When it comes to effective listening, hearing aids are just one piece of the puzzle. Blamey Saunders hearing aids have helpful adaptive directional microphones, and the ADRO amplifying technology has been clinically shown to give listeners more help separating speech from background noise, compared with compression technology.

Even with the best hearing aids, you can give yourself an edge in the listening department with a few clever techniques. That’s because listening is actually a learned skill. 

Here are some techniques to help you optimise your daily interactions:

• Don’t be afraid to ask people to talk a little slower, and to face you. They probably won’t mind.

• Get rid of reverberate surfaces and unwanted noise, where possible. Almost no one can hear over the kettle boiling, the dish washer, or the TV.

• Become more self-empowered; if someone’s talking to you from another room but you can’t discern what they’re saying, tell them to come in and talk to you directly.

Large social groups, particularly around a dining table, are the most difficult for people with hearing loss.

Tip the situation in your favour by doing the following:

• Use your eyes to read lips, expressions and determine tonal intent. 
• Pick the seat best suited to your hearing ability. Sit so that most people are on your better side.

• Sit next to a person you have the least difficulty hearing. Beards and mustaches are difficult, as are those who cradle their face in their hand, obscuring their mouth.

• Ask the host to turn down any background noise such as music or television, and strike up a conversation with someone with a sense of patience.

• You may not be able to hear the conversation with many people talking and laughing at once, so content yourself with speaking with the people either side of you.

• If you miss something, try to ask for the part you missed; rather than saying “what?”, repeat the part you heard.

• If possible, help out in the kitchen to take a break from the dining table. But don’t wash the dishes or you’ll have your back to everyone. Offer to dry them, put food away, or just keep everyone company.

For more tips on getting the most benefit out of your hearing aids, head to the How Hearing Aids Work page on the Blamey Saunders website. Scroll to the bottom of the page and fill in the form to receive your free eBook.