I have been thinking about a concept of soundaries.
If you have not heard about soundaries, it is quite alright – it is a made-up word. Made up by me.
Soundaries are like boundaries. A boundary is defined as a line which marks the limits of an aera to separate one thing form another and more figurately as an unofficial rule or limits that define acceptable behaviour. In short, boundaries are about yes and no, stay and go.
The same is true for soundaries. A soundary guides you to a yes, a no, to stay or go when it comes to hearing situations. In my practice, I often meet clients and family members who have suffered because of a soundary breach.
Here are three examples:
Soundary: The loudness of the TV.
An acceptable, considerate TV volume is a clear soundary. What would an acceptable TV volume be though: loud enough to follow along but not forcing people one room over to follow along too? This is quite personal, isn’t it? Other factors also influence viewing experience: placements of speakers, size of the screen, seating distance from the sound source, and the use of headphones and captions.
But a steep setting on the remote’s volume setting if often a sign that hearing may be compromised. A hearing assessment offers a useful starting point to address this soundary breach. As an audiologist, I am always excited to hear about people’s listening and viewing preference and to determine whether I can work with clients to improve the overall experience. It is so much fun (and I get great tips on the latest British crime series too)!
Soundary: The mobile phone volume.
Oh gosh, where to start with this one! I have had many situations where a client was in an appointment convincing me that it is their spouse that mumbles, when their phone rings. Or rather, bellows from upon the highest hill. I honestly think some ring tone volumes may be mistaken for smoke alarms.
Again, there are many factors involved, but any situation where people jump in fright when the phone rings may be a nudge from the universe to start investigations into hearing.
Soundary: An acceptable number of times I can ask people to repeat themselves.
This is a hard one, isn’t it? Many factors are at play, especially the level and quality of background noise. Most hearing losses limit the amount of speech understanding in the presence of background noise. It is a nuisance, and it robs the whole situation of clarity.
“I beg your pardon, could you say again?”
“Did you say boat? Oh, no?”
“Oh both! You meant both! Oh, now it makes sense… “
Background noise is like an uninvited guest showing up and upstaging the real stars at the Oscars.
Instead of avoiding it by withdrawing, background noise, like any other threat to soundaries, should be understood and tackled as an inevitable but surmountable obstacle. We are made of strong stock and so are hearing aids. I refuse to believe that we will diminish our access and enjoyment of cherished activities by some loud Whitney Houston and two dummy spits in Kmart on a Saturday morning. No, Sir.
Finally, it is important to remember that that soundaries are flexible when well maintained. They evolve over time to keep you safe and engaged. They also represent a push in the right direction.
YES, audiologists can help with soundaries! GO (make an appointment with your independent Audiologist)!
Written by Dr Dunay Schmulian, Independent Audiologist at Cotton Tree Audiology.
