Filtering The Noise at Your Holiday Party

November 26, 2014

While some of the newer hearing aid technologies are making incredible strides when it comes to anticipating your sound and hearing needs, many of the more traditional hearing aids amplify all sounds. That means that if you’re wearing your hearing aid at a holiday party this season, you’ll hear the person in front of you, as well as the person laughing loudly in the conversation behind you. If you’re a seasoned hearing aid wearer, this will be nothing new to you; you’ll know only too well the frustration that the background noise in restaurants can cause too.

While hearing aids are wonderfully helpful and highly sophisticated, they are still developing the technology needed to make hearing aids as sophisticated as the human ear. After all, the human ear has been in development for millions of years!

Ahead of the upcoming holiday party season, here are some tips for you to keep in mind:

• Try and talk in quieter settings away from the noisiest area of the room/party: this probably seems terribly obvious, but even people with normal hearing can struggle to zone in on the right sounds in a noisy environment. Being conscious of where you are engaging in conversation will help you to have a better experience.

• Position yourself in a well-lit area, so you can clearly see the speaker’s face: lip reading is your friend in a noisy party situation and it’s the same for people with a normal hearing experience too. With that in mind, where possible, position yourself in an area where you can easily see the speaker’s face.

• Ask us about getting two hearing aids: this is dependant on your specific situation, but having two hearing aids can help, as it will allow you a more balanced hearing experience. This will help you differentiate sounds to a greater degree.

• Ask us about the latest hearing aid technologies: some of the newer hearing aid tech on the market can provide a more nuanced hearing experience. For many of our patients, updating older hearing aids is a wonderful experience that leaves them asking “Why didn’t I do this sooner?!”

If you are struggling to hear in noisy environments, please give us a call and schedule a consultation. We can work with you to find the solution that best fits your needs and budget. If you have any questions about your hearing, please contact us.

Have a wonderful holiday season!