# OT - Strange Hearing Problem...



## punkypossum (12 Sep 2008)

I changed departments in my current job, a contact centre for a housing association. While previously I was dealing with calls from "normal" tenants (on a headset), I have now been put on the "alarms" side of it, where elderly residents pull their cords when they have a problem, carers come through on intercoms to be let in the building, etc. 

The speech units are different, but we use the same headsets, but somehow I am really struggling to understand what people are saying. Some are crystal clear, but especially with the ones coming through on the intercoms, I can't understand what they are saying a lot of the time. It's not a volume problem, they are loud enough, but afaic it is really really blurred and almost impossible to make out. This is rather worrying, because if somebody buzzes through with an emergency, I need obviously need to know what they are saying. Nobody else on the section seems to have that problem which is even more worrying...

Don't think there is anything wrong with my hearing as such, like I said, the volume is fine, it just sounds garbled. Also, I can often still hear those high-pitch supermarket beeps for teenagers which I'm not supposed to hear anymore at my age, so I'm definitely not going deaf. Also, there is another lady on the team who DOES have hearing problems, and she appears to cope fine...

Has anybody got any ideas what this could be? I've only been doing it for a week, but if this carries on, then I have a problem!!! 

Any suggestions please???


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## domtyler (12 Sep 2008)

Firstly you need to rule out a problem with your equipment. Does it still happen if you are sitting at a different desk with a totally different headset?


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## ChrisKH (12 Sep 2008)

PP I have had a hearing deficiency since birth (deaf on the RHS totally) and have found from experience that I have real problems with telephones and intercoms because my hearing depends on me seeing the person and reading their lips. It's a subconscious nurture taught thing really and I don't realise how much I rely on sight to hear (if that makes sense) until I need to use the phone long distance or speak on an intercom or a video conference call where you can see the person but not their lips. My sight compensates for the lack of hearing in normal circumstances. Otherwise I find that I'm hearing people speak (on the phone, intercom, etc.) and I either have terrific difficulty following what they say or it is gobbledygook because my brain doesn't have enough visual supporting data to process it.

You might want to get your hearing checked out as it's not just about range. Not meaning to alarm you, but maybe you rely more heavily on the visual aspect of communication (like me)? Just a thought.


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## domtyler (12 Sep 2008)

ChrisKH said:


> PP I have had a hearing deficiency since birth (deaf on the RHS totally) and have found from experience that I have real problems with telephones and intercoms because my hearing depends on me seeing the person and reading their lips. It's a subconscious nurture taught thing really and I don't realise how much I rely on sight to hear (if that makes sense) until I need to use the phone long distance or speak on an intercom or a video conference call where you can see the person but not their lips. My sight compensates for the lack of hearing in normal circumstances. Otherwise I find that I'm hearing people speak (on the phone, intercom, etc.) and I either have terrific difficulty following what they say or it is gobbledygook because my brain doesn't have enough visual supporting data to process it.
> 
> You might want to get your hearing checked out as it's not just about range. Not meaning to alarm you, but maybe you rely more heavily on the visual aspect of communication (like me)? Just a thought.



Pardon?


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## ChrisKH (12 Sep 2008)

How many people do you think have said that one dom? You and about 65,000others. 

It doesn't bother me, but think about how disabling it would be. Put a sponge ear plug in and leave it in all day. There are some plusses; I only have to use one side of an IPOD speaker set............


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## domtyler (12 Sep 2008)

Yeah I bet it can be annoying to say the least. I would think that your brain would compensate though, do you have better eye sight or anything like that?


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## ChrisKH (12 Sep 2008)

domtyler said:


> Yeah I bet it can be annoying to say the least. I would think that your brain would compensate though, do you have better eye sight or anything like that?



No, but your brain compensates in other ways. In meetings I find my brain filling in the gaps of what I can't hear. If that makes sense.

Anyway this is PP's post, there was no intention to hijack so i'll shut up now.


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## punkypossum (12 Sep 2008)

No, it's definitely not a visual thing, because the work up to now has all been telephone based as well, been working in contact and call centre for years to pay for college...it's never been a problem till last week.

My friends keep having a go at me for hearing things I'm not supposed to hear, I'm always the one to turn the radio down because I find it too loud, I really don't think it's my hearing (and, like I said I hear those stupid beeps)

Have swapped headsets, but it hasn't really improved things, nor has sitting at a different computer...

