Hearing Health Blog
A survey of more than 1,500 respondents with hearing loss found that while many look for and request accommodations, they are often not available—62 percent answered “seldom or never” when asked how often they can find accommodations.
Statistically speaking, half of grandparents and great-grandparents have significant hearing loss. So do about one in 10 of the aunts, uncles, or adult friends ages 55 to 64. Plus, we know that among adults exposed to loud noise—at work or in everyday life—about one in five has a hard time hearing speech. This can be a real hindrance to enjoying the holidays when all we want to do is connect with one another and share life’s joys.
Hearing loss is an invisible disability and people with typical hearing don’t always understand. There are those with some type of hearing loss who just “deal with it” or prefer to keep it a secret. Connecting with individuals who also have hearing loss helps me manage daily life.
I cannot tell you how many times in my 32 years people have asked me, “What is it like to have parents who are deaf?” My answer has always been the same, regardless of who is asking or how old I am, “What is it like to have hearing parents?”
If you are any age and have both a hearing loss and a smartphone, “get smart” is how to educate you and your phone. Smartphones have allowed us a degree of freedom and communication access undreamed of in the not too distant past.
In the classroom, Alex has a captionist who ensures that he gets most of what the teacher is saying. He also carries a small microphone, or mini mic, for teachers to talk into so that their speech streams directly into his hearing aid and CI. Together, these two tactics were by no means perfect, but they worked for Alex. Unfortunately, like every other student across the world, Alex’s in-person education routine was interrupted a few months ago.
In New York City, we are required to wear face coverings in public and practice social distancing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Non-essential work, like my own part-time job as an educational researcher for a university, must be completed remotely. With these vital public health measures emerge new challenges for people with hearing loss, and I’m advocating for myself and creating solutions when and where I am able.
I’m a longtime radio broadcaster and after 25 years on the air, I owned an advertising agency where all the work was creating radio and TV ads and video scripts all day, every day. I’ve spent nearly my entire adult life in a studio, wearing headphones.
Sound can provide remarkable connections to the world around us. As a Longwood University communication sciences and disorders student, I’ve come to better understand how people with hearing loss experience sound, and that improvements to accessibility are urgently needed.
By Lauren McGrath
Captions and subtitles are a critical tool that makes information more accessible to those with hearing loss.
The technology is constantly evolving, especially real-time captioning that can be available on the go, often using smartphones.
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses and public venues to guarantee that people with hearing loss are not excluded from or denied services because of the lack of auxiliary aids, and this includes captioning.
But sometimes the subtitles fall short, creating unintentionally funny gaffes that can end up going viral.
Without intending any criticism of this important accessibility method, which is so helpful for those with (and without) hearing loss to better understand speech, we are launching a fun contest— because everyone loves bloopers, and it’s a good reminder that captioning has actually improved by leaps and bounds.
Submit an original photo or screenshot of a memorable caption flub, and earn a chance to be featured in the Spring 2019 issue of Hearing Health and on our website.
The deadline has been extended! Visit hhf.org/challenge to review the full contest rules and to enter. Submissions will be accepted until Friday, May 15.
Note: The contest is open to all individuals 18 years and older who subscribe to Hearing Health magazine via print (in the U.S.) or online (outside of the U.S.). Nonsubscribers are not be eligible for participation and any submission from a nonsubscriber will not be considered. To subscribe to the free quarterly, visit hhf.org/subscribe.
