
- Experience
- Empathy
- Skills
- Personality
- Confidence
Hearing loss shouldn’t overshadow these. But it is frequently a factor. You may not even know how great an impact on your job it’s having. Take measures to minimize the impact like:
- Recognize that when you’re interviewing, you aren’t required to divulge that you have hearing loss. And the interviewer may not ask. But the other side is whether your hearing loss will have an effect on your ability to have a good interview. In that case, you might decide to disclose this before the interview.
- Request that you get a hearing aid compatible (HAC) phone. The sound goes directly into your ear instead of through background noise. You will need hearing aids that will work with this technology to use one.
- Use your hearing aids at work every day, all the time. If you have your hearing aids in you may not even require many of the accommodations.
- Be certain your work area is brightly lit. Even if you don’t read lips, looking directly at them can help you discern what’s being said.
- Requesting a written overview/agenda before attending a meeting. Discussions will be easier to follow.
- If a job is going to be beyond your capability you need to speak up. Your boss may, for instance, ask you to go and do some work in an area of the building that can be very loud. So that you can make up for it, offer to undertake a different job. If you do that, your boss won’t think you’re coping out.
- In order to have it in writing, it’s not a bad idea to draft up a sincere accommodations letter for your boss.
- Face people when you’re conversing with them. Try not to talk on the phone as much as you can.
Working with hearing loss
Hearing loss can impact your work, even if it’s minor. But having it treated will frequently get rid of any barriers you face with neglected hearing loss. We can help so give us a call!