By Eman Imran
As someone who is passionate about the cause of improving inclusivity for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, I often find myself noticing things that may be invisible to others—like public TVs without closed captioning or flight updates at the airport announced over loudspeakers.
These everyday moments, though seemingly small to others, highlight how uninclusive the world can be. I am someone who has her hearing, and I understand that I cannot fully understand the lived experiences of deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) individuals.
What I, and many others, can do, is listen, learn, and help raise awareness; many of us move through life without realizing that our daily experiences are not universal. Part of being human is that not everyone experiences everything the same way. As a society, we must do a better job of implementing accommodations that promote equity and inclusion.
Workplace Challenges
Workplace meetings can present a challenge to people who have difficulty hearing. Credit: @wocintechchat/Unsplash
For most adults, especially in the U.S., work is one of the biggest parts of life. The average American spends approximately 13.2 years of their life working, or around 114,768 hours, according to Payscale.com.
For D/HH individuals, this part of life can come with some barriers, including communication challenges, stress, and fatigue resulting from greater efforts to concentrate, listen, and communicate, according to an Australian paper in the American Annals of the Deaf. These barriers apply to school as well, another setting that the average American spends a great deal of time in, especially children.
In the Australian study, D/HH participants shared not only the challenges they face in securing accommodations and navigating the workplace, but also insights into areas where inclusion can grow.
One participant pointed out the disadvantages of missing out on casual conversations, networking opportunities, and even gossip. This highlights a barrier that is also present in everyday social interaction, and the importance of creating communication friendly environments where informal interactions can be more inclusive.
We have seen many recent, rapid advances in technology, and these new developments can ease some barriers. For example, there are ways to communicate through technology, such as texting and video calling, which have proven to have great benefits in easing stress that result from these barriers.
Remote working opportunities have also greatly increased, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. With these accommodations must also come awareness. These new developments in technology should be better communicated to ensure that all individuals are aware of the tools that are available, as well as how to use them.
Traveling Challenges
Busy airports with loudspeaker announcements can make travel challenging. Credit: @philm1/Unsplash
Traveling is another area where inaccessibility often goes unnoticed. According to Travel & Tourism News, D/HH travelers face challenges particularly in busy, fast paced, and often sound-reliant environments like airports, which can exacerbate barriers.
With increased awareness and inclusive practices, these experiences can become much more inclusive. Increased sign usage, increased visual instructions, and a trained TSA (Transportation Security Administration) team can make a significant difference.
Additionally, the usage of sign language in public spaces would not only increase inclusion and accessibility, but also increase awareness and recognition.
How to Help
There are various things we can all do better to be more inclusive and overcome barriers.
Learn about Deaf culture and communication
Simply learning about Deaf culture and the Deaf community can make a great impact by reducing stigma and encouraging inclusion in everyday experiences. Education in these areas is also essential for those in the workforce, as their actions directly shape the daily experiences of all individuals.
Teach self-advocacy
It may not always be easy, but through live transcription apps, communication cards, or another preferred communication method, advocacy can make a large difference. Knowing your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act is important, and you can use those rights to obtain what you need. With increased self-advocacy also comes increased awareness.
Promote inclusive communication
Small communication changes, such as visual cues and gestures and text-based communication, can go a long way. Additionally, more awareness should be spread on the role and need of interpreters. Consider American Sign Language interpreters for public events.
Use technology
With a society that is continuously advancing in technology, the tools that you can access are also advancing. There are various apps available that offer live transcription, such as Google Live Transcribe, Ava, and InnoCaption. Emailing and texting are common ways to communicate nowadays as well. Additionally, remote working opportunities throughout various career fields continue to increase every day.
Living without the sense of hearing may bring barriers, but it does not mean living without independence or success. Our role, as people with typical hearing, is to listen, support, and work to improve the systems that are built around us. Overcoming these challenges requires a collaborative effort, and we should all contribute as much as we can.
Eman Imran is a senior earning a bachelor’s of science degree in psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas.
The Latest Blog Posts
Living without the sense of hearing may bring barriers, but it does not mean living without independence or success. Our role, as people with typical hearing, is to listen, support, and work to improve the systems that are built around us.