Yule Do

Fully participate & enjoy all the festive season has to offer this year

What would YOU miss most during the Holiday Season if a Hearing Loss Developed? A Survey by Action on Hearing Loss identified some unsurprising but impactful results. People imagined missing out on a number of key elements of the festive season that other take for granted such as; • The sound of Christmas Carols • The Classic Christmas Songs on the radio • The Soundtrack to much loved festive Films

But what they thought they would miss the most was not being able to fully participate in conversations with family and friends As Christmas is the season of goodwill and merriment, all should be allowed to partake equally in the festive fun so Sam Longman resident Audiologist at the Alresford Hearing Studio has compiled these top tips for those with hearing loss, to help make the most of the time spent with loved ones this festive season

Some Top Tips for the Party Season • Check that your hearing equipment is still right for you. Visit a skilled and experienced audiologist before the festive season for a free, comprehensive consultation .They can optimize your current hearing aids to suit noisy environments such as parties or restaurants and can recommend the equipment that handle these environments best. • Check whether your hearing aids have directional microphones (two microphones instead of one), that are designed to reduce sounds from the side and the rear and focus on sounds in front of you. They will focus your hearing aids wherever your nose is pointing. So if you are facing into a noisy restaurant, the directional microphones will be focusing on the greatest amount of background noise. That is not good, when your hearing aids have directional microphones, the best spot to sit in is the one that will put room noise behind you. If you don’t have directional microphones, it may be time to consider an upgrade • Once you are confident in your equipment make sure you use it often, this allows your brain to adjust to different sounds over time o Using it only when you are faced with noisy situations tends to overwhelm the brain so you need to ‘train’ it to deal

with these situations. As you use them more your brain will start to distinguish between important and non-important sounds and adapts to the environment and makes it easier for you to follow the conversation. So start wearing your hearing aids every day in the weeks leading up to the Big Day! When Out Socialising o If you have a choice between a long table or a booth, choose a booth this will allow you to be closer to the speaker at all times o Don’t sit near the kitchen, at the bar or near the entrance to the restaurant. The ambient noise from these locations may be distracting o If you are dining with a larger group, avoid sitting at the ends of the table. It is very difficult to hear from one end to the other so try to sit in the middle. Be realistic even people without hearing loss may struggle at this time of year o Look above you - are you sitting directly under the air conditioning, fan or music speaker? sometimes the restaurant will agree to turn down the volume of the music if you explain that it is too loud for you to communicate with your dinner guests o Look at the person who is talking. When you are in a challenging environment such as a restaurant, you are going to need to use some visual cues o Enjoy yourself but don’t drink too much - drinking alcohol increases blood flow to the inner ear, which can cause tinnitus – a ringing, buzzing or swooshing sound in the ears. This condition should resolve itself in a few hours, but can still really compromise enjoyment

• The Alresford Hearing Studio can also service and fine tune all makes and models of hearing equipment. They are able to provide the optimum solution for you to enjoy the festive season. They can also check for wax build up in the Ear Canal and if necessary remove it using state of the art micro suction techniques.

Come and see us today to ensure you get the most from the 2020 festive season. Call us on 01962 790749 to make an appointment with our friendly team