The festive season is a time for getting together with friends, family, co-workers, and clients. While a calendar full of social occasions can be a fun, welcome distraction from the weather, these events can also be stressful, especially for people who struggle with social events due to health conditions.
We understand all too well how medical conditions that cause hearing loss can dampen the holiday mood. One of the challenges people with hearing loss most frequently report is struggling to follow conversations in busy environments such as restaurants or parties. Hearing loss can make the holiday season more stressful than fun.
If you are in a position where you are planning a get-together over the holidays, whether that event is a family dinner, a company party, or a get-together with friends, these tips can help make your event more welcoming and relaxing for guests who may experience different types of hearing loss. Everyone deserves to be at ease during this time of year.
Tips for Hosting Hearing-Friendly Holiday Parties
#1 Quieter Music
The biggest obstacle faced by people with hearing loss at parties is loud music. Everyone has experienced going to a restaurant or a party where the music was so loud that guests had to shout at each other. For people with hearing loss, an environment like that can mean having no choice but to leave early. Turning down the music can make the party more enjoyable for everyone.
#2 Brighter Lights
Many people with hearing loss adjust by learning how to lip read. Lip reading is an effective technique for supplementing what you already can hear. Lip reading is about much more than just following a person’s mouth. It involves watching for other visual cues, including body language, facial expressions, and gestures. Turning up the lights can make lip reading easier for guests with hearing loss.
#3 Use a Microphone for Speeches
Speeches are a regular part of company parties and events where there will be toasts. Getting some portable microphones for the event can make it easier for everyone to make themselves heard.
One of the benefits of hearing aids today is that some can be connected directly to devices that produce sound through Bluetooth.
#4 Create Multiple Smaller Party Areas
Another way you can help your guests with hearing loss when you host a party in your own home is to break up the party into smaller areas. You can do this by rearranging the furniture, making sure that other rooms like the kitchen or dining room are comfortable to linger in, and delineating smaller areas for smaller conversations. Following the conversation can be easier in smaller groups than when everyone is involved in the same large conversation.
#5 Use Décor to Control the Acoustics in Your Home
There are also steps that you can take to improve the acoustics in your home, such as covering the table with a table cloth and closing your curtains. These simple steps can reduce noise pollution from outside and reduce echoing within your home.
Tips for How You Can Protect Your Hearing During the Holidays
Holiday events can get loud. From New Year’s fireworks displays to loud music, you may want to take steps to protect your ears in a noisy environment. If you know that you will be attending an event in a louder, busier environment, consider taking earplugs to protect your hearing. Earplugs are cheap and easy to find at places like Amazon, Home Depot, Walmart, or Canadian Tire.
Loud noises can damage your ears, leading to temporary and permanent hearing loss. Wearing earplugs can protect your ears from sudden loud noises, such as fireworks going off too close for comfort or standing too close to speakers at a live music event.
Holiday parties are not worth risking your hearing health, but that does not mean that you cannot attend. Take the proper precautions and protect your hearing.
Tips for Individuals with Hearing Loss
Struggling to follow a conversation in a loud environment is among the most common signs of hearing loss. If you are concerned that you have hearing loss, or this holiday season has helped you realize that you may have hearing loss, book an appointment with your local audiologist. We can test your hearing and guide you through solutions like finding the ideal hearing aids for your condition.
These tips can also help you navigate the holiday season.
#1 Suggest Indoor Activities
Many people who wear hearing aids often struggle in the winter as they try to balance their ability to hear with appropriate winter wear, such as hats or earmuffs. The impact of cold weather on hearing can be substantial. Not only can apparel block sounds from entering your hearing aid, but the cold can also reduce blood flow to your ears, reducing the flexibility of hair cells in your inner ear that are integral to picking up sounds.
While outdoor activities such as New Years’ fireworks or outdoor skating can be fun and seasonal, they can prove to be challenging if you use a hearing aid.
#2 Follow One Conversation At a Time
There will be times when you find yourself in an environment that is louder or busier than you are entirely comfortable with. When you do find yourself in situations like these, help yourself by following one conversation at a time.
Individuals with hearing loss already struggle to follow a conversation. Their brain processing can become stretched thin if they attempt to follow too many people at once. Limit your focus to one conversation at a time. If there are other conversations going on around you that you find distracting, consider extracting yourself to a quieter environment.
The holidays can be a difficult time for individuals with hearing loss, and there are many events that can be loud, busy, and potentially harmful to your hearing. If you are planning events, follow the tips above to make a hearing-friendly get-together. If you have hearing loss yourself, consider taking steps to protect your hearing and find the best environments to help you follow the conversation.
