My hearing aids aren’t acting well.
If someone doesn’t hear or understand an officer’s commands, the situation could become unfortunate.
—Charles
Hi Charles,
This is a really good question and an important issue for our community. Many people are deaf or hard of hearing, and hearing loss is not always obvious to the person they are speaking with. During a police contact, that can create confusion if someone does not hear or understand what an officer is asking them to do.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing, the most important thing you can do is make that known as early as possible. If you are able, tell the officer, “I’m hard of hearing,” “I can’t hear you,” or “I don’t understand what you’re asking me to do.” Pointing to your ear, hearing aid, communication card, visor notice, or medical I.D. bracelet can also help communicate that there is a hearing issue.
If you do not understand a direction, do not guess at what the officer said. Let the officer know that you need the instruction repeated or communicated another way. You can ask the officer to face you so you can clearly see their face, speak more slowly or louder, or reduce background noise when possible. You can also ask to use a pen and paper or request another appropriate accommodation, including an interpreter when necessary.
Background noise can make this even more difficult. Traffic, wind, sirens, radios, other people talking, and the stress of the situation itself can all make it harder for someone with hearing loss to understand what is being said.
Hearing aids also do not necessarily restore hearing to normal, and simply speaking louder may not make words any easier to understand. Asking the officer to face you, speak more slowly, or turn down a radio or other background noise may make communication much easier.
One of the most important things to remember is to keep your hands visible and calmly communicate the hearing issue. Do not suddenly reach into a glove box, center console, purse, pocket, or elsewhere to retrieve a phone, card, or other item.
If you have a communication card in your wallet or glove box, for example, tell the officer or point toward it and ask permission before reaching for it. The same applies if you want to retrieve a phone or another device to help communicate.
For someone who regularly has difficulty hearing, especially if hearing aids are unreliable, it may be worthwhile to prepare for this ahead of time. A communication card, visor notice, or medical I.D. bracelet can alert an officer that you are deaf or hard of hearing and explain the best way to communicate with you.
You can also save a short message on your phone that you can display if needed. The key is to let the officer know what you need before reaching for any of these items.
Of course, there may be situations where an officer needs someone to respond immediately because of an urgent safety concern.
The officer may also have no way of knowing at first that the person cannot hear.
That is why making the hearing difficulty known as quickly and safely as possible can be so important.
The main advice is simple: if you cannot hear or understand an officer, make that known right away.
Keep your hands visible, remain calm, avoid unexpected movements, and tell the officer what will help you communicate. Ask the officer to face you, speak more slowly or louder, reduce background noise, use a pen and paper, or provide an appropriate accommodation when needed. If you need to retrieve a communication aid, ask first before reaching for it.
Taking a few extra moments to establish clear communication can prevent a misunderstanding from becoming something more serious.
Keep your questions coming, Seal Beach! Email us at as*****@*********ca.gov today.