Hear loud and clear this holiday season with these tips!
The holidays bring warmth to the world. Family members and friends celebrate traditions, update each other on how things have been going, and enjoy each other’s presence. Throughout these celebrations, fostering supportive environments for loved ones with hearing loss is a good idea.
If you’re the one who has hearing loss, it’s also essential that you get the support you need. During the holidays, everyone deserves to participate in comfortable and meaningful ways. We’re here to guide you on some hearing tips that are helpful for the holidays.
Reduce Background Noise
It’s easier to focus on communication when you eliminate noises such as holiday music, televisions, video game sounds, and running appliances during your gatherings.
Ensure Your Home Has Well-Lit Areas
Mood lighting has many benefits, such as evening out the illumination in a room and creating a more relaxing environment. However, opt for brighter lighting during holiday get-togethers. Bright lighting makes it easier to see people’s facial expressions and pick up on non-verbal cues that can help with communication.
Refrain from Blocking Sight Lines
If you haven’t already, we understand the joy of hanging lights and decorations around the home. However, you want to keep sight lines open by removing large centerpieces and scaling back on holiday decorations that block sight lines. Your guests should be able to see each other easily.
Consider Circular Seating
Smaller, round tables make it simpler to see faces for lipreading. It’s best to avoid sitting near a window or a distracting background where it’s harder to see people’s faces or read lips.
Establish a Quiet Area
After eating holiday food, sometimes you want to sit and relax. Everyone can appreciate a quiet area in the home where there are fewer distractions and less noise. Also, this is an area where people can engage in more intimate, one-on-one conversations or take a break from listening throughout the gathering.
Educate Guests About Hearing Loss Etiquette
Let people know your communication needs. People might not realize that you have hearing loss. Don’t be shy about letting others know your communication needs. People want meaningful conversations with you and would happily follow your guidance.
Ask for Help and Consider Video Calls
Having a friend or family member remind others about your communication needs is excellent. Videos are also helpful if everyone can’t be in person.
Facetime and Zoom are great platforms and added the bonus of everyone seeing each other’s facial expressions. Some video call platforms also have caption features.
We hope you’ve found these hearing tips helpful, and our team at Clarity Audiology wishes you and your family a happy holiday.
Trust the Experts at Clarity Audiology & Hearing Solutions
Need help with your hearing? Clarity Hearing can help. Clarity Audiology & Hearing Solutions is an independently owned and operated clinic that focuses on quality of care and personalized, friendly service to the surrounding areas of Ellicott City, Catonsville, Columbia. Our Doctors of Audiology are highly trained with advanced degrees and take the time to provide the personalized care and attention that you need and deserve. We provide advanced hearing aid options that are personally calibrated with cutting-edge digital technology to fit your hearing loss, your unique ear anatomy, and your individual listening needs.
You can call us today to schedule a FREE Hearing Protection Consultation at 410-698-6594! For more blog posts, news, and updates, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.