The other night I attended a party held at a pub in the city. Background noise was quite high, as I expected with that sort of situation. I have to admit conversation was difficult, but I was managing to cope without making a fool of myself!
It was when they started the karaoke that the real problems began. The level of noise was to the point where I was forced to actually turn my hearing aids off. This of course meant that I lost all contact with the people around me. All I could hear was the loud music muted with my moulds now acting as ear plugs (not a bad thing, by the way).
Fortunately those around me where well aware of my hearing loss and had no problem making sure I understood what was said. It still makes for a difficult time. At one stage someone I didn't know was asking me a question; my immediate reaction was to turn to a friend beside me for help. Of course she took over but it still unsettles you.
So how do you cope with these situations without totally withdrawing? Is there a way of dealing with a noisy environment without isolating yourself and losing that social contact?
I think there is. These are the things that I find make all the difference when background sound is overpowering conversation.
Sit in the right seat.
Where you sit can help your hearing aids do the best job for you if you have a directional program. Make sure the noise you don't want to hear is behind you; the microphones on your hearing aids are turned off at the back so you don't get quite so much of that sound from behind when you change to your directional program for noise.
Watch; use the visual cues
Often we can turn our head to get our ear closer to the sound we are straining to hear. However this causes us to lose our most valuable weapon in fighting the noise. Visual cues and watching the persons lips will give you half the story straight up. When people are in noise they can tend to give more of these cues anyway.
Make sure people know you will struggle
If people are aware of the fact that you have a loss often they will try and be as supportive as they can. Education is the key, and with hearing loss it is no different. "If I can't see you, I can't hear you," "You'll need to face me when you talk to me," "Try and rephrase instead of just repeating what you said" - these are all comments you can make to let others know how to support you.
Don't panic!
Try and relax, as hard as that it. The more stressed you are the harder it will be. Relax and focus on enjoying the time with friends and family - don't be robbed of that time because of the extra challenge.
These few tips will hopefully make life a little easier for dealing with a noisy situation. If you have any tips, let us know. The more we help each other the easier it will be.
