Access Starts Before the Event Begins

The pastor spoke from the ambo using a fixed gooseneck microphone that was positioned too high. His voice was not captured as clearly or as strongly as it could have been, which forced me to strain to follow along and rely more heavily on lip-reading. That level of effort is tiring and distracting, and it pulls attention away from the meaning of the sermon itself.

What stood out was how easily this barrier could have been avoided. No equipment was broken. The system was present and functioning. What was missing was consistent microphone practice and a way for speakers to know, in real time, whether their voice was being picked up effectively. Other parts of the service use head-worn microphones, which provide far more reliable audio. The contrast made clear how much access depends on small, upstream decisions that speakers and staff may not even realize they are making.

Later in the same service, another access issue emerged. Right before the service began, the choir leader removed the hymn numbers from the board and did not replace them. For most of the congregation, this likely made no difference. For me, those visual cues are essential. I often catch only part of what is announced, and the numbers allow me to find my place and understand how the music connects to the message of the day. Without them, I felt disconnected from the meaning that others were receiving with far less effort.

This kind of barrier rarely comes from bad intentions. It reflects gaps in awareness and training about how people with hearing loss actually experience communication, and how much they rely on visual structure to stay oriented and engaged.