Cohousing-L Mailing List: Hearing in common spaces - continues hearing loops/sound systems

[Allison Tom (allisonrtom]

I started this topic and am continuing it here after emailing Elizabeth
Magill privately.

My response to her:

Hi Liz,

Thank you for this response!  I have been driven out of meetings by the
excess amplification and - even worse - feedback between our two mikes and
with the speaker.  It's excruciating, and we have some parents who think
that one cute way to include children is to let them use the microphone
during lulls or breaks.

I'm also tired of not hearing what's happening in meetings, even with my
own hearing aids optimized.  And, even more, I'm tired of having people
roll their eyes at me when I ask them to speak up.  (Yes, we have a lot of
interpersonal issues that are festering as well.)  There's something about
our common house that just swallows sound, and I have pretty much given up
attending anything there - meals, meetings, you name it.  I am cranky
within about 15 minutes in a meeting.  It is so hard to know what the
solution might be.  I am treated as if I'm the only person with a hearing
impairment, but I can see that others are neither hearing nor admitting
they can't hear.

Thank you for responding and reminding me that this redcat system might
also not be the solution.  I never know whether to reply to the list or the
individual when I'm interested in a topic.  I know how a thread can take
over, but should I be sending this to everyone?  (*Liz replied yes, so here
you are.)*

Allison