Look out, world, the Sales Superstar is back! Sure, she had a bit of a rough patch there when her performance on the job was struggling, but now that she’s wearing her hearing aids (and her office phone is connected via Bluetooth) there’s no stopping her.
And her comeback all started with a hearing test. She’d hate to imagine what her career track might look like if she hadn’t gone in–if she had continued to ignore the signs of hearing loss. Things might not look so bright.
Hearing loss and your career
Whether it comes on slow and stealthy or suddenly and swift, hearing loss can throw a wrench in your routine around the office. There are, of course, the obvious impacts: your co-workers can become more difficult to understand. You might not pick up on instructions or cues directed your way during meetings or on conference calls. Misunderstandings may become more common.
And, depending on your job, your basic duties might become more challenging. The “Sales Superstar” spends all day on the phone, and that can lead to direct complications because many types of hearing loss can make phone conversations especially difficult–voices will sound especially muffled and garbled.
These impacts can be even more frustrating if you don’t know you have hearing loss. So undergoing hearing tests–especially when you notice early symptoms–can you prepare for any work-related challenges that might be on your horizon.
How hearing aids can boost your career
According to one prominent survey, 91% of hearing aid users report that their devices are useful on the job. That’s a huge margin! What’s going on there? Well, think about how often you use your hearing while you’re at work!
- Taking phone calls with clients or team members.
- Conferences and meeting with your team to share results and kick-off new projects.
- Everyday interpersonal communication with your team members.
- Even on the factory floor, where you might use hearing protection, a hearing aid can still help you maintain awareness of your surroundings.
- Maintaining social norms and niceties with the people around you. (When someone says “hello,” they might feel ignored if you don’t return the greeting–they have no way of knowing you simply didn’t hear them).
When hearing aids help you hear better–that is, after all, their primary function–they can also improve your overall performance at work. That’s certainly the case with the Sales Superstar, who is looking forward to hearing her customers with crystal clarity on the phone.
New technology boosts performance
The Sales Superstar is also taking advantage of some improvements in hearing aid technology. Her hearing aids can connect to her phone via Bluetooth. In the old days (okay, they aren’t that old), holding a handset up to your hearing aids could cause some unpleasant feedback.
Routing the call right to your hearing aid via Bluetooth solves that problem and improves the clarity of the sound. So you can hear a phone call better than ever. That might be why you’re headed right for a promotion.
And that might be why those same hearing aid-equipped survey respondents reported higher salaries than hearing-impaired non-users (29%-24%). There are many ways that your hearing aid could introduce efficiencies or boost your overall performance. And, in many cases, that can lead to a happier employee–and a bigger paycheck.
A smoother work experience
Hearing aids are designed and built to improve life in general, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised when they also succeed in making your daily work routines a little easier too.
There will be less to get in the way of your work–and your enjoyment of your work.
And that’s the real reason why the Sales Superstart was so happy to be back at peak efficiency. Sure, the added success is nice. But the best part is knowing that nothing will be getting in the way of doing her work to the best of her ability. So she feels like she’s back–back on top and back to her old self.
