Thanksgiving is exciting, but let’s face it, it can be pretty stressful if you have hearing loss. Your nearest and dearest bustle around talking over each other, clattering dishes as they go and the background music always seems to be a little too high. All this causes havoc with your hearing aids. Keeping up with conversation can be near-impossible. Here at PHC Tennessee we know what it’s like. So, we’ve put together some Thanksgiving survival tips which will hopefully make things a little easier this year.

 

Plan it out

Think about things you can control to make things easier for yourself. Plan for some extra time to get things done and some breaks to make sure you don’t get frazzled.

 

Keep your cool

Do some of your relatives not get how to handle your hearing loss? Chances are, they don’t have much experience with it. Help them to help you, be clear about how they can make things easier for you. You’ll probably find that both you and your relatives feel more comfortable and less frustrated when you express your needs.

 

Go with a table plan

If your hearing loss is worse in one ear than the other, seat people you want to talk to on your better side. If you’re not doing the table plan, try to sit next to someone with a louder speaking voice, or someone you know well to make your life easier.

 

Pinpoint words you missed

If you don’t catch everything someone is saying, ask them to repeat specific things such as “Where did you say you were?” or “Could you repeat his name? I didn’t catch it”.

 

Minimize any further hearing damage

Encourage people to use earplugs when it comes around to the fireworks. Having a bag of foam earplugs handy will help protect you and your loved ones from unnecessary hearing damage.

 

Take time out

All the extra concentration required when straining to catch what people are saying can be really exhausting. Factor in a couple of quiet breaks through the day. Let your family know in advance that you’ll need a little downtime, maybe even a nap. If following along with conversations is too tiring, don your apron and get stuck into cooking, laying the table or prepping drinks.

 

Get your hearing checked ahead of time

Struggling more than usual with your hearing recently? Get a hearing check up before the Thanksgiving holiday madness begins. A quick hearing aid tweak could make the world of difference when it comes to keeping track of conversations at Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at PHC Tennessee.

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Sarah Post, Au.D., CCC-A

As a child of deaf adults (CODA) in the Knoxville Deaf Community, she understands the struggles like no other. This sparked her passion for audiology as a career and led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in audiology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After completing her degree, she continued her education at Auburn University, where she completed her doctorate of audiology (Au.D.) before returning to Knoxville to serve the local community. As a clinical audiologist at Physicians Hearing Care, Sarah provides comprehensive diagnostic services to assess patients’ hearing needs. Often requiring the assistance of amplification devices, Sarah helps patients select and tailor instruments to their specific hearing loss and needs that can improve their quality of life. With each patient, she listens and discusses their needs to develop a plan to improve their communication and quality of life. So far, there have been many life-changing moments during her time at PHC. Most of all, Sarah loves working with people to form a partnership to understand their needs, build trust, and craft customized plans to improve their hearing health.