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November 24, 2016Easy Tips to Survive Family Gatherings if you have Hearing Loss
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Loud TVs, screaming children, family talking over each other. Holidays can be tough for those with hearing loss.
So what are the best tips to survive family gatherings?
We asked our Twitter community to find out…
The following questions were posted:
- How well do your family members include you in conversations?
- What do you say to relatives to remind them about your communication needs?
- What tips do you have for others with hearing loss about coping with family gatherings?
These tips were shared by people like you on #HearingLossHour – a Twitter hour dedicated to talking about living with hearing loss. During the hour, lots of people around the world share their experiences, tips, and advice. Phonak audiologists Anna and Mike were also on hand to answer questions.
Here are 16 Tips to Survive Family Gatherings if you have Hearing Loss:
- “Be open and make sure family members know your communication needs. Seating plans help, too.”
- Remind relatives not to call to you from a different room.
- Try to be in a conversation with just one other person (as conversations with multiple people can be hard to follow).
- Investigate gadgets which might be helpful such as a TV Listener or a microphone.
- “I use Roger pen and ComPilot for TV but must have subtitles to be able to understand as rely on lipreading.”
- Beware of ‘listening fatigue’. Suggestions for taking a break included; taking the dog for a walk; going for a nap; taking a ‘time out’ in another room (e.g. bathroom).
- “Take breaks every hour at family gatherings esp. if u know you won’t enjoy them/enjoy them much. Go outside.Breathe.”
- “Find a venue that isn’t too echoey.”
- “Never be afraid to ask people to swap seats.”
- “I know it looks not as nice as just the decorative light but, turn on the lights.”
- Ask one close family member to be on the look-out for the need to repeat things or explain the context of the conversation if you start top look a little ‘lost’.
- If you feel more comfortable in your own home, be the host. (That way you get to sit in your chair and have the subtitles on if you want them.)
- If you’re going to be at a relative’s house when there’s a TV show you want to watch, record or use ‘catch up’ at home so you don’t stress about not being able to hear the sound or have subtitles.
- “Find the light in the room and put it to your back. No one cares if you’re backlit, but you need to see faces.”
- “I tap my ear sometimes. They notice.”
- “If I mishear someone I deliberately repeat it as absurdly as possible to entertain and remind them.
Read more: Tips for social gatherings and noisy get-togethers
These tips were shared by people like you on #HearingLossHour – a Twitter hour dedicated to talking about living with hearing loss. #HeairngLossHour takes place between 1pm and 2pm (GMT) on the first Tuesday of the month. Each month, there’s a different topic for the hour. During the hour, lots of people around the world share their experiences, tips, and advice. Phonak audiologist, Anna is often also on hand to answer questions.
#HearingLossHour takes place between 1pm and 2pm (GMT) on the first Tuesday of the month. Each month, there’s a different topic for the hour. To make sure you don’t miss next month’s, you can sign up for a reminder here.
Author Details
Phonak hEARo, Angie is a freelance journalist and content writer. Angie was diagnosed with Otosclerosis in her right ear at the age of 30. In 2011, she suffered sudden profound hearing loss in her left ear. She uses a Phonak CROS II with a Phonak Audéo V hearing aid. You can follow Angie on Twitter @hearinglosshour and join in #HearingLossHour on the first Tuesday of the month.
