Life coaching: improving lives of people with hearing loss
December 7, 2022
Phonak site relaunch
December 14, 20222022 holiday gifts for people with hearing loss
The holiday season is upon us. That can mean only one thing – we are back with our annual guide on the top gifts for people with hearing loss!
Phonak Hearing Technology
The holidays usually bring about big meet ups and social events. While it’s great to catch up with our nearest and dearest, for people with hearing loss, these noisy events in big groups can quickly become stressful. Here are a few of the latest Phonak products to help you beat hearing fatigue this December!
Phonak Partner Mic
Perfect for 1-1 meet ups with friends or holiday date nights with your partner, the Phonak Partner Mic is a clip on microphone that allows you to get the most out of your conversations. Connectivity is delivered through Phonak AirStream technology. The voice of the mic wearer is streamed directly to your Lumity, Paradise, or Marvel hearing aids, allowing you to experience clear speech. It has a long range, operating up to 25 meters between speaker and listener. This will be great if you’re out holiday shopping together and walking around.
Phonak Serenity Choice
Phonak Innovator Awards 2022 – Serenity Choice
What about a gift to protect hearing? This could work for someone who plays in a band, goes to a lot of concerts, or works in a noisy environment. As the description states, this is a “high-end hearing protection solution designed to reduce noise and loud sounds while allowing the ear to breathe and keeping relevant sound and speech.”
Phonak TV Connector
One of the best parts of winter is cuddling up on the sofa and watching your favorite holiday movies. The Phonak TV Connector is a wireless hearing aid accessory that allows you to do just that. The connector is easy to set up. It transforms your Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids into wireless stereo headsets that you can stream from any TV or stereo system. A simple plug-and-play interface works with TVs and other audio sources to support direct hearing aid connectivity to Lumity, Paradise, and Marvel hearing aids. Enjoy holiday themed movie nights and listening to festive songs with top-rated sound quality.
Roger On
This Roger On is Phonak’s latest version of the Roger portfolio and has up to 61 percent better speech understanding than with hearing aids alone in loud noise. Perfect for holiday dinners, either at home or in a restaurant. You place the small circular microphone in the center of the table. It then automatically picks up whoever is talking and delivers their voice directly into Marvel and Paradise hearing aids. They come in two colors – champagne and graphite grey.
Deaf Accessible Games
Deaf Themed Playing Cards
These Deaf Guy RED Cardinal Edition Playing Cards were created by Deaf cartoonist Matt Daigle, printed by the US Playing Card Company. Known for his “That Deaf Guy” comic strip, all cards include ASL images as well as court cards with images from the strip.
Charades
A family favorite; this classic explains itself!
ASL Themed Gifts
Buying someone a gift that speaks their language is a beautiful thing to do. You can type ASL gifts into Etsy and spend hours scrolling through pages. There are a ton of ideas on there, but these are just a couple of our favorite personalized ones.
Personalized Key Ring
This key ring created by LifePrintsProducts has been rated 5 stars by buyers. It comes in rose gold, gold, or silver finish with personalized engravings. It makes a lovely minimalist gift that the receiver can carry around with them every day as a special reminder that they are loved.
Tree Hanging Ornament
This tree hanging comes in the classic festive colors and lets you write a personalized message for your loved one in British Sign Language to display each year. Sentiments like this make great gifts for people with hearing loss or deafness.
Experience Gifts That are Deaf Accessible
Instead of a physical gift, why not think outside the box and arrange a trip or book an experience that caters to your hard of hearing loved one? Society is accessible primarily to the hearing community. Many of us spend the holidays trying to navigate our way around these obstacles. A gift that gives someone an experience is always a winner and is one they will never forget! What greater gift for people with hearing loss than the gift of accessibility?
What greater gift for people with hearing loss than the gift of accessibility?
Deaf Tailored Vacation
If budget allows, make yourself the most popular person this holiday season and gift someone a deaf friendly tailored vacation! Limitless Travel offers holiday packages that are deaf accessible and provide deaf travel tips on their site. They also have a sale at the moment!
We can’t think of a better place to travel at the holidays than the snow-topped mountains of Iceland. Deaf Iceland Tours is a tourist service company that offers adventure excursions delivered in sign language by experienced tour guides. Adventures hosted by Deaf Iceland include glacier hiking and climbing as well as city tours. All day excursions are offered, including trips to the famous Blue Lagoon – a tourist must see. Deaf Iceland also holds evening events at the Deaf Club.
Movie Night
If you’re on a budget, you could make a movie night of inspiring deaf films – “Wonderstruck,” “The Quiet Place,” “CODA,” and “The Family Stone” are just a few ideas. Create your own cinema coupons inviting them to a film night and spend the evening celebrating deafness on screen. For an extra touch you could even buy a pre-made movie night basket complete with popcorn holders. Etsy has a bunch – there’s even a Christmas themed one.
