You arrive at your company’s annual holiday party and you’re instantly bombarded by noise. The din of shouted conversations, the clanging of glasses, and the throbbing beat of music are all mixing in your ears.
It makes you miserable.
You can’t hear a thing in this loud environment. You can’t follow conversations, you can’t hear the punch line of jokes, and you’re totally disoriented. How can anyone be having fun at this thing? But as the evening continues, you see that you’re the only person having difficulty.
This most likely sounds familiar for individuals who suffer from hearing loss. Unique stressors can be presented at a holiday office party and for a person who is coping with hearing loss, that can make it a solitary, dark event. But have no fear! This little survival guide can help you get through your next holiday party unscathed (and maybe even have some fun at the same time).
Why holiday parties can be stressful
Even when you don’t have hearing loss, holiday parties are a distinct mix of stress and fun (especially if you’re an introvert). If you struggle to hear when there’s a lot of background noise, holiday parties have distinct stressors.
The noise itself is the most prominent. Think about it in this way: Holiday parties are your chance to loosen your tie and cut loose. In an environment like this, individuals have the tendency to talk at louder volumes and frequently all at once. Alcohol can certainly play a part. But it can also be really loud at dry office parties.
For those who have hearing loss, this noise generates a certain level of interference. Here are some reasons for this:
- Office parties include tons of people all talking simultaneously. One of the side effects of hearing loss is that it’s very difficult to pick out one voice among overlapping discussions.
- Lots of background noise, laughing, clinking dishes, music, and so on. Your brain doesn’t always get enough information to pick out voices.
- When you have hearing loss, indoor parties such as office parties can make it even harder to hear because sound can become amplified.
This means that hearing and following conversations will be challenging for people who have hearing loss. This might not sound like a very big deal at first.
So… What is the big deal?
The big deal is in the networking and professional aspect of things. Office holiday parties, even though they are surficially social gatherings, a lot of networking occurs and connections are made. In any event, attendance is usually encouraged, so here we are. This means a couple of things:
- You can network: It isn’t uncommon for individuals to network with co-workers from their own and other departments at these holiday events. It’s a social event, but work will be discussed, so it’s also a networking event. You can use this event to make new connections. But it’s more challenging when you’re dealing with hearing loss and can’t make out what’s happening because of the overpowering noise.
- You can feel isolated: Most people are reluctant to be the one that says “what?” all the time. This is one reason why hearing loss and isolation frequently go hand-in-hand. Asking friends and family to repeat themselves is one thing but colleagues are a different story. They might mistake your hearing loss for incompetence. And that can harm your work reputation. So maybe you simply avoid interaction instead. No one enjoys feeling left out.
You might not even realize that you have hearing loss, which will make this an even bigger challenge. Usually, one of the first indications of hearing loss is the inability to hear in crowded settings (like office parties or crowded restaurants).
You may be caught off guard when you begin to have difficulty following conversations. And you might be even more surprised that you’re the only one.
Causes of hearing loss
So how does this occur? How does hearing loss develop? Most commonly, it’s due to age or noise damage (or age and noise damage). Basically, as you get older, your ears likely experience repeated damage as a result of loud noises. The tiny hairs in your ear that detect vibrations (called stereocilia) become damaged.
That injury is permanent. And your hearing will keep getting worse the more stereocilia that are damaged. Your best bet will be to protect your hearing while you still have it because this kind of hearing loss is normally permanent.
Armed with this knowledge, you can make that holiday party a little more pleasant in a few ways.
Tips to make your office party more enjoyable
Your office party presents some significant opportunities (and fun!), so you really want to go. So, when you’re in a noisy setting, how can you hear better? You can make that office party better and more enjoyable using these tips:
- Look at faces: Try to spend time with people who have really expressive faces and hand gestures when they talk. You will be capable of filling in information gaps using these contextual signals.
- Refrain from drinking too many cocktails: If your thinking starts to get a little blurry, it’s a good bet you’ll be unable to communicate successfully. The whole thing will be much easier if you go easy on the drinking.
- Take listening breaks: Every hour, take a 15 minute quiet break. In this way, you can prevent yourself from becoming completely exhausted from struggling to hear what’s going on.
- Have conversations in quieter places: Try sitting off to the side or around a corner. When the ambient noise gets too loud, sitting behind stationary objects can provide little pockets that are slightly less loud.
- Try to read lips: You will get better at this the more you practice. And you will probably never perfect this. But reading lips may be able to help you fill in some of the gaps.
Naturally, the best possible option is also one of the simplest.: invest in a pair of hearing aids. These hearing aids can be customized to your hearing needs, and they can also be subtle. Even if your hearing aids aren’t small, you’d rather people notice your hearing aids than your hearing loss.
Get your hearing tested before the party
If possible, get a hearing test before you go to the party. You may not have been to a party since before COVID and you don’t want hearing loss to catch you off guard.