One of my friends said she used to work with people with speech problems and at first she couldn't understand a word, but then somehow tuned in to the way they talked, so she says it might just be a case of getting used to it...hope she is right!


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## domtyler (12 Sep 2008)

punkypossum said:


> No, it's definitely not a visual thing, because the work up to now has all been telephone based as well, been working in contact and call centre for years to pay for college...it's never been a problem till last week.
> 
> My friends keep having a go at me for hearing things I'm not supposed to hear, I'm always the one to turn the radio down because I find it too loud, I really don't think it's my hearing (and, like I said I hear those stupid beeps)
> 
> ...



From what you have said it sounds as if your hearing might be too sensitive and you are actually picking up a lot of background noise and interference that your colleagues aren't. I would say that you need to talk to your manager and ask for an engineer to come and make some adjustments for you.


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## punkypossum (12 Sep 2008)

Haha!!! That's not going to happen in that place - If it doesn't improve I am pretty sure they'll just demote me back to my old job!


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## domtyler (12 Sep 2008)

Really? Why would they not want you to be able to hear what the people on the other end are saying? You certainly won't get any help if you don't report the problem and ask for assistance in resolving it.


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## Sh4rkyBloke (12 Sep 2008)

You could do them for discriminating against you and your super hearing.


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## yenrod (12 Sep 2008)

As they are elderly they may not know how to use properly - even thought it seems obvious: it can be a factor with aged people not knowing technology.


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## Sh4rkyBloke (12 Sep 2008)

> The simple answer is to tell old Mrs Stebbings who has fallen in the shower to stop arsing around and crawl out to the hall where the intercom unit is.


I shouldn't laugh... but did. Repeatedly.

Sorry.


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## punkypossum (12 Sep 2008)

Sh4rkyBloke said:


> I shouldn't laugh... but did. Repeatedly.
> 
> Sorry.




Lol, so did I! 

Well, sat with one of the other girls today, unfortunately it was quiet so we didn't get that many calls to compare what we could hear, but she did not seem to pick up much more than me... Talked to someone else who is trained on alarms, but doesn't work on there full time, and she said she hates going on, because she can't hear anything. So that is making me feel slightly better... Will see how it goes...


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## mr_hippo (13 Sep 2008)

ChrisKH said:


> How many people do you think have said that one dom? You and about 65,000others.
> 
> It doesn't bother me, but think about how disabling it would be. Put a sponge ear plug in and leave it in all day. There are some plusses; I only have to use one side of an IPOD speaker set............



Another plus is if you sleep with your good ear on the pillow - silence! One big disadvantage is the 'cocktail party effect' - you hear the person speaking to you but the rest is a babel.
Like ChrisKH, I only have one working ear - completely deaf in my left and it was caused by cabbage! My Mum by her own admission was a bad cook, she used to boil cabbage for hours! As a young kid, my Mum would say "Peter, eat your cabbage." "But Mum, I don't like it!" It was not a wise thing to say as it often resulted in a hard slap around my left ear and that's why I am deaf!


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## snorri (14 Sep 2008)

I don't think you need to worry about your hearing at this stage.
This new job has just introduced lots of new phraseology and terminology to your work and this will take a bit of getting used to. Your new clients are using microphones with different characteristics from what you are used to as well. Your concern that you may miss something important also raises the stress levels which doesn't help concentration. Give it a couple of weeks and you will be fine.
If you have ever had the opportunity to listen in on helicopter pilots, or seagoing types on marine vhf, it all sounds like double dutch to the uninitiated, but they all manage ok.................................most of the time.


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## Dr Captain Awesome (19 Sep 2008)

Cocktail party effect (mentioned previously)? Difficulty differentiating speech from background noise - perhaps due to (non-serious) deterioration of inner ear muscles. Would perhaps explain your increased sensitivity to loud noises too. 

If it's really bothering you or affecting your job, seek professional help.


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## punkypossum (21 Sep 2008)

It appears to be improving (touch wood)...have a new headset and I think I'm getting more used to the interference, etc. Apparently we are supposed to be getting a completely new system in a few month (the current one is about 12 years old), which is supposed to cut out a lot of the background noise and improve sound quality...I live in hope!


