Communicating with people with a hearing loss on the telephone

Speak directly into the phone’s mouthpiece (but don’t hold it too close)
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
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 email, SMS or text relay (if patient uses), see link below for information on text relay.