If I missed every other word that was said to me or around me, and was expected to just deal with it, I would be beyond frustrated. When partaking in the hearing loss simulation, I found myself becoming fairly lost and confused in just the short amount of time I was using it, while also thinking about the students I teach on a daily basis.,

I had chosen to do the “meeting” setting in the simulation and set it to moderate, and as soon as it began I was already lost. The act of trying to transcribe what was being said, missing parts of words and the entirety of others made the act feel futile. When I set it to mild, it did feel a bit easier, being able to decipher some of the words I missed while also feeling more engaged in what I was listening to. The act of transcribing at this setting, while easier, still was tough as I still felt like I was splitting my mental energy between writing what was said and trying to guess at what was being left out. Finally, only when the simulation was set to normal levels of hearing, was I able to fully understand what was being said and transcribing became much easier. 

Throughout this entire experience, I could not help but think about my students. Students who, by all accounts, struggle to meet grade level expectations in ELA, and how it might be for them if they had hearing loss, or if English was a second language for them. Trying to take notes while a teacher is talking and either missing every third word or not knowing what the word was could be extremely frustrating for students who are already struggling in class. 

Empathizing with my students is just a normal part of being an educator,  but as a designer, it is just the first step to creating solutions to just some of the problems that exist in education. 

References: 

Hearing Healthcare Centre (Director). (2017). Hearing Loss Simulation - What's It Like? [Film; YouTube Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbBZjT7nuoA&ab_channel=HearingHealthcareCentre (Original work published 2017)

Starkey Hearing Loss Simulation. Starkey. (n.d.). https://www.starkey.com/hearing-loss-simulator/simulator