Hearing loss can be quite a challenge at the holidays, especially when people who don’t often see each other get together. It can be difficult enough to strike up and maintain those once-a-year conversations; having hearing loss in the mix adds another potential layer of complication.
Those complications can be easily handled by keeping this important fact in mind: Communication is a two-way street. Enjoying conversations at those holiday gatherings takes a bit of effort from both the people who want to communicate with a hearing-impaired relative AND from that hearing-impaired relative.
If you have hearing loss:
Be up front about it.Your hearing loss is part of who you are and the family and friends at gatherings need to know about it. They WANT to speak with you, so give them the chance to do it successfully.
Wear your hearing aids.This is part of being up front about your hearing loss. Not wearing your hearing aids because you don’t want others to see them does nothing but put up an additional barrier to conversation and communication.
Focus. Focus. Focus.Follow closely when people are speaking to you and watch their mouths for visual clues to words that might get drowned out by the background noise of a festive atmosphere
Clarify by asking questions.If you miss a portion of something someone has just said, don’t ask for the entire statement to be repeated. Mention what you heard and ask for clarification on the part you couldn’t quite understand.
Help people out.As we mentioned earlier, the people you visit with at the holidays want to spend time with you. Need them to speak slower? Let them know. You might be able to read their lips but they can’t read your mind. If you need to move the conversation to a quieter spot, just say so. Too many people speaking at once? Cheerfully make it clear that you can only focus on one of them at a time. You’re not being rude. You’re helping them understand what they need to know in order to have a proper visit with you.
If you’re hosting someone with hearing loss:
Create quiet space.Try to have at least one place at your party where people can talk without loud holiday music or multiple boisterous conversations happening simultaneously. A lot of background noise can be fatiguing for people with hearing loss, not to mention a considerable damper on their ability to enjoy the company of others.
Turn up the lights.A well-lit room is very helpful to people with hearing loss. While not everyone with hearing loss is an expert lip-reader, they do tend to get very good at watching people as they speak and picking out visual clues about the words being used.
Look them in the eye.This ties in directly with the well-lit room. Directly facing a person with hearing loss gives him or her a good view of your mouth and mannerisms. It might seem practical to try speaking directly into their ear, but that actually works against the techniques and technology a person with hearing loss uses in order to have conversations.
Get their attention.Make sure your hearing-impaired guests know you’re speaking to them. Use their names or gently nudge them, if they’re standing at an angle where they can’t see you face-to-face.
Speak slowly and naturally.Don’t make exaggerated mouth movements or punctuate your words with broad hand gestures; none of that helps and can make a person with hearing loss feel very self-conscious. Speak just a bit slower than normal, enunciate clearly and pause between sentences to give your conversation partner time to process what you’ve said.
Those are just some of the ways of getting past the barriers hearing loss places in the path of enjoying the holidays. If you’d like to know more about communication techniques to use at your holiday gatherings, please contact us.
