Just picture for a minute you’re a salesperson. Today, you’re on a very important call with a potential client. Numerous representatives from their offices have come together to discuss whether to hire your company for the job. As the call continues, voices go up and down…and are at times difficult to hear. But you’re hearing most of it.
And it sounds distorted and even less clear when you continue cranking up the volume. So you simply do your best, interpreting what’s being said the best you can. You’ve become fairly good at that.
There comes a point in the conversation where things become particularly difficult to hear. Then suddenly you hear, “so what can your company do to assist 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 conversation. This is your deal and your boss is depending on you. So now what?
Should you acknowledge you didn’t hear them and ask them to reprise what they said? They’ll think you were distracted. What about resorting to some slippery sales jargon? No, they’ll see right through that.
Every single day, people everywhere go through situations like this while working. They attempt to read between the lines and cope.
So in general, how is your work being impacted by your hearing loss? The following will help us find out.
Unequal pay
The Better Hearing Institute surveyed 80,000 individuals utilizing the same approach the Census Bureau uses to obtain a representative sampling.
They found that people who have neglected hearing loss make about $12,000 less per year than those who are able to hear.
That doesn’t seem fair!
Hearing loss effects your general performance so it isn’t difficult to understand the above example. The deal couldn’t be closed, sadly. When they thought that the salesperson wasn’t paying attention to them, they went with someone else. They decided to work with a company that listens better.
His commission on this contract would have been more than $1000.
The circumstances were misinterpreted. But how do you think this affected his career? If he was wearing hearing aids, imagine how different things could have been.
Injuries on at work
People who have neglected hearing loss are nearly 30% more likely to incur a serious on-the-job injury according to a study conducted by the American Medical Association. And, your risk of ending up in the emergency room after a significant fall increases by 300% according to other research.
And it may come as a shock that people with mild hearing loss had the highest danger among those with hearing loss. Perhaps, their hearing loss is minor enough that they don’t even know about 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
- Personality
- Empathy
- Confidence
- Experience
These positive qualities shouldn’t be overshadowed by hearing loss. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t be a factor. It could be affecting your job more than you know. Here are some ways to reduce that impact:
- Speak up when a job surpasses your abilities. Your boss may, for instance, ask you to go and do some work in an area of the building that can be really loud. In order to make up for it, offer to undertake a different task. By doing that, your boss won’t think you’re coping out.
- Keep a well lit work area. Being able to see lips can help you follow along even if you’re not a lip reader.
- Face people when you’re conversing with them. Try to keep phone calls to a minimum.
- Know that you’re not required to divulge that you have hearing loss during an interview. And it’s not okay for the interviewer to ask. But the other side is whether your hearing loss will have an impact on your ability to have a successful interview. In that case, you might choose to reveal this before the interview.
- In order to have it in writing, it’s a good plan to draft up a respectful accommodations letter for your boss.
- Requesting a written outline/agenda before a meeting. It will be easier to follow the discussion.
- Request that you get a hearing aid compatible (HAC) phone. The sound doesn’t go through background noise but instead goes directly into your ear. In order to utilize this technology you will require a hearing aid that’s appropriate.
- Wear your hearing aids while your working every day, at all times. If you have your hearing aids in you may not even need many of the accommodations.
Working with hearing loss
Even if you have slight hearing loss, it can still effect your performance at work. But lots of the challenges that untreated hearing loss can create will be solved by getting it treated. We can help so give us a call!