Happy Hearing This Holiday Season

The holidays are a time to reconnect with family, spend time with grandkids and nieces and nephews, and enjoy the company of good friends. But if you have hearing loss, it can also be an anxiety-provoking time of year as you worry if they will be able to join in the festivities.

Hearing loss doesn’t have to ruin your holiday season. A little planning can ensure you are able to take part in all the holiday fun.

Communication Is Key

Talking about your difficulty hearing and sharing how you feel with your loved ones is an important place to start. People who know little about hearing loss or haven’t used hearing aids might not understand what you’re going through. Take a moment to explain what helps and what doesn’t so everyone can work together to make your holidays with hearing loss much more cheerful.

If you’re having trouble hearing, feel free to employ the classic “I can’t hear you” signal by cupping your hand around your ear. It’s a practical and discreet way to signal that the speaker should raise their voice, and the added surface area around your ear can enhance the sound amplification. This non-verbal cue provides a practical alternative, enabling your friends and family to adapt to your needs in the moment.

Exercising Your Ears

That’s right; your ears need an exercise regiment, too. Learning to hear with a hearing aid takes practice, and there are plenty of ways to build up your hearing skills.

Simulate noisy situations at home and practice carrying on conversations. Focus on tuning out the background noise to follow along with the speaker. Another drill is to close your eyes and have your friend or partner quietly move to different parts of the room and make noise. Try to identify the direction and distance of the sound.

Planning to Go Out

When you are planning to dine out with family or friends, weigh in on the details. Look for restaurants that offer private dining rooms without charging a minimum. When that isn’t possible, seek out places with carpet, drapes, and lower ceilings, and ask for a table away from the kitchen and bar. Out-of-the-way corners and booths are best. When you arrive, take a seat at the head of the table so you aren’t in the middle of several conversations.

When you attend a house party or dinner, pick a spot away from the speakers or television. Opt for one-on-one chats in a quieter area so you can focus. Ask the host to turn up the lights so it’s easier to see faces and know when someone is speaking. Don’t be shy about your hearing loss. It might be tempting to nod and pretend to follow the conversation, but that doesn’t benefit you or your loved ones in the long run. If you’re struggling to hear or if background noise overwhelms the conversation, communicate it. Often, making a few minor adjustments can make a significant difference. Let people know you are missing some of the conversation with visual cues, like placing a hand to your ear to let your friend know to talk louder or slow down.

Using Your Hearing Aids

Before a holiday event, test out different settings to see which ones help filter out background noise the best. Schedule an appointment with your Beltone hearing care professional before the holiday season kicks off so they can make sure your hearing aids are clean, working properly, and expertly fitted. They can also offer advice about how to adjust the settings to hear best in noisy environments and show you how to quickly make adjustments from your smartphone.

Always be sure to wear both your hearing aids. Even if your hearing is better in one ear, using two hearing aids makes it much easier to determine where the sound is originating. Be sure to pack extra batteries, a cleaning kit, or even an extra set of hearing aids just to stay prepared.

Hearing Aid Accessories to Make the Holidays Extraordinary

Watching holiday movies with loved ones is a favorite activity during the season. Beltone’s TV Link 2 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 Pro 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 aid, filtering out the ambient noise and ensuring the whole conversation is heard.

Navigating the holiday season with hearing loss demands thoughtful strategies for an enjoyable experience. Openly discuss your difficulties, embrace regular hearing aid use, and consider assistive devices. Most importantly, get your hearing checked at your local Beltone beforehand to ensure that the hearing aids you have fit precisely to your needs.