It's nearing the end of the school year, which means that you will be getting invitations to graduations and send-off parties for your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors. Hot on their heels will be the invitations to the swoon of weddings that happen in June. Add in summer barbeque parties for the 4th of July and summer picnic invitations, and you could be looking at a very full social calendar.
If you felt like you could attend any of these events, that is. When your hearing is deteriorating, social events like these can be very stressful. You can't hear what people are saying, so you can't figure out the flow of the conversation. You miss out on little bits of instruction, like how to find the desserts in the backyard or that the bathroom is in the basement. Instead, you end up sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, unable to participate in the conversation and feeling like a bump on a log.
In many cases, it is just plain easier to stay home than to go out and endure such events. However, if you stay home, it's like admitting that your hearing loss has won. You've given up the fight and you are willing to be socially isolated the rest of your days. Not a very fun proposition to think about, is it?
You can fight back against this social isolation and the fear of attending summer social evetns by getting your hearing loss assessed by an auditory professional. He or she can work with you to help you identify critical choices you need to be making about your hearing loss. You can discuss various hearing loss solutions, and have the chance to take hearing aids for a test drive to find something that works for you.
Once you have your hearing stabalized and are comfortable with your hearing aids, you can start to re-evaluate your social calendar for the summer. Think of all the events that you thought you might not go to because you figured you wouldn't be able to hear people anyway. Dig out those invitations and get your RSVP changed! You can now attend and merrily make conversation with whoever you like.
Don't worry about crowds and background noise either. If you think this might be an issue for you, talk with your auditory professional. He or she can guide you to hearing aids that have noise cancelling features that help you focus in on the elements of the conversation that are the most important to you, like the voice of the person speaking. All other noise will be muted so you can focus on the conversation.
With the school year coming to a close, another season of events is launching. Why worry about attending any of them? You can attend events without worries when you take the time to evaluate your hearing loss and get hearing aids. Bring your social calendar to life once more, and get out and enjoy the summer!
