Floyd Niemeyer has an embarrassing story.

Niemeyer was shopping with his good friend Betty Plummer.

The two were discussing which earrings Plummer should buy. As Plummer browsed the rest of the store, a clerk walked over to Niemeyer and asked him a question. Niemeyer responded loudly, which the clerk interpreted as yelling.

The store clerk was a victim of a communication breakdown.

Niemeyer had been speaking loudly previously so Plummer could understand him. But when the clerk spoke to him, Niemeyer forgot to take a second to think about to whom he was talking to and to adjust his volume.

Plummer, his friend, is hard of hearing.

As participants in the new hearing rehabilitation sessions offered by the department of communication disorders and sciences, Niemeyer, 73, and Plummer, 72, will gain the knowledge and tools to avoid these types of embarrassing situations.

The two Mattoon residents saw an ad for the workshop in a newspaper and decided they would give it a try.

“We thought, ‘Well, if there is something here that we can pick up that will help us communicate or help (Plummer) communicate with other people, then it’s worth the drive over here,'” Niemeyer said.

The hearing rehabilitation sessions meet one day a week for four weeks and last one hour.

The sessions will be offered three times throughout the fall semester. This is the first year for the program.

During sessions, participants discuss challenges they or their partner have and learn strategies for coping with their difficulties. Participants also get the chance to explore different hearing aid and alternative device options.

Plummer and Niemeyer have both found that being in a group setting allows them to learn from other couples and helps them feel comfortable sharing their own experiences.

“I think you learn to talk about it more,” Plummer said. “You don’t just confine yourself or you don’t say, ‘I’m different, so I’m not going to talk about it.'”

Niemeyer said he believes when a person is having a problem understanding something that is said, they should speak up. He said when someone does not have a visible hearing aid, most people do not know they have hearing difficulties. They do not realize how much of a problem being hard of hearing is.

“Betty’s a big shopper, so she needs to be able to communicate,” Niemeyer joked.

Plummer has been experiencing problems with her hearing for about three years and this is not the first time she has sought help.

She has tried a few different types of hearing aids, but said she does not like the feeling of her head being “plugged up.” Information presented at the workshop has helped her decide to try a different type of aid, one that will not be as noticeable as those she has tried before.

Without a hearing aid, Plummer faces many challenges in her everyday life. Activities such as talking on the phone or going to a restaurant can be frustrating and can cause tension between friends.

Plummer said she finds watching television with another person to be one of the most difficult challenges her hearing loss presents her with.

In order to understand what is being said on television, Plummer has to have the volume turned up to a loud setting. However, if a person who is not hearing impaired is watching television with her, having the volume at a high setting can be uncomfortable and not enjoyable for the person with a normal hearing capacity.

Dr. Candice Osenga runs the rehabilitation sessions and said hearing problems affect not only the person with the problem, but the people around them as well.

“Some people will even stop asking each other questions or carrying on normal conversations at home because they don’t want it to end up in an argument,” she said.

Onsenga said she helps some of her clients’ friends or family better understand what the hearing impaired person is going through by using a computer which can simulate the type of hearing loss that person experiences.

Osenga said family and friends of the hearing impaired can make situations less frustrating by speaking clearly, being in the same room as the person they are talking to and pausing a bit longer in between words.

Those who are interested in joining a session are encouraged to attend with a partner, either a family member or friend.

“Communication is a two-way street,” Osenga said. “It’s really important for both sides of the communication to understand strategies to help the other hear better or, in return, for the hearing impaired person to give them suggestions.”

Floyd Niemeyer of Mattoon discusses how frustrating it has been to try and communicate with his friend, Betty Plummer, after she started losing some of her hearing. Robbie Wroblewski/Daily Eastern News

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