Listening Tips for the Festive Season

“If the world doesn’t provide you with what you need, then you change the world.”
Arlene Romoff in “Listening Closely”

1. Take as much control of the listening environment as possible.
2. Choose your favourite way to de-stress, and find 3 minutes to sit in a very quiet place.
3. Large groups, such as round the festive table, are difficult for everyone.
a. If you are the host, engineer the seating so that you have your back to the light, and so that the noisiest people are the furthest away; no background music or background TV, have as many soft furnishings around as possible to deaden sound.
b. If you are a guest, then have a word with the host in advance and negotiate for the conditions above.
4. Listening is tiring when you have hearing difficulties. Even with hearing aids, you will find the noisy situations need a lot of concentration. Try and steal away to a quiet spot to talk to a favourite friend or relative.
5. If you miss the punch line of a joke, don’t stress. Ask the person sitting next to you to tell you.
6. If someone puts the TV on in the background, negotiate to have the sound off.
7. Encourage children to be considerate – no running around screaming. Get the parents to take action if the children are not yours.
8. Ask the teenagers to talk a bit more slowly.
9. Face people directly to make the most of the adaptive directional microphones.
10. Be assertive. Generally better listening conditions suit everyone.

And one last one for the cooks……. Tell him/her that he has to be in the same room and facing you if he wants to be heard over the sound of an extractor fan