Holidays can be a difficult time for people who have hearing loss. Social situations with challenging levels of background noise, cocktail party babble, and music in the background can be frustrating.
Here are some tips for holiday gatherings:
- Meeting friends at a restaurant? Seven tips for eating in restaurants may help.
- Do you forget people’s names? Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, has some great tips for handling this with finesse.
- Do you feel left out in conversations with people who already know that you have hearing loss? Shouldn’t they know better? Me too. I can’t help but feel a little left out when I’m at large family gatherings. I’ve had hearing loss since childhood, but it seems as though my family members still need reminding. This is a fact of life. Give your family members a second chance. Give yourself a second chance.
- When you are not following the conversation, do you bluff?
- Do you have a hard time with small talk? Don’t worry. There are ways to shift small talk into meaningful conversations.
- If you suspect that you have hearing loss, but have not done anything about it, how about making a New Year’s Resolution this year to improve communication? Start with small changes.
- If you already have hearing aids, how about making a New Year’s Resolution this year to take further steps to improve communication, such as lipreading classes, or auditory training?
- Dr. Michael Harvey, a psychologist who has written several books about coping with hearing loss, had some excellent suggestions in his webinar, Psychological Strategies for Surviving the Holidays with Hearing Loss.
Happy Holidays!
