Plea for locals to get involved in Deaf Awareness Week
CAITHNESS residents have been urged to mark Deaf Awareness Week by following a deaf charity’s top communication tips.
Action on Hearing Loss has released advice on how to communicate with people with hearing loss to coincide with Deaf Awareness Week which runs from May 6 to 12.
People are invited to visit the charity’s website at www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk
The website includes a challenge to lip-read and guess what is said in examples of everyday conversation to see just how confusing it can be.
To ease this, people should make sure they have the person’s attention before they start speaking; talk in places with good lighting so people can be lip-read, with little or no background noise.
People should face the person so they can be lip-read and speak clearly, using plain language, normal lip movements and facial expressions. It is advised to check whether the person understands what is being said and, if not, try to say it in a different way.
People should also keep their voice down as it can be uncomfortable for a hearing aid user if someone is shouting at them.
Learning finger spelling or some basic British Sign Language is said to be useful to put deaf people at their ease.
Delia Henry, director of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, said: “One in six Caithness residents have some form of hearing loss and many will avoid social occasions or have difficulty at work because they struggle to follow conversations when speaking with people who are not deaf aware.”
Action on Hearing Loss is also encouraging Caithness residents to ‘ZIP IT!’ by holding a sponsored silence in school, college or their workplace to raise vital funds for the charity’s life-changing work supporting people with hearing loss.