Nearly half the weddings in 2022 occurred between the months of September and November. That’s an enormous share of festivities occurring in just a short amount of time!
Among the various residues of pandemic behavior, one holdover seems to be an increased tendency to hold large gatherings and parties outdoors. When we put these two data points together, it’s easy to see why your recent invitations might be geared toward an outdoor wedding or similar soiree. What many people with healthy hearing might not automatically consider is the anxiety these events cause for people who live with hearing loss.
If you’re playing the role of host during such a party, here are some sound strategies for turning up the volume on inclusion in outdoor festivities.
At Least One Of Your Guests Will Struggle With Hearing Loss
As a simple numbers game, it’s safe to assume that one of the party participants lives with hearing loss. One in eight Americans over the age of 12 have hearing loss present in both ears. What’s more, one in three people over the age of 65 live with hearing loss, so those folks on the older spectrum of your guest list are even more likely to have difficulty hearing.
Why Outdoor Events Cause Anxiety For People With Hearing Loss
The degradation of inner ear cells is responsible for the most prevalent forms of hearing loss, including that brought on by exposure to loud noises and the natural aging process. When these inner ear cells are damaged, a person has less of them to process environmental noise into sound information, or data the brain can understand. Initially and throughout the progress of hearing loss, the loss of inner ear cell function impedes a person’s ability to easily hear and understand speech.
So while you might think that hearing loss presents as an overall lowering of volume, that’s not the case. Instead, people with hearing loss struggle intensely with conversation. Social interactions can be frustrating at best, and exhausting due to a phenomena called ‘listening fatigue’ which occurs because those with hearing loss actually have to work harder to piece together the puzzle of a conversation while missing many of the pieces.
Moving a party outdoors brings up additional worries for people with hearing loss, beyond the anxiety of a group event with lots of calls for conversation. Groups tend to spread out to fill the room available, and so people will likely be strewn around the event space, creating loose and casual knots of conversation in an impromptu fashion. Competing background noises from lawnmowers to traffic sounds will all additionally compete with the volume of guests conversation so that background noise, a common conflater of conversation hurdles, further impedes easy conversation.
Inclusion For Hard Of Hearing Folks At Formal Events
With foresight, you can make significant improvements that benefit your hard of hearing guests. Plan for intimate, round tables when possible so that people with hearing loss can access visual cues in people’s faces to help them understand speech. For this same reason, think carefully about the lighting (especially if your event crosses into evening territory), so that people with hearing loss have an illuminated view.
For formal, assigned seating, consider placing people you know have difficulty hearing at smaller tables where they’ll be closer to their conversation partners, farther removed from busy areas like the buffet, bathroom or bar stations. Place these predetermined groups away from music speakers and live bands.
Tips For Your Hearing Impaired Guests At Casual Backyard Bashes
Not every summer and fall party is a wedding, even though it might be outdoors. There are also ways to make your more casual backyard barbeques more accessible to your loved ones with hearing loss.
While seating isn’t assigned, you can still arrange a quieter area for conversation. Just a few chairs away from busy traffic areas, make sure the area is well-lit and chairs face one another. You can gently guide those folks you know have difficulty hearing to these designated spots. When possible, check in on people with hearing loss, particularly if you notice them looking ill at ease or cut off from conversation. You can fill in when needed, or hook them up with a compassionate and empathetic chatty guest.
Get In Touch With Our Team
While reading articles on the internet is a terrific way to understand more about hearing loss, nothing beats an in-person consultation and customized plan. Get in touch with our team today to begin the simple process of expanding your hearing horizons.