Holiday parties and gatherings in environments where multiple conversations are going on at once can make a less than accommodating listening environment creating a situation that audiologists refer to as the “cocktail-party” effect.
The cocktail party effect refers to the ability to focus one’s attention on a particular speaker while being able to filter out the range of background noise. This ability can be incredibly difficult for individuals with hearing loss. Some with hearing loss will avoid those situations due to the increased difficulty to hear in noisy situations.
Advanced technology in hearing aids can significantly help those who struggle with background noise. Hearing aids can amplify speech while helping to reduce background noise. Of course, no hearing aid is as good as our brain’s ability to filter out sounds, but wearing hearing aids in noisy environments can help us understand others.
Additional tactics you can take to combat noisy listening situations include finding a quieter spot to have a conversation, looking at the person’s face that you are talking to, avoiding areas with tall ceilings and hard surfaces as sounds can bounce all around and make hearing and understanding even more difficult.
Before you attend your next holiday party, call us at 614-263-5151 to schedule an audiological evaluation. You and your audiologist will create a customized treatment plan based on your listening needs. Give yourself the gift of better hearing!