Online Masterclass with Subtitles
Masterclass is an online streaming platform that offers hundreds of classes across a wide range of categories taught by the best in their field. You can learn to cook with Gordon Ramsay, write your first novel with Margaret Atwood, or step into acting classes with Samuel L Jackson. All videos have an option for English subtitles and a select few have Spanish captions available. They currently offer a deal for two year-long memberships for the price of one, so the buyer also gets a gift! Win-win.
Accessible Events
The most thoughtful gifts of all are the ones that you put time and effort into. You’ll need to take to the Internet and research what deaf accessible events are happening in your local area to book. Here is some inspiration from deaf communities around the world.
The most thoughtful gifts of all are the ones that you put time and effort into.
- A cooking course for Deaf and HoH people living in East London.
- In Australia, a shopping center launched a trial with Deaf Australia to have Auslan-fluent Santas in three locations around the nation. Click here to read about how Deaf Santa brought magic to children with hearing loss and asked what they wanted for Christmas in sign.
- There’s something about going to the theater around the holidays that makes it feel all the more magical. If you google captioned theater shows near you, you will hopefully find shows that have accessible stages. Stage Text is a charity that is dedicated to making arts in the UK more accessible to the deaf community and list captioned showings for theater performances, talks, and online events on their website. There are still tickets available for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s captioned showing of A Christmas Carol here!
- A concert ticket for a gig that supplies sign language interpretation or SUBPAC – a backpack that allows you to feel the music through vibrations.
- Deaf Confidence, a national movement in Africa, sells tickets for a decorative cupcake workshop event to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing community.
Read more: Coldplay’s concerts now more accessible for the deaf community
Deaf Made Gifts
There are some really great deaf entrepreneurs and artists out there killing the game, striving to make great gifts for people with hearing loss. Support deaf businesses this season and shop their products! Here are just a few of them.
Katie Rose: Deaf Jeweler
Katie Rose is a Deaf jewelery designer who creates meaningful custom designs for her clients and also repairs sentimental jewelery at her Dragonfly Jewelery Studio.
Rene Leighty: Deaf Artist
A Deaf artist, Rene Leighty, creates beautiful portraits in watercolor, acrylic, oil, charcoal, or mixed media. Her services include custom made art for clients. If you want to get something really personal, get in touch and see if you can get a portrait or personal sketch created before the holiday season is out!
Deaf Brewery Gifts
The guys at Streetcar 82 Brewing have their own online shop where you can book ASL classes for a great price or shop some of their beer merchandise. The Birrateque IPA glass would make a perfect gift for any beer lover!
Kate Disher Quill: Deaf Photographer
You might remember Quill from our Deaf Entrepreneurs Around the World blog. Her book, Earshot, has a 5 star rating on Goodreads and is a beautiful collection of photographs that transport you into the world of deafness. She uses imagery to celebrate a multitude of unique deaf experiences. This is a collection that will be great on any coffee table.
Manveer Singh: CEO of Maharajah Coffee
Singh is is the deaf CEO behind the incredible brand that is Maharajah Coffee. During his time at university he started crafting his coffee by using a stethoscope and holding it against the mini roasting machine to feel the vibration. The result is a fine selection of sustainable blends from across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
You can order his coffee and drinkware products or purchase a gift card at his online shop.
Gifts for Children
Cochlear Implant Retainment Bows
All you have to do is read through the reviews to see why these cochlear retainment bows make a great gift. Bows can be used by unilateral or bilateral users and come in a ton of different designs.
Books with Hearing Loss Representation
There are now so many children books out there that represent children of all genders with hearing loss. Mila Gets Her Super Ears is just one of the many great ones you can order online.
Hearing Aid Stickers
Because what kids aren’t obsessed with stickers? There are so many different designs on Etsy for all variations of hearing aids. Here is just one example of a collection that fits Phonak hearing aids.
Toys that Champion Hearing Loss
Representation matters. Hear Like Me is an incredible Etsy shop that understands the importance of Deaf children having toys like that look just like them. It sells kid favorites like Elsa from “Frozen” and Woody from “Toy Story.” Each has a drop down menu with a wide range of hearing devices to choose from.
There are thousands of 5 star reviews, but one from a mom really stood out. The seller had customized the doll’s hearing aids with the same stickers as her daughters to make them identical!
The Gift of Giving
Finally, give the gift of giving this holiday. Donations to charity are a really thoughtful way of supporting a cause that your loved one cares about while also making a difference. There are so many out there!
More Ideas
Still looking for inspiration? You can always refer to previous holiday guides from Hearing Like Me below to find even more inspiration on gifts for people with hearing loss!
Read more: Holiday gift guide 2021: gifts for people with hearing loss
Read more: Holiday Gift Guide 2020: Gifts for people with hearing loss
