Did you know that where you decide to sit in a crowded or noisy room with a cochlear implant can impact on how much you can hear and understand?
As part of learning to be assertive about your hearing loss, it is worth practising how to identify a good spot for you to sit so that you have the best chance of understanding what it is being said.
There are a few golden rules:
- Try to arrange meetings or social activities in rooms with soft furnishings if possible, carpet, tablecloths and curtains all help absorb excess sound and can make it easier to hear.
- Learn to look out for the areas that create the most noise in your environment – coffee machines, open plan kitchens, audio speakers or crowded bar or service areas all create extra noise. Try to avoid sitting in those areas if possible.
- Look for the light! Sometimes we fall back on lipreading when it’s noisy to help top up our hearing. If you can have your back to the window or lighting and therefore have the light falling on the face of the person you are talking to it may help to ‘illuminate’ your understanding!
- Don’t avoid noisy situations because they are hard. Take steps to include yourself. Let the people in your group or at your table know that you find background noise difficult but that you will try you best and you are interested in what they have to say. At a crowded family gathering or social work do ask people to accompany you outside or to another room for a quick one-on-one catch up so you can stay up to date with them instead of struggling to keep up with a large noisy conversation inside.
- Choose the seat that best suits you! Point your best hearing ear towards the table or group and minimise background noise by sitting with your back to the wall if you can.
Remember, the world is a noisy place but a little preparation, knowledge and assertiveness can help!