The term “hearing impaired” is often used to describe people with hearing loss, from mild to profound, i.e. deaf and hard of hearing people.
You may be surprised to learn that a deaf person can indeed distinguish certain sounds. But they may not use them. It turns out that completely deaf people are only a minority. Most people with hearing loss can perceive sounds or have difficulty speaking, just like people with hearing loss.
Another fact that deserves attention: a deaf person is not necessarily a non-speaking person, just as a non-speaking person is not necessarily deaf!
Because some people with hearing loss cannot hear their own voice properly, their speech can be difficult for others to understand. In fact, all deaf people have the physiological ability to speak, but some never use their voice. They may prefer to use sign language, a way of communicating that is based entirely on manual articulation, to express themselves. Some may remain silent while using sign language, while others may articulate sounds.
Other deaf people may use their voice to communicate with a hearing person, but that does not mean they can hear.
As you can see, there is a range of abilities and/or preferences associated with people with hearing loss. By remaining open-minded, you will make the person with hearing loss you are communicating with more comfortable and at ease. This is the first step to establishing trusting communication.
If you want to bust clichés about deaf people, read our article:
8 clichés about deaf people
What solutions improve accessibility for people with hearing loss?
Whether you deal with deaf or hard of hearing people, you can make sure that your premises or your transport network is accessible to them so that they can access information, navigate and communicate with your staff:
⊗ Notice boards, videos with subtitles if available, icons at points of interest to provide visual and textual information.
⊗ Audio induction loops or amplification systems at your information desk so that people who wear hearing aids can hear your staff properly.
⊗ An instant transcription app, such as Ava, to transcribe conversations between hearing and deaf people.
⊗ American Sign Language interpretation: for example, if you run a museum, an American Sign Language interpreter is ideal to make culture accessible to the Deaf community.
⊗ Transparent face masks for all your employees: they protect them and your customers from COVID-19 and allow your deaf customers to read your lips so they can understand your staff.
⊗ Indoor orientation apps such as Evelity so that deaf and hard of hearing users can navigate in any difficult places. Evelity, developed by Okeenea, is the ideal solution for maze-like environments such as shopping malls, hospitals or public transport networks. The app provides text information and is currently installed at the JaySt-MetroTech subway station in New York City!
Always remember that well-trained staff is extremely valuable for your establishment. We have come up with 12 tips on how to greet deaf or hard of hearing people!
Your staff should know about people with disabilities, their profiles, their capabilities and their difficulties in order to help them as best as possible. And there are many different profiles for each type of disability! By knowing their profiles and recognizing their differences, more or less subtle, we will promote inclusion.
Very diverse profiles of hearing impairment
As for the deaf and hard of hearing community, you will see that according to their profile, they do not all have the same needs. Let’s dive into their specificities!
People who were born deaf or hard of hearing
Due to genetic factors or complications during pregnancy, a child may be born with partial or complete hearing loss. Usually, people who are born completely deaf learn to communicate through sign language. This is what they have always known.
People who become deaf at a later age
The terms “deafened” and “late deafened” can be used to describe people who became deaf in adulthood. Their hearing loss may have been caused by a chronic illness or ear infection. Seeing that their hearing loss occurred later in life, they had to adapt. As you can imagine, this can be more or less challenging.
Although about 48 million people in the United States are hearing impaired, less than 500,000 of them know and use sign language. This means that most deaf and hard of hearing people rely on another way to communicate with others.
Hard of hearing people
They have mild to moderate hearing loss. But this term can also be used as a way for Deaf people to disassociate themselves from the Deaf community. Some of them do not want and/or do not belong to Deaf culture.