How to Persuade Someone to Get a Hearing Test

We don’t need to inform you of the signs and symptoms of hearing loss; you already know them all too well. You have a different type of problem: persuading someone you care about to get their hearing tested and treated.

But exactly how are you supposed to get through to someone who denies there is even an issue, or that merely shrugs it off as “just part of getting old”?

It turns out that it’s not as simple as just telling them that they need their hearing examined. They won’t see the need, and you won’t get very far with threats, ultimatums, or other coercive approaches.

While it may seem like an impossible scenario, there are other, more subtle strategies you can employ. In fact, you can draw from the massive body of social scientific research that signifies which strategies of persuasion have been determined to be the most consistently successful.

In other words, you can use tested, researched, and proven persuasive strategies that have been shown to actually work. It’s worth a chance, right? And perusing the strategies might help you to think of additional ideas.

With that said, the following are 6 scientifically tested techniques of persuasion and how you might use them to persuade a loved one to get their hearing tested:

1. Reciprocity

What it is:

The basic principle of reciprocity is straight forward: if someone does a favor for you, you’re strongly compelled to return the favor for them.

How to use it:

Timing is everything. You plan on requesting your loved one to get their hearing checked at some point anyway, so why don’t you make the request right after you’ve done something special for them?

2. Commitment and Consistency

What it is:

We all have a strong psychological desire to think and act consistently.

How to use it:

The trick is to start with small commitments ahead of making the final request. If you start off by ordering your loved one to get a hearing test, you almost certainly won’t see much success.

Alternatively, ease into the topic by casually sharing an article on hearing loss and how common it is. Without mentioning their own hearing loss, get them to disclose that hearing loss is a larger issue than they had believed.

As soon as they concede to some basic facts, it may be easier to talk about their own personal hearing loss, and they may be more likely to admit that they have a problem.

3. Social Proof

What it is:

We tend to think in terms of “safety in numbers.” We are inclined to stick to the crowd, and we assume that if lots of other people are doing something, it must be trusted or effective.

How to use it:

There are at a minimum two ways to make use of this method. One way is to share articles on the many advantages of using hearing aids and how hearing aids heighten the quality of life for millions of people in the U.S. and across the world.

The second way to use the technique is to arrange a hearing test for yourself. Explain to your loved one that you want to check on the health of your own hearing, but that you would feel better if they went with you and had their own assessment.

4. Liking

What it is:

You’re more likely to be persuaded by individuals you personally like than by either a stranger or by someone you dislike.

How to use it:

Enlist the assistance of people you know your loved one likes or respects. Try to find that one person whom your loved one consistently seems to respond to, and have that person discuss and recommend a hearing test.

5. Authority

What it is:

We are inclined to listen to and respect the suggestions of those we perceive as authority figures.

How to use it:

Share articles on how celebrities, athletes, and other prominent figures use and benefit from hearing aids. You can also share articles from reliable sources that summarize the advantages of having your hearing tested. For example, the World Health Organization just recently published an article titled “1.1 billion people at risk of hearing loss.”

6. Scarcity

What it is:

Scarcity causes a sense of urgency when what we want is perceived as limited or in short supply. Scarcity creates the perception that, if we don’t act promptly, we may lose something on a permanent basis.

How to use it:

Recent research has connected hearing loss to quite a few dangerous conditions, including Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, memory impairment, and rapid cognitive decline. Hearing loss also gets worse as time goes by, so the earlier it’s dealt with, the better.

To implement scarcity, share articles, such as our preceeding blog post titled 8 reasons hearing loss is more dangerous than you think, with your loved one. Show them that each day spent with untreated hearing loss worsens the hearing loss, deteriorates health, and heightens the risk of developing more dangerous conditions.

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If all else fails, just give it to them straight. Explain to your loved ones how their hearing loss affects you, together with how it’s affecting your relationship. When you make it about your needs and feelings rather than theirs, the response is usually better.

Have you had success persuading someone to have their hearing tested? Let us know your approach in a comment.

Source

The six principles of persuasion were developed by Dr. Robert Cialdini, and can be found in his book titled “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.”