Co-worker needs hearing test ... advice on how to handle?

In My Humble Opinion
1

She has repeatedly ignored patrons (library speak for customers) and other staff, myself included, who speak to her.

On my own, I came up with the idea of asking her if she was angry with me, in the hopes of turning the conversation into a “well-if-you-aren’t-ignoring-me-why-don’t-you-answer-me” kind of a thing. I decided that was too roundabout.

Any advice on taking this forward? Hearing loss is insidious and an assault to many people’s vanity, so it’s something I would really like to handle as decorously as possible.

2

Complain to your boss. Let him/her deal with it.

3

I don’t see anything wrong about asking her that in a nice, polite manner. Maybe she really doesn’t know she isn’t hearing so well. I don’t think it would hurt to ask.

4

First, is this a new situation or is this person a fairly new hire?

If they are a fairly new hire, the boss may already be aware of a possible hearing loss. If she’s been around for a while and it’s a recent development, I’d still go to the supervisor/boss, because it may be something they are aware of - or they may not, and need to be.

I just have a hard time seeing it as something a coworker can bring up (unless you’ve worked together for a long time and consider each other friends) without maybe coming across as invading her privacy.

5

If it’s affecting her job performance, bring it to your boss’s attention, otherwise I don’t feel it’s your place to insist she get her hearing tested or get a hearing aid should it be determined that she needs one. When my last hearing aid went bad, I simply couldn’t afford a new one and I didn’t care that people would have to repeat things to me. My friends knew that if I wasn’t looking at them, they should expect to repeat themselves. Anyone else could bugger off unless they wanted to fork up the cash for a hearing aid. It didn’t affect my job since I work with computers.
My friends did joke about it and I know I sometimes frustrated them but they sometimes frustrated me too so it all evens out.
I wear two hearing aids and even with all that, I’m never going to hear as well as normal folks. If you’re a friend, you’re just going to have to make allowances and if not, it isn’t your place to bother this person about it.