The COVID-19 pandemic has moved many personal and professional
interactions from in person to virtual platforms.
For people with hearing loss, this shift can be
problematic. Platforms like Zoom, Skype, Facetime, and Microsoft Teams are
designed to keep people in touch while remaining socially distanced, but these
applications can make effective communication difficult for people with hearing
loss. People with hearing loss often rely on nonverbal cues to fill in the
blanks during a conversation. Body language, gestures, voice pitch and facial
expressions aren’t as noticeable during virtual encounters. Therefore,
participants must concentrate harder to follow the conversation.
Maybe that’s why most people say they prefer face-to-face
communication at work. However,
with more and more conversations moving online, it is critical to find ways to
make these platforms work for everyone. Luckily, there are steps you can take
to improve your hearing experience during virtual interactions.
Putting Technology to Work
Use technology to improve the experience. If you already use Sonic 2.4
GHz Bluetooth® hearing aids (e.g. Enchant, Trek or Captivate), you
can pair them with an iPhone® or iPad® in order to participate in meetings via apps on your iOS device.
The meeting’s audio will stream directly through your hearing aids and your
voice will be picked up by the microphone on your wireless device.
Additionally, Sonic’s SoundClip-A accessory can be paired with any iOS device
as well as other modern mobile phones, tablets or computers through 2.4 GHz, in
effect turning your hearing instruments into a high-quality headset for
hands-free connectivity. Sound from the wireless device is streamed directly to
both ears, while the SoundClip-A’s directional microphones pick up your voice.
You can further adjust the volume or change other sound settings using
Sonic’s SoundLink
2 app or the
SoundClip-A.
There are also some web-based speech recognition tools like WebCaptioner, LiveTranscribe or Otter to use within your virtual meeting. These
tools provide on-screen captioning of the conversation within seconds. You may
need to use a separate window to view the dialog so you can also participate in
the virtual meeting. Know that distance, noise and reverberations from the
speaker’s microphone can affect the quality of the transcription of their
voice.
Wireless connections can be unstable at any given
time and during virtual meeting is no exception. Audio may cut out or the
screen may freeze. Using an Ethernet connection instead of wifi to improve the
connection. If you are not able to use an Ethernet connecting, try moving
closer to your wireless router.
Practical Considerations
Establish clearly defined rules for participation.
Start by identifying a chairperson, a note taker and someone to manage who is
speaking. A well-organized meeting will be much easier for all
participants to follow.
Here are some other ways to get the most out of your virtual meetings:
- Only one person at a time should have
the floor. Leave your camera and microphone muted until you’re recognized
by the meeting chair or participation manager.
- Keep meetings as small as possible. Two
to four people is ideal. If a larger meeting is necessary, everyone but
the speaker should mute their audio so you can focus on one person at a
time.
- Make sure the person speaking is well
lit and the camera is steady. Pin the speaker to your screen so your focus
isn’t pulled by other images of meeting participants.
If you still continue to struggle hearing in virtual meetings, contact
your hearing
care professional to learn how Sonic can help make Everyday Sounds Better!
Note: Bluetooth is a registered trademark owned by
Bluetooth SIG, Inc, USA. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhone are trademarks of
Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
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| To book your hearing assessment today, contact your local Sonic partner clinic |
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