Imagine arriving at a yoga and wellness retreat center where each class, session and facility is designed to welcome everyone, including those with hearing loss. Instead of worrying about what you might miss, you can fully immerse yourself in relaxation, rejuvenation, and connection. This is the power of accessibility: it ensures that each participant leaves feeling inspired and fulfilled.
Creating this type of environment ensures that each guest feels valued and eager to return. A retirement center Kripalu Yoga and Health Center in Stockbridge, MA, is committed to providing this experience to its clients with hearing loss. Fellow Hearing Health Advocate Holly Cohen and I was happy to contribute our experience to their efforts.
Accessibility takes effort
After several online discussions, Kripalu’s accessibility working group invited Holly and me to visit the property to test the center’s offerings, provide practical feedback, and identify areas for improvement. We arrived on a beautiful fall Sunday and headed straight to the yoga class, two different ones so we could experience a wider range of the center’s offerings.
My class was in a beautiful room with high ceilings, hardwood floors, and no soft surfaces, making acoustics a challenge. I informed the teacher about my hearing loss before class started and she was able to adjust her microphone to make it easier for me to hear. But some of the other students felt that the volume was too loud. We found a workable compromise, but the experience was a good reminder that turning up the volume isn’t always the best answer for hearing access.
During our two-day visit, Holly and I took classes of all kinds (yoga, lectures, meditation, and small group discussions) in a variety of spaces. We ate in the common dining room and walked around the gardens. With each experience, we fine-tune a list of recommendations to share with the work group on the last day of our stay.
Making retirement spaces more friendly to people with hearing loss
We organize our suggestions into three main areas of change: structural, technological, and behavioral. Each is an important component of true accessibility, but some are easier to implement than others.
1. Structural changes require time and money.
Structural changes can be costly, but they also have a tremendous impact. It is easier to design a space for auditory access than to modernize an existing space, so for new projects, ask architects to include strong considerations in designs from the beginning.
For existing spaces, improvements can be made through remodeling or renovations. Some examples include:
- Add or move walls to minimize sound reverberation.
- Lower ceilings or retrofit them with acoustic tiles.
- Place sound-absorbing materials on walls and under chairs to capture sound resonating off the floor.
Whether in the initial design or through renovation, incorporating a auditory loop—a simple copper wire that surrounds the space—will allow users with telecoil hearing devices to connect directly to a room’s sound system, improving audibility, especially when the speakers are at a distance. We suggest installing a loop in one of the rooms as a pilot.
2. Technological solutions are easier and lower cost.
Audio integrity starts with a high-quality sound system, including excellent outputs (i.e. speakers) and inputs (i.e. microphones) that are easy and convenient to use and adjust.
However, one or two excellent speakers at the front of the room are not enough. We suggest placing speakers strategically throughout the room to distribute sound more evenly, allowing volumes to be lower and reducing distortion.
Once available, AuracastA new Bluetooth technology will be a game-changer for all group listening situations. Like a hearing loop, but at a much lower cost, Auracast allows listeners to connect directly to a venue’s sound system through an Auracast-enabled listening device of their choice: headphones, headphones, headphones.
Auracast is still being tested, so until it is ready to go into action, venues should continue to offer other assistive technologies (both audio and captioning) to provide access today.
3. Behavior changes are free and have an immediate impact.
Inclusive behaviors are easy to implement and can immediately improve the quality of communication. And most are free!
Instructors can incorporate communication best practices into all types of sessions. Below are some examples.
- For yoga or meditation classes, teachers can let students know which areas of the room will be louder or softer as part of the pre-class setup. As people enter the space, they can choose the location that best suits them without drawing unwanted attention.
- In discussion-based classes, instructors can encourage participants to speak one at a time, always use a microphone when speaking themselves, and repeat or summarize audience comments and questions before responding.
- Presenters using PowerPoint can use the app’s built-in feature. automatic subtitles feature to display AI-generated subtitles in real time while the instructor speaks. Setting the subtitles to appear at the top of the screen will make them easier to see at the back.
- Closed captioning can also be used for all online sessions. Most virtual meeting platforms offer this feature for free, but it must first be activated in the main account settings. Automatic subtitles are not perfect (there will be errors), but they are still useful in many situations.
Next steps: feedback and testing
It will also be important for Kripalu to collect information from other users with hearing loss. We suggest adding more detailed hearing-related accessibility information to your website, asking users about their access needs on intake forms, and seeking feedback on room acoustics in exit surveys. This will help users with hearing loss better understand what is currently available and give them a say in shaping future improvements.
The working group members listened carefully to our comments and asked excellent follow-up questions. They are processing our suggestions and plan to test several of them in the coming months. We look forward to hearing your updates and possibly a return trip to do more testing and generate ideas to support your efforts.
Nothing about us without us
If your organization is looking to improve access for people with hearing loss, please contact us. We’d love to tailor our suggestions to your individual needs!
Readers, would you go to a wellness retreat for the hearing impaired?
Related posts
Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!
Never miss a post! Sign up to receive email alerts.
