Strategies & Realities - Hearing Loss in Social Settings

Learning how to position yourself strategically is so important. You need to see speakers as well as hear them, so position yourself as best you can for that reason. If you're in a place during the daytime with windows, be sure to have your back to the windows so the light is on the faces of the people you want to hear. If you're in a restaurant, try to get a table next to a wall, and put your back towards that wall so you don't get background noise from behind. It helps to ask to be seated in a quiet area. If you're at a social gathering, sometimes it's just easier to a space in the place that works best for you. Talking one on one is easiest for us, so it helps if you can move to a quieter space with someone you're talking with. Most people are more than willing to do that. This is especially an issue in the 'cocktail party environment' where people are standing.

Even though we find ourselves, in some situations, having to just bow out and relax, for the most part we do want to be a part of the group. It helps to understand what works best for us so we can ask others to help us.

Auditory fatigue is real. We work three times harder to concentrate than people with typical hearing do. That exhaustion we feel is real. As difficult as it is to do, taking a break makes sense. And, as others have pointed out, doing this with a smile is far better than being a grouch.

Do you get fatigued with the family gathers? Do they understand your behavior?

@julieo4

I have to say that , with my immediate family,( my children and grandchildren), I do not get tired at all. Both my adult children, when they call for reservations at a restaurant, always make sure it is either a booth or in the best place for me. And if we just come as a walk in, my daughter will straightaway explain what we need or make sure I get the best seat if I don’t get to it first. We happen to dine out frequently as a family and I am blessed that they are always so thoughtful. In their homes or if I am just around them, I don’t feel to need to participate 100% if I don’t want to.

With extended family or with friends, even those who are aware of my hearing loss, yes I do get auditory fatigue…depends on the venue , the length of I’d, the time of day and I have to settle back for a bit. Someone explains to them if they don’t know me. I think I have had enough conversations over the years to know they understand. Most new people catch on or don’t know how to handle it and we have all been there.

Christmas morning is at home with daughter and grandkids (20 and 22)…then over to Orlando to Disney Springs to see Cirque du Soleil and dinner.
My daughter chose Cirque du Soleil mainly for me because it is more visual. Then the next day is Christmas with my son, DIL and grandkids (19 and 23) and brunch. The only new person for us is a friends’s boyfriend for dinner at Disney. So..not a fatiguing weekend and no craziness ((too many of those in the past with my son in laws huge family). We are all a little tired of that.

Merry Christmas

FL Mary

@julieo4

You betcha! But not holding my breath.

FL Mary

I hear you on that and I'm not holding my breath either. BUT...if people who need support don't or won't get involved in advocating, nothing changes. Educating is just as important as advocating. 🙂 I know you know that. Thanks for all you do and for sharing your experiences. Merry Christmas!! Julie

One of my biggest frustrations during the Christmas holiday is listening to all the Christmas Carols. I like them but it is frustrating because I can't understand the words to songs. I normally listen to instrumental music only. and trying to understand the words to songs increases my auditory fatigue a lot. That sucks a lot of the joy out of Christmas.

I feel that way about a lot of songs but I’m fortunate that I know most of the words to the Christmas songs since listening to them since childhood. So I can fill in the blanks for words that I miss. Glad you are able to at least enjoy the instrumental songs though.

I enjoy the songs I knew year ago and most Christmas carols fall in that category. The new stuff not so much. Sometimes I go to lyrics.com to find out what the lyrics are. Some of them surprise me completely. I'm very thankful for captions on TV that help me enjoy the newer songs. I wish the musical programs on TV would include more of the old traditional carols though. Happy Holidays everyone!

I'm fairly new at this, but would like to know more. I'm looking for aids to replace my 6.5 year old ones. (my first ever pairs) They are Widex Uniques, and I'm still having a lot of trouble in rooms, or auditoriums.

My daughter bought me an Samsung a02s phone, and I'd like new aids that work with it. I'm still learning to use it, but I've read that it will link with my aids. (At my age of 83, I'm not very well versed in technology)

Is there a way to find out how it will help me, and where should I look for the right aids?

Hearing aids will not help with understanding speech in a group conversation in my experience. Your natural hearing does have the ability to tone down external noise and allow understanding of spoken words. Even the best hearing aids simply amplify all noise and although they will claim that their aid reduces background noise they do not work the same as your normal hearing.

That is very true, however, with assistive technology that goes beyond those hearing aids, you can eliminate a lot of that annoying background noise. It's unfortunate that the people who fit hearing aids don't always share this information with their customers. It's also unfortunate that hearing aid advertising gets away with making false claims. Do you have telecoils in your hearing aids? Do you have BlueTooth?