"Loud waiting area was too stressful and distracting"

Mid May 2025 I went for an appointment at the Heavitree Hospital Ophthalmology Clinic in Exeter - Glaucoma Acute. I've been there before and in the past I've found the waiting area to be relatively quiet. Normally there's a small radio sitting on a windowsill playing music at very low volume. I'm autistic and I find the additional noise stressful on top of the general sound of people talking but I've always been able to discreetly switch it off without bothering anyone.

This time when I arrived I discovered a television screen had been installed in the waiting area and it was showing a morning chat programme with quite loud sound. No one in the waiting area was watching it - they were either chatting with their companions or looking at their phones. I wanted to read a book on my phone but I couldn't because the sound of the TV was too stressful and distracting. I didn't feel I could turn it off because it would have drawn a lot of attention to me and people might have been upset. Also the wiring looked complicated and I wasn't sure how to silence it.

I didn't want to ask at reception because I thought the staff would be annoyed with me or think I was making a fuss about nothing. I felt awful and I struggled to cope. I wanted to leave or go and wait somewhere else. I went and shut myself in a toilet for a while and the peace was wonderful but I didn't want to miss my appointment so I had to go back and sit with it.

I’m writing about this because hospitals are busy and stressful places for everyone, staff and patients alike, and I think a good case can be made that adding extra noise and sensory input is actually counterproductive. There is a lot of research now suggesting that overconsumption of digital input is harmful and that we’d all be better off if we enjoyed more peace and quiet. 

Overall I feel that keeping inessential background noise in hospitals, GP practices, etc. to a minimum would be in the best interests of patients and staff alike. I’m really upset about the experience I had and writing about it is making me feel bad but I hope this feedback might be used to change things for the better, especially for people like me who are neurodivergent and sound sensitive.

I'd just like to add that every time I've attended an appointment at the glaucoma clinic the staff have been wonderfully kind and patient and caring. Also a small bookcase has been added to the waiting area since I last went with a note inviting people to borrow a book and return it next time they come. This is a great idea and one which I wholeheartedly support!