Gatherings. More, and more family gatherings.
It probably seems like you’re meeting or reuniting with every relative you have, every weekend, during the holiday season. The holiday season can be enjoyable (and also difficult) for this reason. Usually, it’s easy to look forward to this annual catching up. You get to find out what everyone’s been doing all year.
But when you’re dealing with hearing loss, those family gatherings might feel a little less welcoming. What’s the reason for this? What are the impacts of hearing loss at family gatherings?
Your ability to communicate with others can be significantly impacted by hearing loss, and also the ability of other people to communicate with you. The end result can be a disheartening feeling of alienation, and it’s an especially disturbing experience when it occurs during the holidays. Hearing specialists and professionals have formulated some go-to tips that can help make your holidays more pleasant, and more rewarding, when you have hearing loss.
Tips to help you enjoy the holiday season
There’s so much to see around the holidays, lights, food, gifts, and more. But there’s also a lot to hear: how Uncle Bob lost his third finger (what?!), how school is going for Julie, how Nancy got promoted, it keeps going.
During holiday get-togethers, make use of these tips to get through and make more memorable moments.
Avoid phone calls – instead, use video calls.
For family and friends, Zoom video calls can be a fantastic way to keep in touch. That’s particularly true if you have hearing loss. Try using video calls instead of phone calls if you have hearing loss and want to touch base with loved ones during the holidays.
Phones represent a difficult conundrum with regards to hearing loss and communication difficulties. It can be very hard to hear the muffled sounding voice at the other end, and that can definitely be aggravating. With a video call, the audio quality won’t actually get better, but you’ll have a lot more information to help you communicate. From body language to facial expressions, video calls offer added context, and that will help the conversation have a better flow.
Tell people the truth
Hearing loss is very common. It’s essential to let people know if you need help. There’s no harm in asking for:
- People to slow down a bit when speaking with you.
- Conversations to take place in quieter areas of the gathering (more on this in a bit).
- People to repeat things, but asking that they rephrase too.
When people recognize that you have hearing loss, they’re not as likely to become irritated if you need something repeated more than once. As a result, communication tends to flow a little bit smoother.
Find some quiet areas for talking
You will always want to steer clear of certain topics of conversation throughout the holidays. So you’re cautious not to say anything that would offend people, but instead, wait for them to mention any delicate subject matter. When you have hearing loss, this even more important, only instead of avoiding certain topics of conversation, you should cautiously steer clear of specific areas in a home which make hearing conversations more difficult.
Handle it like this:
- When you find a place to sit, try to put a wall against your back. That way, there’ll be less background noise for you to have to deal with.
- Attempt to find areas that have less activity and fewer people walking by and distracting you. This will put you in a better position to read lips more successfully.
- Try to find brightly lit spots for this same reason. Contextual clues, such as body language and facial expressions, can get lost in dimly lit spaces.
- Try to pick an area of the gathering that’s a little bit quieter. Possibly that means sneaking away from the noisy television or excusing yourself from locations of overlapping conversations.
So what if you’re in the noisy kitchen, filling up your mug of hot chocolate, and your niece starts talking to you? In situations like this, there are a few things you can do:
- Ask your niece to continue the conversation somewhere where it’s a bit quieter.
- Politely begin walking towards an area of the gathering place where you can hear and focus better. Be certain to mention that’s what you’re doing.
- 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.
Speak to the flight crew
So, you’re thinking: what are the impacts of hearing loss at family get-togethers that aren’t as apparent? You know, the ones you may not see coming?
Lots of people fly around during the holidays, it’s particularly important for families that are pretty spread out. When you fly, it’s essential to understand all the directions and communication provided by the flight crew. So you need to be certain to tell them about your hearing loss. That way, the flight crew can give you visual instructions if needed. It’s essential that you don’t miss anything when flying!
Take breaks
It can be lots of work trying to communicate with hearing loss. You might find yourself growing more fatigued or exhausted than you once did. So taking frequent breaks is essential. By doing this, your ears and your brain will get a break.
Consider investing in hearing aids
How are relationships impacted by hearing loss? Well, as should be clear at this point, in a lot of ways!
Every interaction with your family through the holidays will be enhanced by hearing aids and that’s one of the greatest benefits. And no more asking people to repeat themselves.
Hearing aids will allow you to reconnect with your family, in other words.
Bear in mind that it might take you some time to get used to your hearing aids. So you shouldn’t wait until right before the holidays to pick them up. Naturally, everybody’s experience will differ. But we can help you with the timing.
You don’t have to get through the holidays alone
It can seem as if you’re alone sometimes, and that nobody can relate to what you’re going through when you have hearing loss. In this way, it’s kind of like hearing loss impacts your personality. But you aren’t alone. You can navigate many of the challenges with our help.
The holidays don’t have to be a time of trepidation or anxiety (that is, any more than they usually are). At this time of year, you can look forward to seeing, and hearing your family and friends. All you need is the correct strategy.
