How To Cope With Hearing Loss In Restaurants

Going out to a restaurant is a part of most people's social life, but for the hard of hearing it can be an extremely traumatic experience, rather than a relaxing evening. Sometimes there is very little that you can do to establish control over the environment. There is background noise, people laughing and talking and celebrating and getting louder by the second, the clatter of plates and cutlery being served as well as traffic noise when the doors are open, and the cash register ringing. All of these factors make it very hard to concentrate and hear the conversations at the table.

Can we hear any clearer? The ambience in a restaurant is generally created by the management. Some favour a noisy bustling atmosphere which resembles a Continental bistro. Some are geared to younger people whilst others foster a more sombre environment where patrons can enjoy good food in peace. Choose your restaurant environment carefully so that you can maintain some control over the environment. Visit the restaurant if possible before booking a table. Despite management policies it is a fact of life that restaurants and pubs are much noisier when they have a lot of people, because background noise makes some people raise their voices to get over the distractions which compound the noise levels. Restaurants are busy at the weekends choose a quiet weekday to dine out. Phone the restaurant and find out when they're at their busiest. Either book a table to dine an hour earlier or an hour later as the noise levels should be less. Choose a restaurant which is well lit because some of them have ambient lighting which is very dim which makes it difficult to lip read. If you find yourself in a dim restaurant ask for a table directly underneath the wall light. If you are dining at lunchtime after sit near a window. Explaining your problem to the maitre d' may well help the situation, he can't help you if he doesn't understand your needs. It may be something as simple as putting four extra candles on the table to lip read.

Where you sit in a restaurant directly affects the noise level. Cash registers can be noisy and sitting near a door close to the kitchen or toilet is dangerous as well as sitting near the door of the restaurant. If the restaurant is serving a buffet style meal avoid sitting close to the buffet because there will be an inevitable clanking of metal when people serve themselves. Having said this, a table in the centre of the room picks up noise from all directions which is also difficult for the hard of hearing. If you have the opportunity, you are better off choosing a booth because the high walls exclude some of the noise. If you have to sit at a wall table do not fit underneath a loudspeaker. Another minefield in a restaurant is sitting in front of an area where the waiters can congregate and chat. Although it can be a challenge to find the perfect restaurant it is possible to do so especially if you take charge. Don't let another member of the party choose the area they want to set. Tell your guests in advance that you have to take charge and choose the seating area based on your hearing needs. Most people you are going out with would want you to be comfortable and not disadvantaged within a restaurant setting.