Noisy restaurants and crowded rooms make it hard for anyone to hear, but they can be particularly difficult for those dealing with single-sided deafness. Trying to understand a conversation with a lot of background noise is exhausting, and can sometimes seem next to impossible. There is also the issue of protecting whatever hearing remains, which is different for each person with an acoustic neuroma. Potentially loud situations often make people in the AN community say they'd rather stay home.

Technological advances have produced noise level apps that measure how loud a space is at any given time and they are becoming more and more common. These can be great tools to use when trying to decide which places offer the best environment for hearing and it's an important step in the effort to make sure those dealing with hearing loss stay engaged and active.  This article provides some insight on which ones work with which phones and talks about some of their primary features.  Read article here.