Holiday Events and Hearing Loss: 3 Tips for Coping

Do you dread going to noisy holiday parties because you are having trouble hearing people? Here are some tips to help.

First, if you have a hearing aid, wear it! It has been programmed to your specific hearing pattern, so use it! If you don't use it much, read the manual or online instructions and try it out in a noisy place ahead of time.

At the party, you will hear better with less competing noise. Talk to people in a side room or hall if that's quieter.

If you are really interested in talking to someone, self-advocate! Tell the person you have a hearing loss, and ask if they can repeat a specific word or sentence. If they try to talk louder, ask if they can talk a little slower instead, but not exaggerate their words.

If you are at a Thanksgiving dinner or other event, try to face the person whom you are interested in talking to. This will help with lip-reading as well as watching body language.

The e-book What Did You Say? Coping with Hearing Loss in the Workplace, has practical strategies and is a quick-read concise source of help. Get it before your next event!

Wondering about your hearing? Two questions to ask

As baby boomers age, and as those  who have been exposed to loud music through ear-buds and other sources get older, hearing loss is becoming more common. For the first time in history, an increased number of those in their late teens and twenties are showing signs of hearing loss; most hearing loss is not reversible. It takes, on average, 7 years for many people to decide to get their hearing tested.

If your doctor prescribes a hearing test, some insurance plans may cover the cost. Check with them first.

When you decide to get your hearing tested, do so with 2 questions. First, skip the portable booths and machines, and go to someone with a permanent booth. When the machines are moved, their delicate calibration can be changed, making the results inaccurate. Even with a permanent booth, ask "When was this device last calibrated?" Expect an answer within the last year.

Also ask the qualifications of the examiner. Look for a name-tag that says "CCC-A" or a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology.

A person who has finished at least his master's in audiology (now usually a doctorate) but is in his first year of work may have a name-tag that says "CFY-A", or Clinical Fellowship Year - Audiology, indicating he is being closely supervised. In other words, you want someone who has extensive training to test your hearing, beyond the screening stage.

If you have a hearing loss, your audiologist will prescribe a hearing aid if it is appropriate. (Not everyone can benefit from one.) It takes training, called aural rehabilitation, to get the maximal benefit from a hearing aid.

There are some things you can do at work to make communication easier. First, try to talk to people in a quieter setting. Close the door, go to a quieter restaurant or go at off-hours, turn down the noisy radio, or just be in front of and near  the person who is talking.

Second, consider getting some special equipment to make it easier to hear on the telephone or in a meeting. This equipment is called assistive listening devices (ALDs). The equipment can be used with or without a hearing aid. Your audiologist can suggest any that might be appropriate. If the equipment is needed to help you do your job effectively and safely, talk to your human resources department about purchasing it for you.

If you have a documented hearing loss, let your employer know. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects qualified people with known disabilities  in the areas of hiring, training and firing. However, if your employer does not know about your disability, you are not covered.

For more information, Business Speech Improvement offers a helpful e-book, "What Did You Say? Coping with Hearing Loss". (Scroll to the bottom of the page for this.)

  

Baby boomers: organizing personal finances now

Are you trying to plan for your own retirement, or deal with a senior citizen's tangled finances? Are your insurance, bank and stock or IRA account numbers "somewhere" in a mound of papers - maybe?
Maybe you are wondering how to get a replacement birth certificate for your senior citiizen, or for yourself.

An easy way to get organized financially is through the Financial Overview Template. Use this easy template to write down as much information as you can find now.  Then, be sure to print a hard copy of it, which you can get to if needed, if the electricity goes out.    Later, add the rest of the data, bit by bit, as you locate it or as it arrives in the mail or online. (As your information changes over time, you can update it easily.)

Some of the information may be easy to find, such as birthdates and the name and contact information of a particular accountant, doctor or dentist. Other information such as insurance account numbers and who to call in the event of a claim may take more work; if you can't find these, contact the company or wait for an update from them.

The pages online can be password-protected, and you can keep a copy of this on a password-protected flash-drive with you, handy in case of an emergency such as an unexpected trip to the hospital, evacuation or other disaster.

If you use the services of a financial planner or financial planning software, use this information from your various accounts or those of your parent (or other senior citizen) to prepare before your next visit. By visiting the website of each company and putting in the account number, you can determine the value of each account; write it and the date when this value was announced so you can report this to the financial planner.

The pay-off for this will be a serene sense of financial organization and confidence; you will be able to find  the data you need, when you need it. Just think: your account numbers will finally be easily accessible to you. Your knowledge of your benefits and what they cover, your retirement information, and many other details will be quickly available, too. Imagine how wonderful that will feel! Get the Financial Overview Template now, and be prepared with knowledge of your finances before you need it next!