Communication Strategies for Challenging Listening Environments

There are a number of challenging environments where effective communication can become a bit of a problem. For example, a restaurant might seem like an excellent idea for a fun meal but when it comes to trying to keep the conversation moving, restaurants can be very challenging to both hear others and be heard in.

As a matter of fact, there are several barriers preventing effective communication in these types of high volume environments (i.e. a situation where there is additional background/extraneous noise such as loud music, groups of others talking, the sounds of vehicles, or something similar). If you are at a distance from the sound source, this presents another barrier. In fact, for every three feet of distance there is a halving or doubling of the listener’s perceived loudness. Additionally, when there is a lack of visual cues, this presents a third challenge. Ideally, one would want to be in an environment where they don’t have to contend with these but that is not always going to be possible or even close to reality. This is when we need to consider a few communication strategies for challenging environments.

Move closer to the sound source.

An easy way to fix hearing issues in a challenging environment is to move closer to the sound source (i.e. the person you want to hear).

Sit with your back to the wall.

Another method is to eliminate noise coming from at least one direction by sitting with your back against the wall. This way, noise/sounds coming from behind is not as big of an issue.

Watch the speaker’s face.

A third option is to watch the person’s face not only to read their lips, but also to take advantage of any cues that the speaker’s facial expressions will give you. Generally if you’re not able to move physically closer to the person or to reduce sound from at least one direction, speech/lip reading is the easiest way to increase communication.

Other preventative strategies for communication in a challenging environment.

There are a number of ways that you can use to combat the possibility of being in an environment where hearing might be an issue. Plan ahead and select a quieter restaurant where there aren’t as many people and not as much noise, if possible. Choose “off-peak” times to dine out. Don’t be afraid to ask for seating in a well-lit area or away from a large rowdy group. Call ahead and mention to the host/hostess that you have hearing loss, and to see if there is any way the staff can offer alternative seating selection.

Beyond all of these strategies, it is important to remember that in a noisy environment it’s likely that you are not the only person struggling to hear. The healthiest thing to do is simply to relax, breathe, and simply enjoy yourself even if you don’t necessarily catch every word.

If you’re in a challenging environment, straining to hear is fatiguing. If you are wearing new hearing aids, it is likely that you no longer need to strain necessarily but the background noise is creating a difficult to hear environment. If this noise is interfering with your ability to hear, understand, or pay attention, it can be quite challenging and stressful. This is rather normal. There is no reason to think that you won’t be able to dine out with friends, attend work parties, participate in public events, and converse with others at dinner. If you can’t decrease the noise in a challenging environment and you can’t move away from the noise, these strategies can help in mitigating the effects.