Handling Hearing Loss During the Holidays

The holidays can be stressful when you’re worried about presents, food preparation, and entertaining large groups of family or friends. The last thing you should be worried about is your hearing.

The first step in handling hearing loss or tinnitus during the holidays is to come into one of our offices and get a hearing screening. We can help find a solution that works for you or give you the best tips on handling any hearing issues that may be worrying you. You can also take some of the following steps to help ease your stress as you attend holiday gatherings:

Do some pre-party preparation. Most party hosts will be happy to help if you talk to them ahead of time about your needs. You can try and reserve a strategic spot at the table that’s best for your hearing needs and lip-reading, if necessary, so you are more comfortable when conversations start. Also, sitting with your back to the wall can help filter out the extra background noise.

Get a boost from some hearing technology. At Hearing Health Associates, we can help fit you with a hearing aid if you need one, but even if you already have a hearing aid, an assistive listening device can help if you’re in a loud environment.

Try to take a post-dinner walk. Invite a friend or family member outside with you to continue a one-on-one conversation. This will also help provide some stress relief and a break from the noisy environment for a little while. If it’s cold outside, find a separate more closed-off room instead.

Finally, the best tip of all: be honest. It can be tempting to just nod along or pretend you can hear what’s going on around you, but you will feel much better and be less stressed if you let your loved ones know ahead of time about your hearing loss. You may not hear every conversation going on around you, but you can still have fun and partake in the holiday spirit nonetheless!