You know the scene. A quiet café, a newspaper, a coffee. Then someone at the next table takes a call on speaker, and suddenly the whole room is part of the conversation.
There is a name for it now: loudcasting. In a 2025 survey of more than 1,500 Americans by NumberBarn, talking on speakerphone in public topped the list of most annoying phone habits. In August, Wetherspoons banned speakerphone calls in all 792 of its pubs. And in a recent Wall Street Journal column, Jamie Waters begged people to put their headphones on, and advised everyone else to glare.
We get it. We spend our days helping people hear the voices that matter in noisy places, so we are no fans of extra noise. But as a hearing technology company, we know something this debate keeps missing: sometimes the speaker is on because the earpiece simply does not work for the person holding the phone.
Why some people turn the speaker on
Hearing loss is far more common than most people think. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1.5 billion people live with some degree of hearing loss, nearly one in five of us. Many have never had a hearing test, and plenty would not describe themselves as having a hearing problem at all.
Phone calls strip out the sounds that matter most. Ever had to spell something over the phone and ended up saying "S as in sun"? There is a reason for that. Many phone networks still squeeze the voice into a narrow band, cutting off much of the high frequency detail that tells "s" from "f," or "sin" from "fin." HD Voice helps, but calls between different networks often fall back to the narrow version. For anyone who already finds high pitched sounds harder to catch, a phone call takes away exactly the clues they rely on.
There are no faces on a phone call. In person, we all lip read more than we realize. On a voice call, that support disappears. On a video call held at arm's length, it comes back, and the speaker comes on with it.
Holding a phone to your ear does not always work with hearing aids. Pressing a phone against a hearing aid can cause whistling feedback. For some wearers, letting the aid pick up the sound from the speaker is simply the most reliable option.
None of this applies to everyone. The NumberBarn survey found that Gen Z was the generation most likely to use speakerphone in public, so this is clearly a habit for plenty of people with perfectly good hearing. But it is worth remembering that the person on speaker next to you might not be making a choice. They might be making do.
What actually helps
If phone calls are harder than they used to be, or you find yourself reaching for the speaker button, here are some simple things worth trying.
Use both ears. Part of the appeal of speakerphone is that both ears get to work. Earbuds or headphones give you the same advantage and keep your call private. Wired earbuds need no pairing at all. Since October 2020, new iPhones no longer come with earphones in the box, so it is easy to find yourself without a pair. A cheap set in your bag or coat pocket solves that.
Try call captions. Many smartphones can now show live captions during calls. Language support varies, so check what your phone offers in your settings under accessibility.
Stream calls to your hearing aids. Many modern hearing aids can connect to your phone and play calls directly in both ears. If you are not sure whether yours can, your audiologist or hearing care provider can tell you.
Get your hearing checked. If calls have become a struggle, it is worth knowing why.
A hearing test with a professional is the best place to start. A hearing test app, such as the one built into our Mobile Ears app, can give you a first impression at home, though it is not a medical diagnosis.
A little more patience, a lot more clarity
There is nothing wrong with wanting a quiet café. Shared spaces work best when we all keep the volume down, and a pair of earbuds really is the considerate choice for most of us.
But the next time a stranger's phone call fills the room, it might be worth a second thought before the eye roll. That person may be doing their best to follow a conversation that matters to them, with a device that was never designed to make it easy.
That is the problem we work on every day. As a company born in Norway, we build technology that makes speech clearer, not just louder, so that conversations are easier to follow wherever they happen. Turning everything up is rarely the answer. Hearing the right voice clearly usually is.
If phone calls or busy rooms have started to feel like hard work, you are far from alone. Take a look at our products or get in touch. And if you ever call us on speaker, we promise not to glare.
