So, so many family celebrations.
During the holidays, it probably seems like you’re meeting (or re-meeting) a new long-lost relative almost every weekend. That’s the charm (and, some might say, the curse) of the holiday season. Normally, this type of yearly catching up is something that’s pleasing to look forward to. You get to learn what everyone’s been doing all year.
But those family get-togethers might feel less inviting when you have hearing loss. Why is that? How will your hearing loss affect you when you’re at family gatherings?
Your ability to communicate with others can be significantly effected by hearing loss, and also the ability of other people to communicate with you. The result can be a disheartening feeling of alienation, and it’s a particularly disturbing feeling when it occurs around the holidays. Your holiday season can be more rewarding and enjoyable when you employ a few go-to tips formulated by hearing specialists.
Tips to help you enjoy the holiday season
There’s a lot to see around the holidays, lights, food, gifts, and more. But there’s also a lot to hear: how your nephew is doing in school, how your cousin’s pick-up basketball team is doing, and on, and on.
These tips are designed to help be certain that you keep having all of those moments of reconnection over the course of holiday gatherings.
Use video chat instead of phone calls
Zoom calls can be a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. If you’re dealing with hearing loss, this is particularly true. Try using video calls instead of phone calls if you have hearing loss and want to reach out to loved ones throughout the holidays.
Phones represent an interesting conundrum with regards to hearing loss and communication difficulties. It can be really difficult to hear the muffled sounding voice on the other end, and that can definitely be aggravating. With a video call, the audio quality won’t necessarily get better, but you’ll have much more information to help you communicate. From body language to facial expressions, video calls offer added context, and that will help the conversation flow better.
Be honest with people
Hearing loss is extremely common. If you need help, it’s essential to communicate that! It doesn’t hurt to ask for:
- People to paraphrase and repeat what they said.
- People to slow down a little bit when speaking with you.
- A quieter place to have conversations.
People won’t be as likely to become annoyed when you ask them to repeat themselves if they understand that you have hearing loss. Communication will have a better flow as a result.
Pick your locations of conversation wisely
Throughout the holidays, there are always topics of conversation you want to avoid. So you’re cautious not to say anything that would offend people, but instead, wait for them to talk about any delicate subject matter. When you have hearing loss, this even more important, only instead of avoiding certain topics of conversation, you should carefully steer clear of specific areas in a home which make hearing conversations more challenging.
Here’s how to handle it:
- Attempt to find brightly lit spots for this same reason. Contextual clues, including body language and facial expressions, can get lost in dimly lit spaces.
- There will be quieter areas in the home where you have conversations. Maybe that means moving away from the noisy television or excusing yourself from areas of overlapping conversations.
- When you choose a place to sit, try to put a back to a wall. That way, at least you won’t have people talking behind you.
- You’re looking for areas with less commotion. This will put you in a better position to read lips more effectively.
Alright, alright, but what if your niece starts talking to you in the loud kitchen, where you’re filling your mug with holiday cocoa? There are a few things you can do in cases like these:
- Suggest that you and your niece go somewhere quieter to chat.
- If there’s music playing in the area, politely ask the host to turn the music down so you can hear your niece a little better.
- Politely begin walking towards an area of the gathering place where you can hear and concentrate better. And don’t forget to let her know this is what you’re doing.
Communicate with the flight crew
So what about less apparent impacts of hearing loss on holiday plans? Like the ones that sneak up on you.
Many people fly around during the holidays, it’s especially significant for families that are pretty spread out. When you fly, it’s crucial to comprehend all the directions and communication provided by the flight crew. So you need to be certain to let them know about your hearing loss. In this way, the flight crew can provide you with visual instructions if needed. When you’re flying, it’s important not to miss anything!
Take breaks
When you are dealing with hearing loss, communicating can become a lot of effort. You may find yourself getting more fatigued or exhausted than you used to. So taking frequent breaks is essential. This will give your ears, and, maybe more importantly, your brain, a little bit of time to catch a breath.
Invest in some hearing aids
How does hearing loss impact relationships? Hearing loss has a considerable impact on relationships.
One of the major benefits of hearing aids is that they will make almost every interaction with your family through the holidays easier and more satisfying. And, the best part, you won’t have to keep asking people to repeat what they said.
In other words, hearing aids will help you reconnect with your family.
Keep in mind that it may take you some time to get used to your hearing aids. So don’t wait until right before the holidays to pick them up. Everybody will have a different experience. But we can help you with the timing.
You can get help getting through the holidays
When you have hearing loss, sometimes, it can feel like nobody understands what you’re going through, and that you have to get through it all alone. It’s like hearing loss is affecting your personality in this way. But there’s help. You can get through many of the challenges with our help.
The holidays don’t need to be a time of trepidation or anxiety (that is, any more than they normally are). At this time of year, you can look forward to seeing, and hearing your friends and family. All you need is the right strategy.
