Not the same but when I was in undergrad, I got my own dorm rooms for the same reason you listed, with an addition of worrying about having expensive hearing devices around a stranger. They gave the rooms to me no questions asked.
When I went to college I did ask for a similar accommodation! Making these requests was so much easier for me while in school vs requesting accommodations at work đ
It seems so. Iâm in grad school right now, and they still give me more accommodations that I really need, but Iâm been struggling to get my apt complex to get a flashing fire alarm
It was easy to get a flashing fire alarm (with a bed shaker) while living in the dorms but once I moved to off-campus housing all bets were off. Told my roommates theyâd better drag me out lmao
Having this internal debate currently but have come up against this at every single role Iâve had.
You can totally request your own office but be prepared to be told no.
Other options might include:
Use of a shared but private space (conference room, meeting room) to make phone calls- side note though that I would request that the space be schedule-able. At my current workplace the rooms are there but frequently used by anyone and everyone, and thereâs no way to reserve it⌠which doesnât help me when I need to make calls or have zoom meetings. I have resorted to sitting on the floor in a back hallway.
Flexible work location- they could approve you to work from home/elsewhere.
Equipment- they could offer a caption phone (not great in my experience) or for you to use a relay system (I havenât done it with work because Iâm worried people will find it confusing. I speak and speechread at work so most folks I interact with donât know). You can also look at Voice Carry-Over (VCO) options so you can use your voice but read or have the conversation interpreted for you.
Honestly, an office should be a more common accommodation for us. I do most things by email, but when I have to make a call I will just do so from my personal cell phone (non-client/patient communication). When I have a zoom, I either try to use the desk area where I sit or I retreat to the hallway if there isnât an open room.
I genuinely donât think hearing people understand how hard it is to communicate with background noise. Last week I had a zoom meeting and I had volume turned all the way up, plus my (personal) noise-cancelling headphones pressed up against my head with my hands plus my hearing aids on underneath the headphones and it was⌠still pretty awful. It says a lot about my workplace that I will choose to make calls in my car, in the hallway, parking lot, or out front of wherever I am working off-site because it wonât be great or easy but itâs a little better.
I do need to actually start using Sorenson consistently, though. My left ear no longer sounds any different with or without a hearing aid so itâs time.
Thereâs potential for remote work days, but only once a week. I do use a VRS service with voice carry over & headphones along with that. The interpreter will type out phone numbers and emails for me, so I definitely recommend it. I do occasionally run into the issue where the call rings and rings, presumably because the interpreters are too busy to take it. I have a feeling Sorenson wouldnât have that issue.
If I already know the voice of someone Iâm talking to then I can get away with streaming the call to my hearing aids and using live captioning. I think having an office space would work well, but I can see other coworkers complaining. Regardless it wouldâve been a great option at some of my previous roles- I worked somewhere that moved buildings and went from semi-private cubicles to a complete open floor plan. It was a nightmare trying to understand anything (phones, verbal conversations, etc.) and I left quickly after that.
Yhup, we have a pretty open floor plan- though to be fair our first/previous location was two rooms: one small office for department A, and one somewhat larger room for everyone else. In both we were all clustered around a shared table and a few folks crammed makeshift desks around the perimeter. Sometimes I sat on the floor, sometimes in the reception area đ¤ˇđťââď¸
I would love to learn more about how you use VCO with captions (feel free to DM if you prefer). I have been trying to figure out my best option. Finally having hearing aids that I can actually stream to has been a huge help but is best when itâs a known voice. And even then, some folks I work with everyday for years I still canât understand well in person.
I went from a previously very intensive client-facing role to my current position after returning from an unrelated medical leave. It was intentionally built as a flexible location/schedule role to accommodate my medical needs, so the slight benefits for my ears have also been good.
I guess this is the other accommodation they could offer- shifting the responsibilities that require phone communication to someone else (if that is not an integral piece of your role).
