When you can't hear the Relief Society lesson...

[Backroads]

I have observed a rather disturbing trend in my Relief Society. My ward consists of a lot of old people. This is a wealthy old person ward with a tiny sprinkling of the young and poor.

Well, there is a hearing problem going on in the RS lesson. Many of the elderly women teaching are unable to hear the teacher (even, reportedly, with hearing aides turned up), but in return the teachers aren't able to speak loudly and aren't really using the microphone.

It has gotten to the point of an attendance problem, including my own grandmother. She says there is no point in going to Relief Society if she can't hear the teacher.

I brought it up with the RS president today after only a smattering of people showed up (and she has of course long noticed the growing problem) so I assume it will be addressed as needed by those with more authority.

But... what would you do in this situation? It just seems ridiculous.

[Roseslipper]

Hopefully they will us the microphone and this might help. Some people have special needs that need to be taken care of. We need them in our meetings and they need us.

[Sali]

In my ward in the States, they had a hearing device that they gave out to the older people who couldn't hear, that was somehow connected to the microphone and it seemed to work very well. But this was a recent thing.

We had one lady in our ward who was over 80 who could not hear without one of these devices, even with her hearing aid, but without fail was there every week throughout all the meetings, even though she couldn't hear a thing. She was such an inspiration to me.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Why don't the teachers use the microphone?

If I was your grandmother, I wouldn't bother either.

[Backroads]

Why don't the teachers use the microphone?

If I was your grandmother, I wouldn't bother either.

From my chat with the RS president, apparently a lot of them find the mike too inconvenient, or they can't remember to talk into it.

[Jenamarie]

From my chat with the RS president, apparently a lot of them find the mike too inconvenient, or they can't remember to talk into it.

We had this problem a few years ago, and the sisters who couldn't hear just kept complaining, even if it meant interrupting the lesson by calling out "I can't hear you!" Eventually the teachers started remembering to speak louder.

Squeaky wheel, and all that.

[skippy740]

Call new instructors.

[Iggy]

I am one of those sisters that can't hear too. I wear hearing aids in both ears - and the SS and RS have wireless mic's. BUT if the PA system isn't turned on, and fresh batteries in the wireless mic - then NO one can hear.

In the past, I would just get up and leave. Now I stand up and tell them I CANNOT HEAR YOU Once I stood up, the SS instructor/teacher was upset with me and tried to brush me off. Then every one in the class stood up and admitted they could not hear either!!!

The RS class is in a smaller room, but we are separated by that awful rubber curtain from the Primary. If the teacher doesn't wear the mic, AND have it on, AND leave it be while it is clipped to her blouse - no one can hear her. Rather than get up and leave, we will turn to our neighbors and have a good chat.

Dear Husband checked the PA system to make sure the right switches were turned on, and I put fresh batteries in the devices.

In the chapel, I use the COMTEK hearing device with my own earphones - otherwise I would never hear 2/3 of the speakers. In RS, I constantly remind the teachers to leave the mic alone and where it should be pinned on their blouse for optimal use.

BECAUSE of my boldness in standing up - that has emboldened other members to make it known when they can't hear either. So, stand up and let them know they are not being heard AND that you WANT to hear what they have prepared!!

[dahlia]

We've got a whole 'nother problem. Often you can't hear the RS lesson because of the baby noise. People will take out the crying babies, but there's a continuum between silence and crying. When speaking, I have had to stop myself from asking that the children be removed. I know they have a right to be there, but gee whiz, don't i have a right to hear, or to speak without a circus going on in the background? I think young mothers today have a higher tolerance for baby/toddler noises than I did.

Also, while I'm ranting, I'm not all that fond of watching babies crawl around the podium and music stand, much less a TV stand when we have a film, and wondering when it's going to kill itself or some other kid.

[Leah]

We've got a whole 'nother problem. Often you can't hear the RS lesson because of the baby noise. People will take out the crying babies, but there's a continuum between silence and crying. When speaking, I have had to stop myself from asking that the children be removed. I know they have a right to be there, but gee whiz, don't i have a right to hear, or to speak without a circus going on in the background? I think young mothers today have a higher tolerance for baby/toddler noises than I did.

Also, while I'm ranting, I'm not all that fond of watching babies crawl around the podium and music stand, much less a TV stand when we have a film, and wondering when it's going to kill itself or some other kid.

I have noticed this problem in RS, SS and sacrament meeting. I am not going to call for a banning of children, but it's hard to get much out of any situation in which you cannot hear the speaker.

But what I find most frustrating is when it is the noise of the ADULTS that keeps me from hearing the speakers. The endless chitchat by adults - especially during sacrament meeting is hugely annoying. Not to mention disrespectful.

And then last week, the guy behind me read stories out loud to his daughter, so long and so loudly that I completely missed every word of the last talk. Couldn't he have taken his daughter out and done that elsewhere? I mean, he wasn't listening to the talk, so why not?

I've never seen a microphone used/available in RS or SS.

[Gwen]

We have a sister that can't hear. we got her a large print of the lesson and she reads while we talk around her. There is a sister that sits beside her and makes sure she gets important announcements and such. But then she is nearly 90, got baptized about 1yr ago, and loves doing anything to get out of the home for awhile.