1. COACH LOVED ONES.

Most people without hearing loss never learned how to effectively communicate with someone who has hearing difficulty. They’ll appreciate the input.

2. BE STRATEGIC.

Choose a spot with good light (for lipreading) that’s away from any music and isn’t surrounded by people.

3. TURN IT DOWN.

TV, radio, and other sounds can get in the way of the conversation, so be sure to limit background noise.

4. LOOK AT THE PERSON SPEAKING.

Some of today’s tech focuses on sounds in front and fi lters out noise elsewhere.

5. ASK FOR REPHRASING.

The most common hearing loss type involves loss of clarity — not volume. If you miss something, ask the speaker to rephrase it.