Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired

How Can Assistive Technology Help People Who Are Hearing Impaired?

A range of Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired people gives people with hearing loss or communication difficulties a chance to engage in their surroundings. Hearing loss affects around 18 million people in the UK. And many find relief through Assistive Technology (AT).  

Hearing impairments range from being profoundly deaf and in need of BSL interpreters to mild hearing loss or tinnitus. So, whether it’s ALDs (Assistive Listening Devices), AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), captioning software, or Alerting devices like loud sound-emitting technology, all types of Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired people are effective. 

Some challenges hearing-impaired people can face:  

• Confidence levels: Unconscious biases and a lack of understanding from others can lower confidence in Deaf people. Insensitive comments like ‘you don’t look deaf’ or ‘you speak well for a deaf person’ provoke feelings of difference, exclusion, and depression. 
• Accessing healthcare: Deaf people face barriers in communicating with Doctors and medical professionals. Due to a lack of BSL interpreters in hospitals, around 75% of deaf patients struggle to communicate with hospital staff. 
• Communication: Many Deaf people depend on lip-reading to enhance their understanding of words. But even the best lip-readers only understand two-thirds of what others say. 
• Employment challenges: Hearing impairments can affect work performance. Experiencing miscommunication issues, lack of confidence, or lack of appropriate equipment, people with hearing loss can experience exclusion and negative judgements from others.  

So what are some of the key ways Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired people can improve lives? 

Improves Communication

AT such as ALDs, AACs, and even captioning software go a long way towards supporting deaf people to improve communication. By amplifying sound levels, enhancing sound quality, or better interpreting words, people with hearing impairments can avoid misunderstandings in communication. And they can develop positive, healthy relationships with others.   

Facilitates Accessibility and Inclusion

All types of Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired work to bridge gaps for people with hearing impairments. Examples can include alerts when people call at their door or on their phone, or providing captions when meeting over Zoom or MS Teams. Around 80% of people add live captions to videoconferencing calls which gives people with hearing impairment access to the conversation.   

Promotes Independence

A wide range of AT tools will fit the varying needs and requirements of people who face hearing challenges. Through appropriate tools, they gain greater independence and autonomy over their lives. In particular, employees with hearing loss can gain parity with their peers and improve work performance. 

Boosts Confidence and Self-Esteem

Both people with hearing loss and people without can gain confidence from AT tools. A report by RNID showed over 40% of the general population don’t feel confident communicating with deaf people. This, of course, leaves many people unaware of where they should start to bridge this communication gap. 

Plus, research into the effectiveness of Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired people shows it has a a positive psychosocial impact. Results of a study show AT improves ian ndividual’s adaptability, competence levels, and self-esteem soon after use.  

What Types of Assistive Technology Benefit People Who Are Hearing Impairmed?

In this section, we’ll look at the wide range of Assistive Technology for Hearing Impairment and offer some insights on how they can help.   

Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs)

ALDs are effective for people using hearing aids and cochlear implants. Around 20,000 people in the UK have a cochlear implant. And, while they won’t bring someone’s hearing back, they can stimulate the auditory nerve, recognise electrical signals as sounds, and replace damaged hair cells.

Hearing aids and cochlear implants can work in synch with other technologies:  

• Hearing Loop Systems: Hearing loops transmit amplified audio into hearing aids and cochlear implants in external environments like customer service desks.   
• FM Systems: Radio systems transmit amplified sound through microphones into receivers. They’re useful for large presentations or groups.  
• Infrared Systems: Like FM systems, these systems use infrared transmitters and listening receivers to exchange an audio source. 
• Personal Amplifiers: These are often pocket-sized amplifiers that help with listening to general conversation. People with or without hearing aids can use them. 

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AACs)

AACs range from low-tech supportive interventions like books, pictures, or augmentative hand gestures to more sophisticated digital technologies like captioning technology. AACs are usually either aided or unaided, with high-tech portable communication tools that fix to the hip or wrist to help people with hearing loss talk to others.    

Another way to boost communication is by adding captions in videoconferencing meetings, phonecalls, and during live presentations. This opens accessibility for people with hearing difficulties, increases comprehension, and supports working memory. It can also help people with hearing loss take calls at home, decipher words, and avoid miscommunication. 

Dictation software can also overcome communication problems for people with hearing loss and aids communication as an effective form of speech-to-text technology. 

Alerting Devices

Using sound, light, visual cues, vibrations, or even a combination of these, alerting and alarm devices are effective organisational tools. Examples range from wake-up alarms that use bright or flashing LED lights to horns, visual alerts, or vibrating technologies. 

Vibrating pages, for instance, help people with hearing loss receive notifications of duties, instructions, or activities. Someone working on a site like construction or facilities management could benefit from vibrating pages for project updates, for instance.  

Free Assistive Technology for the Hearing Impaired

Employees and students with hearing loss can access free Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired through government funding schemes. Using these funding pots, individuals with hearing loss can apply for considerable levels of funding to support them with the most appropriate types of tech: 

• Access to Work: Those in employment with hearing loss can apply to get up to £70,000 worth of funding from Access to Work. This is government funding that goes beyond the mandatory reasonable adjustments an employer must make.
• Disabled Students Allowance: The DSA can fund Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired students across all forms of impairment. Disabled Students Allowance funding is available to students of all ages and can go a long way to improving academic outcomes. 

Assistive Technology Tools for the Hearing Impaired at University

Some of the most effective forms of Assistive Technology for Hearing Impaired students includes the following: 

• Caption.Ed: Caption.Ed improves focus and concentration by removing distractions. People with ADHD can experience mind-wandering and lose focus. But captioning software can helo to keep their focus locked on what’s said. Plus, they’ll get a full transcript to support note-taking and to avoid missing key information, reducing anxiety and strain.  
• TalkType: Students could find TalkType extremely powerful for noting thoughts, ideas, and concepts during their studies. It’s fast dictation software that can also help during written assignments. 
• Alerting devices: Students can, at the best of times, struggle with organisation. But vibration tools and LED alerts can remind students with hearing loss of schedules, lectures, and assignment deadlines. 

Assistive Technology Tools for the Hearing Impaired in the Workplace

People with dyslexia can use assistive technology to improve focus, reduce anxiety and overwhelm, and help in a variety of workplace settings.  

• Caption.Ed: Captioning is a vital addition to any workplace and particularly transformative for people with hearing loss. Caption.Ed Pro offers best-in-class automatic captions in face-to-face meetings and in events where background noise may be difficult to filter. 
• TalkType: TalkType offers a fast and effective solution for communicating with others. Lightning-fast dictation tech overcomes communication barriers and ensures accuracy.   
• FM systems: Attending large in-person presentations can create problems for people with hearing loss. But FM systems support them to speak into microphones and receive amplified radio transmissions into their ears.