Where I live, the popular home design for quite a while now has been vaulted ceilings and wood floors. I cannot think of another design in home planning that is more unfriendly to the hearing impaired except maybe smooth tile with vaulted ceilings.
I really enjoy hearing with my cochlear implants and in most situations I hear very well. In my own home I have a combination of carpet and brick tile and my ceilings are flat and eight feet high. Sound doesn’t bounce or echo like it does in homes that I have been in with wood floors and vaulted ceilings.
I find these homes to be so irritating the way sound bounces around that it is getting difficult for me to enjoy going to the homes of friends or family with vaulted ceilings and smooth floors. I don’t want to limit my social life again due to hearing issues when it seems like I have just gotten it back, but more and more I find myself in this situation as friends and family buy or build new homes.
Why are acoustics in home design ignored? Why is this design so popular? The world is noisy enough without creating a situation in your home where noise is amplified. Do others think about the acoustics in their home or is it all about big space?
In my home I want cozy, warm, conversational space. No vaulted ceilings or floors that bounce sound for me.
Very interesting post, Glenice. I was reading recently about a retirement center that was actually designed with the needs of hard of hearing/deaf people in mind. I thought that was a marvelous idea. Universal design (design that builds in accomodations) is becoming more popular. I wrote a post on that topic although I was considering how it applies to education.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of HGTV and their Design Star show. Wouldn't it be fabulous if there was a designer who specialized in creating the kind of interior spaces that made hearing optimal?
Glenice, this is one of my great bugbears. So many homes in Canada have wooden floors, plus the absence of curtains and sometimes even blinds make a room very echoey indeed. Our home has carpets and curtains, which many consider to be unhygenic...
ReplyDeleteI have found it easier to hear with the CI but people in these surroundings sound as if they are at the bottom of a long metal tube.
Inclusive living has been on the agenda for a long time. Doors wide enough to take a wheelchair, slopes instead of, or as well as, steps. It's disgraceful when these issues are ignored by architects. In the UK all new builds for public access must be inclusive. Existing buildings must be adapted whenever possible.
Sarah I saw an episode of Extreme Makeover where most of the family were or would be blind. One child was deaf. The designers spent time wearing glasses and goggles to try and understand the families needs. I don't remember them wearing earplugs, or anything else that would distort the sound. Curiously enough this episode was hosted by Marlee Matlin....
That's interesting, Mog. I guess acoustical needs aren't quite as obvious - another area where awareness needs to be raised.
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess this is another area that needs advocating for - better acoustical living!
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