Tips for going to parties as a college student with hearing loss

Going into my freshman year of college, I had this ideology of what a college party would be like: red cups, plenty of space to dance and let loose.

But when I first attended one, I saw that was not the case. It was jam-packed with no space to dance and teenagers doing crazy stuff. These are my top tips if you are a college student with hearing loss attending a party.

1) Turn the volume down

When I walked into my first party, the music was so deafening despite me being hard of hearing, I could feel the floors vibrating. I would recommend either turning the volume down on your hearing aids or switching them off. This can help protect your hearing and will save you a headache from all the noise. I find that if I just switch my hearing aids off, my Phonak Bolero hearing aids protect my ears better more than those without hearing aids.

When my hearing aids are off and I can’t hear as well, I have found that lip-reading becomes my superpower.  In an environment where nobody can hear each other, the ability to lip-read allows you to understand what your friends are saying.

2) Go with a group of friends

This is more of a general tip and not specific to hard of hearing people, but is still important.

When going to a college party, always go with a group of friends you really trust. In case somebody is too tired or you yourself is too tired, you can get home safely and will not have to walk home alone at night.

3) Use texting to communicate

I found texting was very useful in communicating because it was either too loud to hear what the other person was saying or to get information like the address of the party. You can also use your phone to write notes to pass to your friends, such as letting them know that you want to leave or go somewhere else. Chances are they can’t hear each other talk, so communicating using the phone will benefit everyone.

4) Go to a quieter place

In every college party, you meet somebody new and you want to have a conversation with them.  In my experience,  ask that person to go to a quieter place so you can talk easily without any loud music drowning out any conversation.

Read More: “How can you survive college? You’re deaf!”

• Author Details

Author Details

Aatish Patel

Aatish Patel is a 18 year old who loves to try out new things. He has moderately severe bilateral hearing loss who currently wears Phonak Boleros. He is college bound in fall of 2019, an avid gamer and loves learning about the deaf and hard of hearing communities. His blog can be reached at: https://theeartrumpet.wordpress.com.