Restaurant Dining For The Hard Of Hearing
There are 10 million people in the UK who are deaf or living with hearing loss.
For these people, background noise can make or break a night out, time with their family, or important meetings that could impact big projects!
One of the most difficult places to adjust to with acute or even chronic hearing loss is a public restaurant or bar. People with hearing loss shouldn’t have to wait for less busy periods to go out and enjoy themselves! With a hearing loop that people can use to adjust to noisy restaurant dining, a world of cuisine can open back up to them.
Restaurants and Background Noise – A Frustrating Combination!
Many deaf or hearing-impaired people struggle whilst visiting restaurants and bars as such facilities can cause them to feel isolated. This may be due to general restaurant noise, such as loud music, various sounds from the kitchen, loud dining companions, and/or voices bouncing off acoustic tiles. Ultimately, they’re not always pleasant places to be in when you struggle with hearing loss.
Just imagine sitting at your restaurant table with a group of friends enjoying a birthday meal. The wine is flowing, the conversation is getting interesting, and the food is divine.
This situation isn’t as exciting when you suffer from hearing loss. Your NHS Hearing aids (with the microphone to the rear of your ear) worked great earlier in the quiet taxi ride up, but now all you can pick up is the party on the table behind you. You don’t want to hear other patrons – you want to focus on your own guests?party!
That’s why so many people with hearing loss invest in personal hearing loop technology to enhance their experiences when out and about. There’s no longer a need to head for quiet restaurants when you have a Roger On Portable Hearing Loop System. H- just to make sure your hearing aids tune in perfectly with an assisting loop.
You Shouldn’t Have To ‘Adjust’!
And so, your evening continues. The waiter approaches your table and you ask to hear the specials. Instead of hearing about the delightful fennel-infused pulled pork, all you can hear is the hustle and bustle going on around you. Not the great sharing starter you were hoping to hear about.
You try to persevere with the conversation on your table, trying some speech reading and body language interpretation. You try your best to laugh and pretend that you understand what your friends are talking about – but in reality, you feel embarrassed – and just wish to finish your dessert!
The waiter approaches with the bill, and it is handed to a friend who is working out how much everyone owes. You can not understand what anyone is saying, the background music is a little too high, and the party behind you has now been replaced by a couple who are constantly shouting and being vulgar.
You guess the amount you have to pay and leave the restaurant, thinking to yourself “Why do I even bother coming to social events like these? If only there was something that could be done to include me more and make these social events enjoyable.”
Don’t worry, you are not alone in this! Restaurant dining for hard-of-hearing people can be a loud and stressful experience.
Sadly, this usually leads to a lot of self-compromise, such as going to read restaurant reviews online to find a good, quiet restaurant, having to limit group size, choosing to eat early, and even trying to teach family and friends good communication techniques so that we can attempt to follow the conversations!
However, even with preparation, a good restaurant, and very understanding dining companions, restaurant visits can still be a bit of a nightmare.
Making Restaurant Dining Hearing Loss-Friendly
Imagine if your local bar or restaurant could attract even 1% of people feeling let down by a lack of hearing-friendly solutions. Thankfully, with a few simple changes, both businesses and individuals can make even noisy restaurants feel like a quiet oasisses!
Modern hearing aids have been designed to help you focus on the sounds near you, by cleaning out the background sounds. You can even adjust the noise level directly on the assistive listening device to ensure that it never becomes too overwhelming.
But, what about hearing the people at the other end of the table? Whether you’re in a noisy environment or not, your hearing aid will likely only pick up the voices closest by, making group conversation a little more difficult.
That’s where hearing loops come in! By placing a microphone hearing loop such as a Roger On Portable Hearing Loop at the centre of the noise you wish to hear, with the help of a neckloop receiver ckloop your hearing aid will pick up on everyone around the table with no issue. The hearing loop simply sends the sounds it picks up to the receiver which in turn links directly to your hearing aid. The Roger On offers outstanding speech understandinginf in noiseuses cutting ed, cutting out any risk of background chatter getting in the way. In fact, you’ll even be able to hear the whispered secrets and inside jokes better than anyone else there! Finally, those who wear hearing aids will have the upper hand when it comes to dining out in louder environments!
Many restaurant chains already have public hearing loops available at bar or counter areastillto help those with hearing loss adapt to busier environments. However, it’s always a good idea to bring a hearing loop with you if you’re visiting a public space.
If possible, too, sitting at a booth or even a circularround table helps you to get a clear sound?depiction fromof all of the voices in your group around the table, ensuring that no one stuck at the corner table is a little less heard! This technique won’t just work in restaurants – Make make sure to keep this in mind alongside bringing your own loop.
Invest in Your First Hearing Loop
With the Roger On Portable Hearing Loop a leading hearing loop, there’s no longer any need to head for the quiet table. Whether you have your own hearing issues or are looking after someone with hearing aids, investing in a portable loop can make all the difference for public days out. Sadly, we can’t always rely on restaurants to install sound absorbing décor to support people with hearing loss. Therefore, it’s time to take matters into your own hands.
For more information on how a hearing loop could help you on your next trip to your favourite restaurant, cafe or bar, simply contact Hearing Loop on 01142357717 today. You can also email us at info@hearingloop.co.uk – and take a look around our online catalogue for exciting new products to help make hearing loss more manageable, no matter where you are.
