It’s always fun to try out a new entertainment venue, but it can be a challenge, especially if you need hearing aids for the performance. I checked the theater’s website and saw that there would be assistive listening devices available. Great!
Or maybe not so well. While it’s best to call ahead to find out what hearing assistance options are available and to make sure the theater is prepared for your arrival, I decided to experiment. This is a place I hope to frequent more in the future. I wanted to see what would happen if I just showed up with nothing, creating a baseline experience to grow from.
The result was not good, he did not expect it, but his intentions were good. And so the educational process begins.
Where are the hearing aids?
My experience began suddenly when I asked the ticket agent where I could find the hearing aids. “We don’t have them,” she said. “Yes, you do,” I replied, “it says so on the website.” She shrugged.
I asked another usher. This time I was luckier. “Oh, yes, we have those. Where are they? No one has asked for them in a while.”
She ran off to search. Luckily, we had arrived early because we knew it would take us a while to get settled. We watched her run up the stairs and back down empty-handed. Then up the stairs again. And back down. She headed to a hidden closet on a side wall of the hall and came out with something in her hand. “I found them,” she smiled.
Our usher friend changed the batteries. “I haven’t used them in a long time,” she laughed as she handed me one with an earpiece. “Try it and tell me how it works.”
“Just one earpiece?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s all we have.”
Is the system on?
To the usher’s credit, she came by after a few minutes to check on me, which wasn’t great since no sound was coming through the device. She ran out and came back. “The system wasn’t on, but it is now. This hasn’t been used in a while.”
Still no luck. He left and came back once more. “Try channel C2. I thought they said G2.” (Welcome to my world, I thought!) We changed the channel and the system worked! The show was about to start.
Single ear headphones do not work
Despite all the time it took me to set it up, the device proved useless. Yes, the sound was coming through the earpiece, but it was out of sync with the sound I was hearing in the other ear. There was no way my brain could fix the problem. The hearing aid was making it harder to hear rather than easier. I put it aside and did my best to follow the dialogue without it.
After the show, I provided my feedback to the friendly usher and told her I would be back the following week for another event. She promised to pass the information on to me.
The second take was better, but it was still not the winner.
We returned to the venue the following week to try again. This time, the ushers knew about the devices and took me straight to a kiosk where the devices were ready and charged. Voila! The assistive listening system was on and the correct channel was programmed into the device. Voila!
But the “earpiece” still had only one earpiece, making the device unusable. Luckily, I brought my noise-cancelling headphones and the plug worked with the device. I heard every word loud and clear.
Hearing access is usually a multi-step process
It shouldn’t be this way, but in my experience, hearing access is usually a multi-step process. My third visit to the location was similar to the second, except the manager was considering purchasing headphones with two earpieces. She even had me look at some online with her.
There is still work to be done, but the place seems open to change. I gave them my contact information and look forward to talking with them further. The more they understand, the better access to communication will be, not just for advocates like me who come prepared, but for everyone.
Readers, do you educate locals about assisted listening?
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