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## domtyler (22 Sep 2008)

punkypossum said:


> It appears to be improving (touch wood)...have a new headset and I think I'm getting more used to the interference, etc. Apparently we are supposed to be getting a completely new system in a few month (the current one is about 12 years old), which is supposed to cut out a lot of the background noise and improve sound quality...I live in hope!



Heh heh, all my working life there have been crappy systems that are persistently "going to be replaced in a few months"! Weird how they never seem to budge!


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## ColinJ (22 Sep 2008)

mr_hippo said:


> One big disadvantage is the 'cocktail party effect' - you hear the person speaking to you but the rest is a babel.


One weird variation of the cocktail party effect is where you are talking to someone in a noisy, crowded room and then suddenly a whispered remark cuts through the din and stops every conversation in the room dead in its tracks. Like this:

Mutter, 
Mumble, 
Waffle, 
Moan, 
Whinge,
Gibber, 
Nag,
Drawl, 
Gossip, 
Natter,
Chat,
Snigger...



































*... but his penis was only two inches long!!*

The brain must be subconsciously monitoring every conversation in the background just in case something interesting turns up. It always amazes me every time I experience it.


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## Speicher (22 Sep 2008)

domtyler said:


> Heh heh, all my working life there have been crappy systems that are persistently "going to be replaced in a few months"! Weird how they never seem to budge!



Have you considered that you may need your hearing tested?
I am sure if they started shouting at you, you might realise that you need to budge and be replaced.


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## punkypossum (22 Sep 2008)

domtyler said:


> Heh heh, all my working life there have been crappy systems that are persistently "going to be replaced in a few months"! Weird how they never seem to budge!




I know, I wouldn't usually believe it either - however, we are moving site at the end of the year, which will be when the new system will be installed and they have actually bought it, so chances are it might happen!!!


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## 02GF74 (24 Sep 2008)

punkypossum said:


> Don't think there is anything wrong with my hearing as such, like I said, the volume is fine, it just sounds garbled. Also, I can often still hear those high-pitch supermarket beeps for teenagers which I'm not supposed to hear anymore at my age, so I'm definitely not going deaf.



Hearing loss can be caused in different ways; illness, loutdnoises, physical damage and you may not be aware of it.

Just because you can hear chav alarms does not neceassrily imply you hearing is fine across the whole range. Human voice., when talking anyway, is in quite a narrow band, from memory around 2 KHz and this is why the old telephones worked so well as they operated on that frequency. You may have loss in that region.

In, short, I would see GP first, maybe your lug holes are bunged up with wax or maybe here is something wrong, a hearing test would prove that.

touch wood you're fine but if you think you hearing loss was caused by work, then you can claim compensation. kerching £££££


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## TonyEnjoyD (14 Oct 2008)

ColinJ said:


> One weird variation of the cocktail party effect is where you are talking to someone in a noisy, crowded room and then suddenly a whispered remark cuts through the din and stops every conversation in the room dead in its tracks. Like this:
> 
> Mutter,
> Mumble,
> ...



Isn't this usually when you hear your own name mentioned that you listen in 

Only kidding mate

Tony


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## TonyEnjoyD (14 Oct 2008)

punkypossum said:


> I know, I wouldn't usually believe it either - however, we are moving site at the end of the year, which will be when the new system will be installed and they have actually bought it, so chances are it might happen!!!



PP, get it checked.
Not to scare you but you could have either Temporary or Permanent Threshold SHift (TS).
This is where the ears ability to priocess sound within a certain frequency range is temp or pemanent damaged.
This usually occurs at the 2khz frequency which is the normal range for human speech. You will often still hear high and low frequency clearly.
It could also be natuaral deterioration due to age (I'm 46 and still young for TS!)

Exhaust other options fist as mentioned by 02GF74 and get your local quack to check for underlying infection or wax problems.

Did you do any previous jobs where you constantly had to work in noisy areas?
Unfortunately, call centres would rarely if ever come across a case of TS caused by headset usage.

Mine was caused by being in and working with bands - noisy practice studios and PA's.

TonyEnjoyD


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## punkypossum (15 Oct 2008)

It seems to have sorted itself, the new headset and getting used to the background interference noises seem to have done the trick.... And no, haven't worked in any noisy environments and wasn't even much off a clubber when I was younger (only 34 now, so unlikely to be any age related stuff). Anyway, the ears seem much better!!!


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