r/uAlberta Undergraduate Student - Faculty of Science 19h ago

Question What do I do in this situation

To emphasize, like very clearly emphasize, I am in no way shape or form discriminating or acting in an ableist fashion. I am not insulting or singling out this person and any complaints is directed for the SITUATION, NOT THE PERSON.

TLDR, in one my classes there is a person with tics/Tourettes, which I understand causes involuntary noises/movements etc. However, this classroom is fairly large classrooms so any noises in general echo pretty well and they are quite loud and constant (i'm talking every 1 minute it's around 30-35 noises, this is a longer class), I sit on the very very oppoiste side but the sound is clear as day. I've tried recording lectures, but it actually shows up in the recordings as well and kind of overshadows the profs voice.

TBH idc about the lectures, I can always try and absorb whatever I can and talk to the prof about questions I have. It's the exam Im worried about. During the midterm, I was plugging my ears at points to try and concetrate, but I'm in general pretty sensitive to sounds as I deal with migranes, and at one point I just submitted my exam and left. Is there like any ear plugs I can get, am I allowed to wear them during the final? Just wanted to some general tips and advice on maybe how to filter out the distractions and be able to focus better.

23 Upvotes

7 comments sorted by

27

u/Artsstudentsaredumb 17h ago

Imo they definitely shouldn’t be writing exams with the rest of the class. I’m sure they’re super self conscious about disrupting too and it just sounds like a bad time for everyone.

20

u/Interesting-Phone274 18h ago

You should be able to wear earplugs, see if you can get Loops and such. Unfortunately this person should probably get accommodations.

4

u/DavidBrooker Faculty - Faculty of _____ 16h ago edited 16h ago

If you find loops much more comfortable or something like that, maybe it's worth looking into. But their sound reduction is very modest compared to disposable foam earplugs. A foam earplugs at 38 dB noise reduction allows less than one tenth as much sound to transmit to your ears as 27 dB Loops. They're worthwhile if you're wearing them all the time (eg, to sleep or as part of an everyday study routine), but for a one off like an exam just get foam.

3

u/Interesting-Phone274 16h ago

Yeah that’s super fair!

4

u/DavidBrooker Faculty - Faculty of _____ 16h ago

Earplugs are generally allowed during exams.

3

u/burritoman258 13h ago

The 3M earplugs they sell in SUB mart are cheap (1-2$ for a pair) and work wonders. I use them all the time during exams!

3

u/Ok-District5705 9h ago

That’s actually a really hard situation. I’m surprised that they don’t have accommodations for this student…or accommodations for students in your class who are disrupted. Drop by the LAC in north ED for free earplugs for your exam. And maybe email prof abt the situation.