{"id":792,"date":"2021-12-16T09:56:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T17:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/?p=792"},"modified":"2021-12-16T09:56:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T17:56:43","slug":"how-to-host-a-hearing-loss-friendly-dinner-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/how-to-host-a-hearing-loss-friendly-dinner-party\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Host a Hearing Loss-Friendly Dinner Party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There\u2019s no better time to gather with family and friends than during the holidays. While festive parties full of holiday music and friendly conversations can bring a lot of joy, they can also cause a lot of frustration, particularly for people with hearing loss. Given <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/statistics\/quick-statistics-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">how common hearing loss is<\/a>, you should be prepared to accommodate people with the condition at your holiday dinner party. We review how below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Designate a Quiet Zone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dinner-party-hearing-loss.jpg\" alt=\"People gathered at a dinner party.\" class=\"wp-image-794\" width=\"326\" height=\"217\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be <a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/hearing-loss-overview\/hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hard to hear<\/a> over the sounds of holiday music, clanking dishes and other conversations, even for someone with normal hearing, but for someone with hearing loss, it can be especially frustrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Designate a quiet room or area of your house free of music, television, children and other noises where someone with hearing loss can go to easily converse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Reduce the Overall Noise Level<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether or not you are able to accommodate a quiet area, you should strive to minimize distracting background noise by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Designating a playroom for children.<\/li><li>Turning the TV on in a separate room to watch the big game.<\/li><li>Keeping holiday records from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jaxrecords.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yesterday &amp; Today Records<\/a> turned low.<\/li><li>Waiting for guests to leave the table before clearing dishes.<\/li><li>Waiting for guests to go home before washing dishes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Consider Your Table Settings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps one of the most important aspects of your dinner party is how the tables are set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you can, opt for round tables so everyone can be seen and heard easily.<\/li><li>If not, put the person\/people with hearing loss at the center of their table so they can communicate with everyone. Additionally, put them at a table farthest from the kids\u2019 table and kitchen.<\/li><li>Make sure the room is well-lit to make lipreading easier.<\/li><li>Keep centerpieces minimal so no one\u2019s face is blocked.<\/li><li>Close curtains to reduce glare and improve sound dampening.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Follow the Dos and Don\u2019ts of Effective Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/hearing-loss-overview\/communication-strategies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">communicating with someone<\/a> who has hearing loss, be sure you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Do get their attention by waving or tapping on their arm<\/li><li>Do speak to them face-to-face<\/li><li>Do talk clearly and slowly<\/li><li>Do rephrase what you\u2019ve said if they mishear you<\/li><li>Do be patient and keep trying<\/li><li>Do use notes if necessary<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Don\u2019t shout or clap to get their attention<\/li><li>Don\u2019t speak with your head or body turned<\/li><li>Don\u2019t talk quickly or loudly<\/li><li>Don\u2019t repeat what you\u2019ve already said in the same words<\/li><li>Don\u2019t get frustrated<\/li><li>Don\u2019t say \u201cit\u2019s not important\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more communication tips or to schedule an appointment with an expert, call The McCoy Institute of Hearing and Balance today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/are-my-headphones-too-loud\/\" class=\"related-post\">Are My Headphones Too Loud?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/is-there-a-connection-between-high-cholesterol-and-hearing-loss\/\" class=\"related-post\">Is There a Connection Between High Cholesterol and Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/how-to-safely-remove-water-from-your-ear\/\" class=\"related-post\">How to Safely Remove Water from Your Ear<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s no better time to gather with family and friends than during the holidays. While festive parties full of holiday music and friendly conversations can bring a lot of joy, they can also cause a lot of frustration, particularly for people with hearing loss. Given how common hearing loss is, you should be prepared to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"There\u2019s no better time to gather with family and friends than during the holidays.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":796,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions\/796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}