How to Manage Video Calls at Work with Tinnitus and Hyperacusis?

Hello,

Quick question - I've got tinnitus and hyperacusis and I'm stuck with 30-minute video/conference calls every day. I'm wondering if it's going to make things worse. Any advice or hacks to deal with this?

Thanks!
Ant

 

You should be able to control the volume in those meetings. Turn it down.

 

Has it been making things worse?

 

I am not sure. I have read so many things about it that I don’t want to try it.

 

If you're anything like me, the harsh speaker sound can cause problems.

Mine still isn't great, but I feel I have managed to reduce the effect with the following three things:

1. Buy a decent speaker rather than deal with the laptop sound. I have a Marshall Stanmore 2 (not perfect, but better).

2. I use free software FX Sound as an equalizer and turn off all frequencies above 1 kHz (if you have Windows 11 or higher, you can do this using the built-in equalizer).

3. Wear Calmer earplugs to soften down the higher frequencies on a call.

As I said, the above isn't a solution, but it does reduce the effect of raw, tinny laptop speaker noise raw in to the ear.

 

Also, if it is this severe, you may want to consider going the route of asking for a "reasonable accommodation," for your disability from HR. They might be able to save you from needless meetings, and document that you have the condition.

 

Windows Automatic Closed Captions & most video meeting programs (Google Meet, Zoom, etc.) offer automatic CC. It's not 100% accurate but it's good enough for me. They work with sound turned off.

 

Thanks. That's useful, at least on my personal computer, but not something that can be easily done in a "work setting."

 

Depends.

The Calmer earplugs are easy to wear in a work setting as they do not reduce decibels or volume, only higher frequencies. They aren't really noticeable and doesn't affect speaking or listening. FX Sound has been installed on my work laptop because of this, and again aids with reducing higher harsher frequencies.

The only one not really suitable if you are working from within an office is a more advanced speaker, that's a difficult one to get around, unless you attached a better portable small speaker to your laptop through the audio plug. If you're going to have a loudspeaker anyway, it doesn't matter if the sound is coming from the laptop speaker or a small personal better speaker - but this depends how much you want to draw attention to what you're going through in the workplace.