The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports, “Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing.” If you’re one of these numbers, you’ve likely noticed that the acoustics in your home can affect how well you can communicate with your family or roommates. In this post, we review why this is so and what you can do to improve your hearing.
Many Homes Have Poor Acoustics
It’s an unfortunate truth that many modern home aesthetics do not allow for good acoustics. Current trends include open floor plans, bare windows, hardwood floors and vaulted ceilings; these designs allow sound to bounce around, making it harder to hear well.
A few of the most acoustically challenging rooms include the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room, as these rooms tend to have the fewest absorbent surfaces.
How to Improve Your Home’s Acoustics
You can improve your home’s acoustics and your listening ability by:
- Adding carpet or rugs. Perhaps one of the best ways you can make your home absorb more sound is to add carpet or rugs from G&G Carpet in West Jordan. For rugs, consider using carpet tape to prevent trips and falls.
- Incorporating lots of padded furniture. Incorporating lots of padded furniture is better for acoustics, so you should consider dining room chairs with cushions as well as sofas and recliners with padding.
- Using fabric strategically. If you have a lot of fabric in your home, there are fewer hard surfaces for sound to bounce off of. We recommend using fabric strategically by adding tablecloths, heavier curtains and tapestries.
- Hanging wall art. Believe it or not, wall art, from gallery paintings to children’s drawings, can also help reduce noise reverberation and improve acoustics.
- Putting up room dividers. Room dividers not only help absorb sound, but they make large spaces smaller to help reduce reverberation.
- Turning off background noise. Whenever you’re trying to have a conversation with someone, make sure to eliminate any background noise you can, like music or the television. This way, you won’t be straining to hear speech over other sounds.
To learn more about improving listening and communication in your home or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call South Valley Ear Nose & Throat – West Jordan today.