An environmental barrier to listening can exist in many different forms. For example, loud conversations in a classroom may interfere with a student's ability to understand what a teacher or professor is saying. Out on the street, noise from heavy machinery or power tools can become an environmental barrier to listening.
• Any type of noise, including white noise for fans, air conditioners, and humidifiers, may also be a barrier to listening, particularly if the listening person has some degree of hearing impairment.
• For the hearing impaired, environmental noise can be a huge hindrance that forces them to rely on FM systems, hearing aids set for noisy situations (digital hearing aids with programmable elements), and lip reading or sign language.
• Even a hearing person may miss important elements of a lecture, speech, or conversation when confronted by a barrage of environmental noise.
To cope with the environmental barrier of listening in a noisy classroom, it's important to be assertive and to tell fellow students (or the teacher or professor) that you are struggling to follow lectures or conversations due to white noise, chatter, or noise from outside the classroom. In some cases, modifications and changes can be made to reduce the amount of environmental barriers in a certain situation.
Think about your own experiences with environmental barriers to listening - do you remember certain sounds, such as the squawking or birds, or the screech of bus brakes that made listening difficult or impossible? Consider all of the ways that environmental noise affects our ability to understand one another. Then, come up with some solutions or improvements that might reduce the number of barriers you encounter every day. Sometimes, asking a noisy person to quiet down may be all that is necessary; you may also want to consider working or studying in environments that are naturally quieter (away from downtown, etc.).
• Any type of noise, including white noise for fans, air conditioners, and humidifiers, may also be a barrier to listening, particularly if the listening person has some degree of hearing impairment.
• For the hearing impaired, environmental noise can be a huge hindrance that forces them to rely on FM systems, hearing aids set for noisy situations (digital hearing aids with programmable elements), and lip reading or sign language.
• Even a hearing person may miss important elements of a lecture, speech, or conversation when confronted by a barrage of environmental noise.
To cope with the environmental barrier of listening in a noisy classroom, it's important to be assertive and to tell fellow students (or the teacher or professor) that you are struggling to follow lectures or conversations due to white noise, chatter, or noise from outside the classroom. In some cases, modifications and changes can be made to reduce the amount of environmental barriers in a certain situation.
Think about your own experiences with environmental barriers to listening - do you remember certain sounds, such as the squawking or birds, or the screech of bus brakes that made listening difficult or impossible? Consider all of the ways that environmental noise affects our ability to understand one another. Then, come up with some solutions or improvements that might reduce the number of barriers you encounter every day. Sometimes, asking a noisy person to quiet down may be all that is necessary; you may also want to consider working or studying in environments that are naturally quieter (away from downtown, etc.).
