The holidays are a great time to make new memories. They are also great times for those with hearing loss to learn new sounds and words, providing language development and language enhancement opportunities.
The right hearing strategies can help set you or your child with hearing loss up for success this holiday season. Check out some holiday hearing tips below:
- Educate your loved ones: Counsel your loved ones on how best to communicate with you or your child during get-togethers. This may include helpful tips like, “Please ensure you face me/my child when you are speaking,” and “Please speak clearly and at a normal pace. Don’t over enunciate.”
- Keep hearing equipment in working order: To help you or your child get the most out of a hearing device, ensure that you use new or fully charged batteries. Keep the hearing device clean and maintained. If it has been a while since you or your child last visited your audiologist, schedule an appointment to ensure you or your child is receiving the best benefit from the current hearing device or if another solution is necessary.
- Prepare for the day: Ensure you or your child receives plenty of sleep and rest. This allows for you or your child to “recharge” before a day of festivities and activities. Avoid hearing fatigue, when the brain has to work harder to understand and comprehend sound. This may happen when loud conversations and background music are present. Designate an area where you or your child can take a break if one gets tired.
- Work on new vocabulary ahead of the event: There are many new sounds and words unique to the holidays, and it’s a great time to learn and practice listening and talking. Flashcards, books and audiobooks are an effective tool to help develop new vocabulary. Repetition is helpful to facilitate memory and comprehension. Discover more resources to help you or your child with hearing loss encourage conversations during the holidays at The Communication Corner.
Like this blog and looking for more holiday tips, like therapy ideas for children with hearing loss, gift ideas for those with hearing loss and holiday travel tips? Check out these blogs:
- Holiday therapy ideas for children with hearing loss, part 1
- Holiday therapy ideas for children with hearing loss, part 2
- Gift guide for adults with hearing loss
- Gift guide for children with hearing loss
- Holiday travel tips for those with hearing loss
We wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!