Hey SF peeps,
I read a lot of threads here but rarely contribute because I often feel I don’t have anything valuable to add. Many times, I’ll type out a reply, only to tell myself it’s a load of nonsense and delete it before posting. However, this forum has been incredibly helpful to me, and I’d really like to give something back.
Excuse the blog-style write-up, I wanted to make my points as clear as possible 
As the title implies, I’m hearing-impaired. I’m profoundly deaf in my left ear and have about 30% hearing loss in my right. I also have severe tinnitus in both ears.
I moved to France 11 years ago, already dealing with ear issues that started when I was 15. Over the past 11 years, my hearing has worsened—not surprising. By the way, no need to feel sorry for me! I’m just sharing this for context.
What I want to share is how I’ve managed to learn French and communicate more easily. This might help those of you with hearing impairments, but also anyone learning French.
For further context, my French level depends on the situation and topic. I’m a solid B1—sometimes veering towards B2 in real-life conversations, though I wouldn’t pass a B2 exam. After 11 years, I should be fluent. Alas, my hearing impairment holds me back… or maybe that’s just a brilliant excuse! Either way, I refuse to let it stop me from making progress.
Making the Most of Your Senses
First off, using all of your senses when learning a language helps immensely. We all know about listening, speaking, reading, and writing. But what about feeling?
Physical sensation can reinforce learning. It can be as simple as physically writing things down with pen and paper, which deepens your connection to the language. Another way is to do something enjoyable—walking, dancing, cooking—whilst immersing yourself in French. This works because positive emotions help reinforce memory. I believe that negative emotions do the same thing, but please, we don’t want any of those feelings!
The Importance of Listening (Yes, Especially If You’re Hard of Hearing!)
No matter your level, you need to do three things:
Listen, listen, and listen!
Think you’re listening enough? You’re not! Listen more!
Pronunciation goes hand in hand with listening. I know this because when I suddenly lost hearing in my left ear, my English pronunciation regressed. It was bizarre. It proves that we constantly self-correct, even in our native language.
I’m also one of those people who unintentionally starts mimicking other accents. In fact, when I was a child, I used to spend the summer holidays with my nan, who was from South Africa. She had a really strong Afrikaans accent. Guess who went back to school in September with a peculiar way of speaking? Yup, this idiot here! Anyway, I digress… 
This is why listening is crucial to language acquisition.
A Fun Trick for Pronunciation
Haters are going to hate, but this next trick is hilarious (I’m a woman-child, I know!). To improve your pronunciation, intonation, and other fancy “-tion” words related to sounding more natural in French, try this:
Mimic a native French speaker speaking English.
Let me explain with an example. Take Emmanuel Macron—his English is nice, he’s articulate, and his grammar is fab. But… he is unmistakably French, and that’s what we want to tap into.
You don’t even need to know any French! I love copying Eric Cantona because I bloody love that guy! You get the French way of pronunciation, the filler noises, along with the rhythm of French. Go on, try it!
I adore this video by David Huxtable—he explains this method better than I do. He even talks about the French resting face (or something like that).
Watch it here!
Talking to Yourself in French
Without coming across as a nut job (though I’m okay with that label), I talk and think to myself in French all the time. Walking, cycling, shopping—you name it—I’m either talking out loud or thinking in French.
This helps reinforce what I’ve already learnt and reveals the many gaps in my knowledge (and trust me, there are plenty!).
A great time to do this is at night. Recap your day in French or think about your plans for tomorrow. Bonus: Doing this at night helps me fall asleep in minutes! Win-win.
Best part? Thinking in French is free, you can do it anytime, and since it’s in your head, there’s no fear of judgment! (Not from others, anyway… 
)
Awareness of Your Environment
Being more conscious of your surroundings is a useful skill. As someone with hearing loss, I’ve become very good at reading the room. I notice things subconsciously, allowing me to understand complex situations even when my language skills alone aren’t enough.
I think we all do this to some extent, especially as immigrants who aren’t fluent. I wish I could explain how to develop this skill, but maybe someone more articulate can help out?
Controlling Your Environment
One of the best things you can do is shape your environment to suit your needs.
- Seating: If someone is opposite me, I can lip-read and rely on facial expressions. If they’re to my left (my deaf side), forget it.
- Lighting: I struggle in dimly lit places.
- Background noise: Absolute nightmare! It leads to instant isolation, which can mess with confidence and self-esteem.
To illustrate how environment matters: I teach English online. My home office is quiet, I wear headphones, and I can see my students’ faces. This setup allows me to do my job well. However, I couldn’t teach in a traditional classroom with echoes and constant background noise.
Tell People You’re Hard of Hearing
By far, the most useful thing you can do: tell people you’re hard of hearing.
This simple act has saved me countless times. I don’t know why I was so reluctant to mention it before!
On that note, ask people to stick to one topic of conversation. If they change the subject, ask them to clarify. Knowing the topic upfront means less guesswork.
It’s all about finding solutions. Many of these solutions are already within you—it’s just about recognising and refining them.
Long-Term Concerns and Language Maintenance
One of my biggest concerns is growing older in France and struggling to communicate if my hearing worsens. Technology helps, and I’m grateful for how much we can do online.
I’ve also started learning French Sign Language (LSF)—it’s so much fun!
That said, my late mother-in-law lost the ability to communicate in any language in her later years, so in the end, spoken language wouldn’t have mattered. It’s a reminder that connection is about so much more than words.
Some of you may have moved to France, learned the language, and then started to lose your hearing. Any advice on maintaining language skills while being hard of hearing?
Final Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! 
If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer. Apologies in advance if I take forever to reply… I tend to overthink before pressing ‘send’!
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this topic.
Stay wonderful 
Okay, maybe not always, but sometimes, especially in casual chats, it’s better to keep the flow going rather than stress over every single word.
