How do (hearing impaired) I become more inclusive in work environments?

[Anonymous]

Here is some background about me and the office.

• The said office has more than 100 people in an open office setup on a single floor.
• Only started working at the office 3 times a week after COVID July this year.
• I'm an ambivert but have more introverted tendencies. Like I'm really bad at creating connections if not in a one-to-one setup. But I can ace in a one-to-one setup without many problems. The office is too big for this and even one-to-one interactions are very limited and occur in a very short time span to make connections.
• I have a born hearing impairment which makes really hard to catch what people say in the background, so it is not easy to join ongoing conversations if it isn't audible to a certain level.

Obviously, not everyone at the office knows this, so people think I'm weird or don't care about them. So they distance themselves from me. Not even smile at me when passing which is really painful to me. They pretend I'm not there when they talk to someone near me or deliberately avoid talking to someone if I'm around. Or drag them aside when they want to talk to them.

Again obviously this happens mostly with the females. But that is not the point.

How do I make this less weird and make myself not so distanced from the others?

PS: I dunno this is related but there was a girl (who is also kind of my second boss) who liked me first but I didn't want to start a work romance so I backed up. And she has quite an influence around the office. I suspect it has to do something about this because after I backed up, the intensity of happening this has risen. But I dunno for sure, maybe it's just in my mind.

[Oliverlogan263]

Here are some suggestions for how to be more inclusive at your workplace as a hard-of-hearing person:

- Introduce yourself to coworkers one-on-one and let them know about your hearing impairment upfront. This prevents awkwardness and allows them to communicate with you effectively.

- Use gestures and body language to show you're engaged in conversations around you even if you can't hear everything. Smile, nod along, make eye contact.

- Carry a notepad and pen to write back and forth if needed in loud areas or with masks on.

- Suggest alternate communication methods like messaging/email if long discussions are needed.

- Ask people politely to face you when speaking so you can read lips or see facial expressions.

- Let your manager know about your hearing so they can help facilitate introductions and seating arrangements.

- Sit closer to the speaker in meetings and ask people to speak up if you miss something. Don't be afraid to politely ask for repetition.

- Join company social events even if just for a short while so people know you like to participate.

- Consider getting involved with workplace inclusion initiatives to help educate others about hearing impairments.

- Be confident and don't internalize other people's behavior. Focus on the coworkers who make an effort to connect with you.

With time and effort, your colleagues will get more comfortable communicating and interacting with you. Don't lose hope - keep putting yourself out there!