No matter how conscientious an advisor is who has worked with hearing-impaired clients for years, things can and do fall through the cracks.

J.J. Burns, owner of a nine-person advisory shop in Melville, N.Y., recalled once a hearing-impaired client told his office he needed $150,000 for a vacation home.

“We said verbally fine, just give us seven days’ notice. The client didn’t hear the seven days’ notice,” said Burns.

The lapse didn’t cost the client the home because of a rush of last-minute transfer of funds and paperwork.

“It could have gone smoother,” said the advisor.

He noted a frequent problem with hearing-impaired people is they might not hear their obligations of getting something done by a certain date.

Lessons For Advisors

The lesson, said the advisor, is to put everything in writing and if at all possible, in writing when the hearing-impaired client is present.

“Seventy percent of communication is nonverbal. This shows the clarity of the communication. That it is well thought out,” said Burns.

He said added the put-it-in-writing rule is especially important in scheduling.

“We might tell a hearing-impaired client to meet Wednesday. But she might miss out on the hour,” warned Burns.

Ask Ian Windmill, president of the American Academy of Audiology, about problems advisors face with hearing-impaired clients and he can give you an earful.

Because he hears it from his own financial advisor who knows what he does.

Windmill said the advisor tells him he regularly sees hearing-impaired clients bring in their spouses for appointments so they are clear about what was said and agreed to.

To add certainty, that advisor makes sure they leave with written notes.

The Audiology Association President said there are three signs of possible hearing impairment to watch out for in phone and face-to-face conversations with clients.

• Mixing up words. When a client hears “to come” when you have said “income.”

• When a client asks you to repeat constantly.

• And, as his advisor noted, when a client brings an intermediary into the conversation in-person or on the phone.

It’s not just in conversations with advisors that the hearing impaired can encounter significant financial issues.

Avoiding loud noises is the chief way Windmill said he and his members advise to protect yourself from hearing loss.

Another caveat is to abstain from using handfuls of aspirin to kill pain.

“You can start getting hearing problems if you take 10 or more aspirin daily for three or four weeks. You really need to be careful,” said Windmill, the audiology clinical director at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.