Hear for the Holidays!

Communication Strategies:

* Be your own advocate and remind people of your hearing loss.Then explain what they can do to help.

* Be aware of the environment with special consideration of the lighting, the background noise, and ways to position yourself away from distractions.

* Try to limit the number of speakers you are conversing with: one on one or very small groups are way easier.

*Have a helper with you to help identify when the topic is being changed and to fill you in on missing information.

*Don't pretend you heard it. Repeat the part you did hear and ask them to rephrase for you.

*Pay attention to gestures, facial cues and body language.

* Be patient and flexible. Even people with normal hearing can't hear and understand everything in nosiy situations.