There are lots of ways to move up the ladder in your career, from on-the-job training to networking to getting a degree. If you’re among the 15% of U.S. adults with hearing loss, hearing aids are another tool you can use to your advantage. Let’s look at three ways they can influence your career.
1. Reducing Auditory Fatigue
Auditory fatigue, also called listening fatigue, is the mental exhaustion people with hearing loss feel after communication-heavy days. You might have noticed that you feel worn out, or even too tired to focus on your work, after a day of meetings. Eventually, if you have enough days like that, your on-the-job performance can suffer.
Hearing aids are a coworker that shares the burden of your mental workload. By amplifying voices and reducing the amount of effort you have to exert to understand others, they allow you to preserve your energy for your daily tasks.
2. Reducing Misunderstandings
Depending on your job, you might need to communicate or understand dozens of things throughout the day. They could be simple, like your boss telling you there’s a meeting at 2:15, or more complex, like the details of a big assignment. When hearing loss dulls speech sounds, it’s easy for information to get jumbled around.
For example, if your boss tells you there’s a meeting at 2:15, and hearing loss muffles his speech, you might hear 2:50 and show up at the wrong time. Hearing aids reduce the likelihood of those misunderstandings by bringing the correct time right to your ears.
In addition to hearing aids, you can employ communication strategies at work to minimize errors. You can double-check unclear information, ask questions, request written materials or grab a centrally located seat during meetings to improve comprehension.
3. Strengthen Communication
Building strong office relationships and networking outside your main organization are key to an upward career trajectory. Unfortunately, struggling to understand what others are saying can make it harder, but not impossible, to move up the ladder. When hearing aids help you connect with your coworkers or contacts, whether you’re chatting at work or going out for a post-work happy hour at Courthaus Social, you can build stronger professional relationships.
Remember to speak up for yourself at work. Hearing loss shouldn’t mean that you’re left out of the conversation. Talk to your HR department or manager about accommodations that can help you stay in the flow.
Hearing loss doesn’t need to hold you back. If you don’t already have hearing aids, contact us at ENT Specialists Of Northern Virginia today to schedule a treatment consultation. If you wear hearing aids but they aren’t quite meeting your needs, call us for a service & repair appointment so we can check their settings.