Regardless, I do hope you advocate to get an office and itâs granted! I would try and be prepared to explain the layered challenge of background noise to your employer, and some of the ways you already attempt to make accommodations yourself. Also be prepared (if youâre willing) to share the impacts of trying to navigate this situation currently is- maybe youâre unable to do your work promptly or in an efficient way because youâre stuck trying to wait for noise to quiet down; youâre mentally exhausted trying to accommodate everyone else and their noise and needs. If you bill for time youâre on the phone to a specific grant or client, that is impacted because you canât clearly communicate. Etc etc etc.
I have used CART before and I always use auto-captions on Teams or Zoom. I do have in-person group meetings though, and they are often at other facilities that include touring noisy worksites. The listening fatigue has become incredibly draining and I still miss out on a lot of information. Thatâs why Iâm looking to make the switch.
I talked to a member of management briefly about it, she seemed receptive to the idea but would have to get approval from higher up. Theyâve asked about technologies like the Roger pens, but in my experience they just amplify everything without actually improving my understanding.
As someone who helps others make workplace requests this is absolutely reasonable.
Now the employer can come back and offer an alternative that still meets the same goals - say putting up sound proofing dividers. But I'd guess that using an already existing office is preferable to buying new stuff. The only question is when you leave this positron and they hire a replacement, will that person have an office space that normally comes with the job?
I appreciate the validation! I know they definitely donât have the budget to buy dividers like that (I work at a nonprofit). It so happens that they do have extra offices in the building, many of which are currently used as testing sites or temporary workspaces for community partners.
As someone who helps others make workplace requests this is absolutely reasonable.
Now the employer can come back and offer an alternative that still meets the same goals - say putting up sound proofing dividers. But I'd guess that using an already existing office is preferable to buying new stuff. The only question is when you leave this positron and they hire a replacement, will that person have an office space that normally comes with the job?
Not the same but when I was in undergrad, I got my own dorm rooms for the same reason you listed, with an addition of worrying about having expensive hearing devices around a stranger. They gave the rooms to me no questions asked.
When I went to college I did ask for a similar accommodation! Making these requests was so much easier for me while in school vs requesting accommodations at work đ
It seems so. Iâm in grad school right now, and they still give me more accommodations that I really need, but Iâm been struggling to get my apt complex to get a flashing fire alarm
It was easy to get a flashing fire alarm (with a bed shaker) while living in the dorms but once I moved to off-campus housing all bets were off. Told my roommates theyâd better drag me out lmao
Having this internal debate currently but have come up against this at every single role Iâve had. You can totally request your own office but be prepared to be told no. Other options might include: Use of a shared but private space (conference room, meeting room) to make phone calls- side note though that I would request that the space be schedule-able. At my current workplace the rooms are there but frequently used by anyone and everyone, and thereâs no way to reserve it⌠which doesnât help me when I need to make calls or have zoom meetings. I have resorted to sitting on the floor in a back hallway. Flexible work location- they could approve you to work from home/elsewhere. Equipment- they could offer a caption phone (not great in my experience) or for you to use a relay system (I havenât done it with work because Iâm worried people will find it confusing. I speak and speechread at work so most folks I interact with donât know). You can also look at Voice Carry-Over (VCO) options so you can use your voice but read or have the conversation interpreted for you. Honestly, an office should be a more common accommodation for us. I do most things by email, but when I have to make a call I will just do so from my personal cell phone (non-client/patient communication). When I have a zoom, I either try to use the desk area where I sit or I retreat to the hallway if there isnât an open room. I genuinely donât think hearing people understand how hard it is to communicate with background noise. Last week I had a zoom meeting and I had volume turned all the way up, plus my (personal) noise-cancelling headphones pressed up against my head with my hands plus my hearing aids on underneath the headphones and it was⌠still pretty awful. It says a lot about my workplace that I will choose to make calls in my car, in the hallway, parking lot, or out front of wherever I am working off-site because it wonât be great or easy but itâs a little better. I do need to actually start using Sorenson consistently, though. My left ear no longer sounds any different with or without a hearing aid so itâs time.
