This week (May 1-7, 2023) is Deaf Awareness Week!

The theme this year is Deaf Inclusion, which highlights how hearing loss impacts daily life and how others can help support deaf people. Being deaf brings unique challenges that not everyone will experience.

This Deaf Awareness Week, I’m bringing attention to Single-Sided Deafness (SSD), a type of unilateral hearing loss, where a person has no or limited access to sound in one ear. 

SSD presents unique practical consequences, including the following:

• Difficulty locating sounds

• Problems hearing speech over background noise, e,g. In social situations such as cafes or restaurants 

• Struggling to gauge volume levels 

• Feeling disorientated in crowded environments 

• Difficulty multitasking

This subject is close to my heart as I have lived with SSD since my sudden hearing loss in 2016. Here I share some of the challenges that come with SSD, ways you can help support people with SSD, and how to advocate for yourself if you have SSD.

1. Challenge: Difficulty hearing conversation in background noise

Advocacy:

• Ask to turn the music down 

• Find a corner to help reduce background noise

• Move away from the background noise, such as to another room or outside

Support:

• Face the person with SSD and speak clearly

• Use facial expressions and gestures 

• Ask the person with SSD if there’s anything you can do to help aid the conversation
  

  2. Challenge: Finding a table in a restaurant where you can hear the conversation

Advocacy:

• Ask for a corner table or a table against a wall, where background noise is limited

• If possible sit outside

• Reserve a table at an off-peak time to avoid crowds of people

• Sit with your better-hearing ear facing toward the person you are speaking to

• Request the music volume is lowered

• Ask for repetition when needed

• Make sure you can see the faces of the people at your table

• If someone is sitting on your deaf side, either request to sit at the end of a table or ask them to kindly get your attention before speaking to you

• Ask a loved one to sit on your deaf side, so they can fill you in on anything you miss

Support:

• When making a restaurant reservation where there will be a loved one or colleague with SSD, ask for a corner table or a table by the wall

• When at the restaurant, allow the person with SSD to select their seat first
  

  3. Challenge: Inability to hear someone on your deaf side

Advocacy: 

• Ensure you walk with the person you are speaking to on your hearing side

• Make sure the person you are speaking to is aware of your hearing loss

Support:

• Be careful not to switch sides, for example, when crossing the road or stopping to look at something in a shop window 

• When possible, turn your head towards the person with SSD when speaking to them

• Avoid turning your head in the opposite direction while talking
  

  4. Challenge: Inability to determine where someone is calling you from

Advocacy:  

• Request that loved ones and colleagues make sure you can see them before trying to get your attention or speaking to you

Support:

• When trying to get the attention of someone with SSD, make sure they can see you before calling their name

  
  
  
  
  
  

  5. Challenge: Tiredness from listening with one ear

Advocacy: 

• Make sure you take listening breaks and rest when you need to 

Support:

• Be understanding if a colleague or loved one with SSD needs some time-out or a break from communication

Need some support?

Through coaching, I support people with all types of hearing loss, including SSD, to move forward with positivity and achieve their goals. If you would like some support with any of the challenges mentioned above or are wondering whether coaching might be for you, click on the following link to arrange a free 15-minute discovery call.

I look forward to meeting you!