Hearing Tips for the Holiday Season
If you or someone you care about has a hearing impairment, the Holiday Season can be very exhausting. Making small adjustments to the environment of a party, or adding a hearing aid accessory to your shopping list might just make this the best Holiday Season ever!
Celebrating the Holidays as someone who is hearing impaired or with a family member or friend who has a hearing impairment brings forth a certain set of challenges. More than 48 million Americans have hearing loss, and most of those people want to visit with family and friends during this festive season. Being able to share in conversation is one of the best ways to connect during the holidays. To keep that connection strong and the conversations even clearer, here are some tips to make this Holiday Season the best!
Planning for Guests that Hearing Impaired
A little bit of planning can go a long way when considering the needs of all of your guests.
Have a Conversation Beforehand — if you know of a guest who is hearing impaired, reach out and ask them if there is anything you can do to make the party a stress free experience and more enjoyable for them. If you are hearing impaired, reach out to your host and let them know what situations might be difficult for you to hear in.
Create “quieter” spaces in your home — have the kids table in another room so that conversation at the main table can be free of background noise. Enjoy the football game away from the kitchen–that’s where most guests tend to linger and talk–and keep the closed captions on!
Turn that Holiday spirit down — music can set the mood for a party, but be aware that ambient noise can make it difficult to hear conversation. Keep the music turned down or off during dinner.
Keep the lighting turned up — candles and dim lighting might make everyone look like a movie star, but the low lights can make it difficult to see faces and know when someone is speaking.
Appoint a check-in person — ask a family member or friend to periodically check in with the person who is hearing impaired to make sure they are included and having fun. It can be easy to get lost with all the conversations, or to simply say “I’ll tell you later” to the person who didn’t hear something. Making the gathering as inclusive as possible should be the goal.
Hearing Aid Accessories to make the Holidays Extraordinary
Once you’ve considered what you can do to make the environment of your gathering more accessible for someone who is hearing impaired, consider these hearing aid accessories to make the Holiday, and every day, more clear.
Beltone hearing aids are smartphone compatible! If your loved ones live far away, you still want to make those connections, especially during the holiday season. Beltone hearing aids allow you to stream audio from your smartphone (iOS and Android) directly into the hearing aid.
Watching holiday movies with loved ones is a favorite activity during the season. Beltone’s Direct TV Link allows hearing aid users to stream audio from their TV set using wireless technology. The volume setting is customizable, and the sound streams from the TV directly to the hearing aid, making it easy to enjoy everything from The Grinch to Miracle on 34th Street without missing anything.
Festive dinner parties or celebrating the holidays with a night out can be challenging for hearing impaired people. Ambient noise can make it tough to hear even the person sitting next to you. Beltone myPal makes it easy to keep up with a conversation when someone is nearby, but just distant enough that it can be difficult to hear. By setting the Beltone myPal next to the person you’re speaking to, a small microphone in the device sends the sound directly to your hearing air, filtering out the ambient noise and ensuring the whole conversation is heard.
If you or someone who you love is struggling with hearing loss, contact your local Beltone Tristate practice today to schedule a hearing test and evaluation with one of our friendly hearing care providers. Don’t let this Holiday Season pass you by!