The holiday season is upon us! The holidays bring us many joyful sounds, such as the voices of our loved ones, the exclamations of gratitude around the dinner table, and the sleigh bells jingling. If you are planning to attend gatherings with family and friends, we at Professional Hearing Services, Inc., want to make sure you can enjoy these festive sounds. A poorly treated or untreated hearing loss can hold you back from fully enjoying these sounds.
Give your loved ones the gift of your better hearing this holiday season!
In addition, we want to provide our readers with helpful tips for successful communication during this holiday season.
Below, you’ll find tips that are intended for all those who plan to attend holiday gatherings. These tips are important for both listeners and speakers and can help everyone communicate successfully. It is up to all of us to make sure we have effective, meaningful conversations with loved ones this holiday season.
Tips for successful communication:
1. Get the listener’s attention before speaking.
2. Utilize visual cues as much as possible.
a. Face the speaker/listener directly when speaking.
b. Make sure the environment is well lit.
c. The speaker should not obstruct the view of their mouth when speaking.
3. Speak clearly and distinctly. Avoid shouting or speaking with too much volume as this may distort speech for persons with hearing loss.
4. Avoid rapid speech. Slowing down a little and utilizing pauses between phrases or sentences can improve understanding.
5. Minimize background noise as much as possible.
6. Inform the listener of the general topic of the conversation.
7. Rephrase rather than repeat. If a listener has difficulty understanding a particular phrase or word, say it a different way if possible rather than repeat exactly what was said.
Resources:
University of California San Francisco Health. 2021. Communicating with people with hearing loss [Webpage]. Retrieved from https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/communicating-with-people-with-hearing-loss. Date accessed: November 1, 2021.
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