An analysis of the communication tactics used by hearing-impaired adults.
The aim of this study was to establish whether and to what degree certain types of communication strategies (hearing tactics) used by hearing-impaired adults could be shown to co-occur, and to find out which strategies were more likely to be used in which type of communicative situations. A consecutive series of 100 patients attending an audiological rehabilitation clinic was given a questionnaire asking how often they used each of five different hearing tactics in 11 different situations. 'Avoidance' and 'request for repetition' were the tactics used most commonly. 'Pretending to hear/understand' and 'positioning self to improve hearing' were used less frequently, with 'interruption' the least commonly used. There was some association between tactics and situations but no clear picture emerged. In a reassessment of our methodology and results, we suggest that the future research of communication strategies would benefit from a sociolinguistic approach based on the qualitative analysis of naturally occurring discourse (conversation) of hard-of-hearing people, focusing on the use of different strategies in relation to communicators' goals in interaction.
Stephens
S D
SD
Welsh Hearing Institute, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.
Jaworski
A
A
Lewis
P
P
Aslan
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014705:Verbal Behavior