Communicating with people with a hearing loss in person

Face the person you are talking to and make sure there are no barriers between you (if possible)
Make sure the lighting is good and they can see your face clearly
Speak naturally and at a moderate speed
Do not shout as this distorts the words
Do not mumble, speak clearly and at a reasonable level
Make sure they know who they are speaking to and what the conversation is about
Remove as much background noise as you can
Some patients have a telecoil setting on their hearing aids, if available make use of the telecoil microphones in the reception area (all receptions should have these)
Give the person time to process what you have said
Check regularly that what you have said has been understood
Be prepared to be patient and to repeat what you have said
Get straight to the point and don’t pad out conversations with unnecessary words
If a patient has not understood after repeating the information a few times, rephrase the information
Consider alternative methods such as writing it down