Everyone loves a good outdoor market or community event like the Rockport Donut Festival! Events like these are fantastic for getting out into your community, basking in the warm weather, shopping local and enjoying some live entertainment. You may not consider the hearing challenges of these environments—after all, they’re no rock n’ roll concert—but events like these can certainly present some unexpected challenges for people with hearing loss.
Hearing Challenges at Outdoor Summer Events
While the environment itself may not be overly loud, it is difficult to listen in. The acoustics of outdoor environments can both echo sounds back to you and absorb noise in wide-open spaces. This means that some background noise may be much more prominent than normal, while the sounds you’re trying to focus on seem muffled or hard to hear.
Speaking of background noise, there’s plenty of it at community events. Traffic, music from a live performer or speakers, vendors calling out, people chatting and wind noise can all create a cacophony in the background. Even for people without hearing loss, this environment can be overwhelming.
Tips for Outdoor Summer Events for Hearing Aid Users
Your hearing aids are advanced pieces of technology and can be incredibly beneficial; here are some ways to utilize them to their fullest and make summer events easy.
- Turn up background noise suppression. Your hearing aids use an advanced digital processor to collect and categorize all sounds that enter the microphone. This processor can automatically discern what is background noise and what isn’t, and it will amplify or suppress accordingly. In environments with a lot of background noise and complex acoustics, this feature can be incredibly helpful.
- Turn up speech amplification. That same digital processor that distinguishes background noise can also distinguish human speech and turn it up accordingly. This is especially useful in situations where you’re trying to hold a conversation in a crowded or noisy place, like chatting with your friend as you watch a parade or making a purchase from a vendor.
- Create a custom listening program. Your audiologist offers professional ongoing support, and we are available to adjust settings and create custom programs in your hearing aids that are specially suited for specific environments. If you’ve turned up background noise suppression and speech amplification and still feel like you can’t hear well at summer events, come see us; we can fine-tune the settings to do what you need.
- Consider a directional microphone. Most hearing aids come with omnidirectional microphones, which pick up sounds from all directions. A directional microphone, on the other hand, focuses mostly on sounds that come from in front of you.
At Gary D. Schwartzberg, Au.D., Doctor of Audiology, we want you to enjoy cruising and perusing at these events without feeling overstimulated or frustrated by the complex listening environment. Ask us about any of the settings or technologies listed above and how they can help you at summer events this season. Call us today!