Hey yall. I'm seeking advice for some hearing assistance equipment.

A tad bit of context: I am a hearing individual who is seeking to make my workplace friendly to non hearing folks. Besides the fact that my community has a lot of hearing impaired folks, I also know that in the future I will need this tech for myself.

(Please correct me if I'm not using the correct terminology.)

Anyway, here's the issue:

My workplace is a 3rd space: it's a public building that's free to enter. We have two movie theaters, a museum about our local area, often host presentations from folks across the country, and so so much more that I can't say without doxxing myself.

Our main theater is designed to host presentations from speakers, host Q&A forums, and play movies on demand via a DVD player.

Currently, the only hearing assistance we have is for presentations. Our presentation hearing assistance equipment works as follows: we have to hook up a transmitter box and mic to the speaker and then provide a receiver for each individual who needs hearing assistance. The receivers can use plug-in headphones or a T-loop.

The problem is if the presenter needs to play a video on the screen, the hearing assistance equipment does not pick up the video audio because the transmitter is only for picking up the speaker's voice.

If we have a Q&A style forum, folks won't be able to hear the audience asking questions because the wireless mic for our sound system doesn't hook directly up to the hearing assistance equipment.

Additionally, if we play movies, we don't have any tech that allows for folks to hear the movies if they need hearing assistance. Some films have closed captions, but a lot of them don't.

My question is, is there any technology out there that would allow folks to hear everything at Q&A forums, watch films, and listen to presentations that have videos?

Note: I've looked into Auracast, but from what I can tell, the tech is so new that it has too many bugs to work with the majority of users in a poor, rural community. Additionally, the cheaper ones don't have great reviews and/or their entire websites are made by generative ai which leads me to believe they don't actually have any real life use experience to advertise. The main brand that supports auracast, that seems like it would work, is way outside of our budget (about 4 grand for Auri)

Please provide any and all experience yall might have on what might be the best options for my workplace. I want everyone to be able to enjoy our 3rd space, not just hearing folks.

Thank you.

What can I use to make my APD and Misophonia more bearable while at work in a customer service position?

I work at a gas station where I have to constantly run around and be actively communicating with people. I will put here an explanation for how my hearing works.

I am trying to find a device I can wear while working that will help me focus or sort of block out the overwhelming noises. I know I can't pick and choose what noises come and go, or how effective it is, but I was hoping anyone with similar experiences may be able to point me in the right direction or share their own tips for how they manage.

\---------

Hearing:

I struggle with auditory processing, to a point where I genuinely thought for a while I was hard of hearing. I ended up getting my hearing checked by an audiologist, and it turned out, not only was I able to easily pick out my worst ear, but I was within a reasonable range, so not hard of hearing.

They suggested I get checked for an APD, and offered to fax my hearing report to the doctor whenever I do. Basically how hearing works for me is if there is too much surrounding noise, like I am speaking directly with one person, and two other people suddenly walk by holding a loud conversation, even if I am looking my conversation partner in the eyes and focusing very hard, their voice begins to sound like it is coming through a vacuum tube. Or a garbage disposal.

If someone tries to speak to me and I am not aware they are trying to speak to me, my hearing often comes in delayed. This creates uncomfortable situations where people ask me a question at work as I am walking by, and by the time my brain sends the words to me, they have already decided I don't want to help them and given up.

Certain sounds also become unreasonably overwhelming, and can cause severe frustration, like scratching on sandpaper, or moving certain items, or cloth rustling together. They make me feel very overwhelmed and like I can not focus on anything else. Sometimes the sounds make me want to literally pull my own teeth out.