’Tis the Season: 5 Tips for Better Holiday Communication

Feel Empowered and Connected With These Helpful Hints

Communication can be challenging in everyday life. Coupled with the hustle and potential stress of the holiday season, it can feel even more overwhelming. And with nearly 1 in 5 people living with hearing loss — including a large percentage who go untreated — chances are that someone around the holiday table may have trouble participating to the fullest.

Does this sound like you or a loved one? We’ve got your back with timely tips to feel empowered for the holiday season and beyond. Whether you’re connecting one-on-one or in a group, these five strategies get to the heart of helping you communicate on your terms. Read on to start making the most of the season right now.

1. Talk About It. Like many other issues, hearing loss can feel uncomfortable to discuss. Persistent stigmas still exist, and listening difficulty can be hard to admit. But opening up about it can help friends, relatives, and colleagues be more intentional about including you in conversations and reducing barriers to communication.
2. Optimize Your Environment. Loud sounds can be distracting under any circumstances but are especially challenging when hearing loss is in the mix. Sitting away from the kitchen, asking the host to keep background sounds — the TV, for example — down, and choosing a good spot with lighting to aid in lipreading and catching body-language nuances for context can be a big help.
3. Make a Hearing Kit. Wear hearing aids? Be prepared for whatever the season brings with a holiday better-hearing kit that can travel with you! Include extra batteries or, if applicable, a charger; additional filters; a cleaning set; a dehumidifier; extra domes or tubing; and a compatible wireless microphone that can discreetly send sound right to your hearing devices — great for group conversations.
4. Lean Into Technology. Hearing aids and cochlear implants often can wirelessly connect to FM systems or audio looping systems that theaters, houses of worship, or other venues may install to send audio directly to your ears. These, along with your device’s smartphone-compatible streaming capabilities, make it even easier to understand speech and other sounds.
5. Book a Checkup. Has it been a while since your last hearing evaluation? Does catching certain words or sounds seem harder than it used to be? Regular checkups with our licensed hearing health care professionals can identify potential problems early and help you and those you love kick off the holiday season with your best foot forward.

A few strategic steps can go a long way toward communicating with confidence during the holidays — and into the new year. Keep these tips in mind, and remember we’re HEAR to help you at every step of the journey. For questions or to schedule a hearing evaluation, reach out today!

Act Now Before the Holidays

Hearing loss can sneak up on you and affect more than just communication. It’s also linked to other serious issues such as social isolation, depression, dementia, fall risk, and even earlier mortality.

Some potential risks or signs of hearing loss to look out for include:

• Regular exposure to loud sounds or occupational noise
• Frequently saying “What?” or asking others to repeat themselves
• Often needing to turn up the radio or TV louder than usual
• Problems with phone or video chats
• Trouble understanding speech or high-pitched sounds
• Difficulty engaging with others in crowded or noisy spaces
• Ringing, buzzing, or humming in the head or ears (tinnitus)
• Cognitive issues
• Ear injury or head trauma

If any of these seem familiar, taking action now with a hearing test can help catch problems sooner for a healthier holiday season.