The holiday season is in full swing, and with that comes large dinners with family and friends. According to your Los Angeles audiologist, 50 percent of all families will have at least one person at their holiday table with hearing loss.
Below are a few tips to help make sure everyone is included in the celebrations.
Be Proactive
The key to a successful holiday dinner is to prevent the noise before it starts. This is easier said than done when you put so many people in a room together. Try setting aside a few rooms where people (specifically kids and sports fans who plan on watching the game) can go to make as much noise as they want. They are able to root for their home team without disturbing the other guests and making conversation almost impossible.
Set The Room
Once you have removed the noise-makers from the equation, it is time to focus on setting the dining room so it works for your hearing impaired guest. Your Los Angeles audiologist recommends the following:
- Turn down (or shut off) the holiday music, at least during the meal. This just leads to additional background noise that needs to get filtered out
- Remove candles and centerpieces from the table; while beautiful, they add unnecessary obstacles for those that rely on lip reading
- Keep the dining room as bright as possible; close the curtains and bring extra floor lamps if necessary
- Make a seating plan to accommodate those with hearing loss
- Seat them as far as possible from the kids’ table and the kitchen
- Seat them at the end of the table so they can see the entire party
- Do not clear the dishes until everyone is done eating; clanging dishes create a lot of noise
If you follow all of these tips, you will throw a party that even the most judgmental of in-laws would be proud of.
House Providence Hearing Health Center
2100 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057
(213) 483-9930
https://houseinstitute2.fm1.dev
