Just picture for a minute you’re a salesperson. Now picture that you have a call scheduled today with a really important client. Your company is being looked at for a job and numerous people from your company have come together on a conference call. As the call goes on, voices go up and down…and are at times hard to hear. But you’re hearing most 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’ve become fairly good at that.
There comes a point in the discussion where things become particularly hard to hear. This is the stage where the potential client says “so precisely how will your company help us solve this?””
You panic. You didn’t hear the last few minutes and aren’t certain what issue they’re attempting to solve. This is your contract and your boss is depending on you. So now what?
Should you admit you didn’t hear them and ask them to reprise what they said? They’ll think you were distracted. What about relying on some slippery sales jargon? No, that will be too conspicuous.
Every single day, individuals everywhere go through situations like this at work. They try to read between the lines and get by.
So in general, how is your work being impacted by your hearing loss? The following will help us find out.
Unequal pay
A representative sampling of 80,000 people was collected by The Better Hearing Institute utilizing the same technique that the Census Bureau uses.
They found that individuals who have neglected hearing loss earn around $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. Sadly, he didn’t close the deal. When they got the impression that the salesperson wasn’t listening to them, they went with someone else. They didn’t want to deal with a company that doesn’t listen.
His commission on this deal would have been over $1000.
It was just a misunderstanding. But that doesn’t change the effect on his career. How might things have been different if he were wearing his hearing aids?
Injuries on at work
A study reported in the Journal of The American Medical Association found that people with neglected hearing loss are nearly 30% more likely to suffer a serious work accident. Studies have also revealed a 300% increased danger of having a significant fall and ending up in the emergency room.
And people with only mild hearing loss were at the highest risk, unexpectedly! Perhaps they don’t recognize that hearing loss of any type impairs an individual at work.
How to have a prosperous career with hearing loss
You have a lot to offer an employer:
- Experience
- Confidence
- Personality
- Skills
- Empathy
Hearing loss shouldn’t overshadow these. But it is often a factor. You might not even recognize how great an effect on your job it’s having. Take actions to lessen the impact like:
- Before attending a meeting, ask if you can get a written agenda and outline. It will be easier to keep up with the conversation.
- Keep a well lit work area. Even if you’re not a lip reader, looking directly at them can help you make out what’s being said.
- Be aware that you’re not required to divulge that you have hearing loss during an interview. And it isn’t okay for the interviewer to ask. However, you may need to consider if your neglected hearing loss will impact your ability to have a successful interview. In that situation, you may decide to divulge this before the interview.
- Request a phone that is HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible). The sound goes directly into your ear instead of through background noise. You will require hearing aids that are compatible with this technology to use one.
- Wear your hearing aids while you’re at work every day, at all times. If you have your hearing aids in you might not even require many of the accommodations.
- Speak up when a job is beyond your abilities. For instance, your boss may want you to cover for somebody who works in a noisy area. In order to make up for it, offer to undertake a different job. That way, it never seems like you’re not doing your part.
- So that you have it in writing, it’s a good plan to draft up a sincere accommodations letter for your boss.
- Face people when you’re speaking with them. Try not to have phone conversations as much as you can.
Hearing loss at work
Even if you have mild hearing loss, it can still impact your performance at work. But having it treated will frequently minimize any obstacles you face with neglected hearing impairment. We can help so call us!