While I have written on this subject before it is worth discussing again. So what is the correlation with turkeys and hearing problems? Well specifically at this time of year our neighbours to the south (neighbors for them) celebrate Thanksgiving sometimes referred to as Turkey day, a day in which families get together to watch football share time together and have a meal built around the thanksgiving turkey. We as Canadians but earlier in the year. This is a time in which we spend a fair amount of time functioning in a group setting. This is a time of conversation sometimes random or at least with rather varied subject matter. If your family is anything like my family several conversations can be taking place at the same time around the dinner table and they can be just about anything. While this is what we call relaxing it can actually be a fairly frenetic time of conversation. As one turkey day ends it is only a few weeks away from another turkey day, Christmas. Especially this year with American Thanksgiving only a month away from Christmas, four weeks, it is going to be like the party doesn't stop. There are going to be family get togethers, parties with friends , office parties, church events and many more opportunities for times of heightened social interaction. While this time of year can be nightmarish for natural introverts it can also be a very difficult time for those that have become introverts due to their hearing loss and the complexity it brings to communication.Those with hearing loss we know have extreme difficulty functioning in background noise. The noise of multiple talkers makes it difficult to impossible for the hearing impaired to understand speech effectively. Things may indeed be loud enough but not clear enough. This a common difficulty for the hearing impaired and often one of the early signs of hearing impairment. In a background of noise we find ourselves using our eyes more and more, watching peoples faces to help ourselves to understand what is being said.
For the hearing impaired the holiday season spanning from one day of turkey eating to another can be frustrating , challenging , daunting and exhausting given the difficulty presented by the communication environment. It can be so difficult at times to communicate that the hearing impaired individual chooses to avoid what would have otherwise been a time that would have been a highlight of the year.
For those family members, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances that are spending time with the hearing impaired during the holiday season being aware and considerate of the difficulty that is faced would be so appreciated by the hearing impaired individual. When we are aware of someones difficulty and it matters to us we are then able to do some things to make communication easier and more enjoyable for someone that otherwise will be left out feeling disconnected.
So what do we do? We can reduce the background noise. We may have the football game on at Thanksgiving as a family tradition but perhaps we can have it on with the volume turned down or off especially if we are having other conversations going on at the same time. We can make an effort to confirm engagement by addressing and including the hearing impaired individual and verifying that they are included and following the conversation with subtle questions that allow you to actively fill in the missing parts. The best strategy however is to schedule some one on one time with those you care about that have a hearing loss. Spending some one on one time in a quiet environment with the hearing impaired individual will allow them optimum functionality and allow for a much more enjoyable experience. The reality is that hearing impaired or not, just taking the time to spend some quality one on one time with those that matter is time well spent.
So this Turkey season think about whats important and who is important. Give the gift of your time to those that matter.
