by Dr. Nimet Adam
Noisy gatherings and large groups are always difficult for someone with a hearing loss. This Holiday season, try some of these tips to help you enjoy family and friends:
- Maximize your hearing aid features (use your volume control or noise reduction programs to reduce some of the background noise)
- Use a remote mic that can be given to the person you are speaking with. This will allow you to stream their voice directly into your hearing aid and make their voice louder and more audible.
- Use the Live Listen feature on your I-phone to stream from your phone mic directly into the hearing aid. Mute your environmental mic so that you are getting only the streamed signal to come through.
- Pick the quietest location in the restaurant or home away from the kitchen or loud music. Try to place your back to the noise and your speakers back to a wall so as they speak to you, you get more of their conversation and less of the background noise.
- Keep groups to 2-4 people. The more people you add the more difficult it is to keep up with the conversation
- Make sure there is enough lighting and that you can clearly see the person’s face so you can pick up facial and lip-reading cues. This can make a significant difference in hearing in noise.
- If the gathering is in your own home, you can limit the background noise by reducing or eliminating music and other extraneous sounds.
- Sit next to the person you want to hear the most. Don’t try to hear what “everyone” is saying rather focus on 1 person a t a time.
Did you know that there are special tests we can do to identify how much difficulty you have hearing in noise? If you need assistance with your technology or would like to speak to one of our Audiologist’s about how you can improve hearing in noise, call our office TODAY!
Delray 561-638-6530 – Boynton 561-736-6002 – Jupiter 561-888-7260
