All of us know someone either intimately or through our daily relationships who is hard of hearing. Not deaf, mind you, but there are a many individuals who through old age or other circumstances do not hear as well as they used to in the past.

Instead of yelling and screaming into their ears every time you want to be heard by someone who is hard of hearing, consider these courtesy suggestions instead:

1. Speak face to face with the person, and not with your head turned away from them. Likewise do not call out to a person if you are in another room of the house or on different levels of a building.

2. When speaking, try to make sure there is nothing in your mouth that could obstruct your vocal waves when you are speaking to the hard-of-hearing person.

3. Lower the volume of the TV, radio, or any machine that makes noises (such as a fan, motorcycle, etc) to prevent any disturbances that may prevent the person from hearing you properly.

4. Do not cover your face while speaking with the person. Make sure that your face and your mouth is totally unobstructed while you are speaking directly to the hard-of-hearing individual.

By following some of these common sense guidelines, you can help promote a better environment for your fellow person to live in and be understood without any excessive efforts on your part.