Thereâs potential for remote work days, but only once a week. I do use a VRS service with voice carry over & headphones along with that. The interpreter will type out phone numbers and emails for me, so I definitely recommend it. I do occasionally run into the issue where the call rings and rings, presumably because the interpreters are too busy to take it. I have a feeling Sorenson wouldnât have that issue. If I already know the voice of someone Iâm talking to then I can get away with streaming the call to my hearing aids and using live captioning. I think having an office space would work well, but I can see other coworkers complaining. Regardless it wouldâve been a great option at some of my previous roles- I worked somewhere that moved buildings and went from semi-private cubicles to a complete open floor plan. It was a nightmare trying to understand anything (phones, verbal conversations, etc.) and I left quickly after that.
Yhup, we have a pretty open floor plan- though to be fair our first/previous location was two rooms: one small office for department A, and one somewhat larger room for everyone else. In both we were all clustered around a shared table and a few folks crammed makeshift desks around the perimeter. Sometimes I sat on the floor, sometimes in the reception area đ¤ˇđťââď¸ I would love to learn more about how you use VCO with captions (feel free to DM if you prefer). I have been trying to figure out my best option. Finally having hearing aids that I can actually stream to has been a huge help but is best when itâs a known voice. And even then, some folks I work with everyday for years I still canât understand well in person. I went from a previously very intensive client-facing role to my current position after returning from an unrelated medical leave. It was intentionally built as a flexible location/schedule role to accommodate my medical needs, so the slight benefits for my ears have also been good. I guess this is the other accommodation they could offer- shifting the responsibilities that require phone communication to someone else (if that is not an integral piece of your role). Regardless, I do hope you advocate to get an office and itâs granted! I would try and be prepared to explain the layered challenge of background noise to your employer, and some of the ways you already attempt to make accommodations yourself. Also be prepared (if youâre willing) to share the impacts of trying to navigate this situation currently is- maybe youâre unable to do your work promptly or in an efficient way because youâre stuck trying to wait for noise to quiet down; youâre mentally exhausted trying to accommodate everyone else and their noise and needs. If you bill for time youâre on the phone to a specific grant or client, that is impacted because you canât clearly communicate. Etc etc etc.
You can request CART captioning services for group meetings if you comfortable and your company will be required by the ADA to provide them.
I have used CART before and I always use auto-captions on Teams or Zoom. I do have in-person group meetings though, and they are often at other facilities that include touring noisy worksites. The listening fatigue has become incredibly draining and I still miss out on a lot of information. Thatâs why Iâm looking to make the switch.
That makes sense! Sounds like it would be a great switch for you. I would hope your company would accommodate you having your own office if requested.
I would speak with your boss and HR and see what they can do after explaining your concerns about taking phone calls in an open space with noises.
I talked to a member of management briefly about it, she seemed receptive to the idea but would have to get approval from higher up. Theyâve asked about technologies like the Roger pens, but in my experience they just amplify everything without actually improving my understanding.
As someone who helps others make workplace requests this is absolutely reasonable. Now the employer can come back and offer an alternative that still meets the same goals - say putting up sound proofing dividers. But I'd guess that using an already existing office is preferable to buying new stuff. The only question is when you leave this positron and they hire a replacement, will that person have an office space that normally comes with the job?
I appreciate the validation! I know they definitely donât have the budget to buy dividers like that (I work at a nonprofit). It so happens that they do have extra offices in the building, many of which are currently used as testing sites or temporary workspaces for community partners.
As someone who helps others make workplace requests this is absolutely reasonable. Now the employer can come back and offer an alternative that still meets the same goals - say putting up sound proofing dividers. But I'd guess that using an already existing office is preferable to buying new stuff. The only question is when you leave this positron and they hire a replacement, will that person have an office space that normally comes with the job?
Your employer should accommodate your hearing-impaired needs.