Modern technology coupled with legally-protected rights give today’s Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) mainstream access that their counterparts from just fifty years ago could not have imagined. Most people with hearing loss benefit from regular use of one or more types of assistive devices or systems. Pioneering technology such as hearing aids, text telephones (TTY or TDD) and amplified telephones, gave way to assistive listening devices and FM systems, visual alerting devices, vibrating alerting devices, computer bulletin boards and closed and open captioning.
These high-tech tools and services, along with laws that ensure employers will make accommodations to incorporate them, have opened many occupations to people with hearing loss.
Now a new generation of technological advances is going beyond making occupations possible to making them practical and even convenient. Fax machines, computers, e-mail, instant messaging, web conferencing, computer-aided, real-time transcription services as well as text pagers and videophones are blowing open the doors that have kept people with hearing loss from accessing even occupations that rely heavily on oral communication.
Hot New Technology
One of the newest developments that is quickly gaining popularity among D/HH professionals is the videophone. Think back to “Star Trek’s” Captain Kirk with his big screen on the bridge. He wants a visual of the Federation commander - with a press of the button, Lieutenant Uhura patches him through.
The fancy of science fiction fans just 25 years ago is now the new way to converse with a person with hearing loss. Those in the Deaf community who have begun to use the videophone, love it and are depending on it as not only a means to sign directly to another person fluent in sign language but also to communicate with just about anyone.
One of the many advantages to a videophone is that D/HH users no longer have to type on a keyboard as with a TDD, e-mail, instant messaging and even traditional relay. With a videophone you can communicate by lip reading or by using sign language with the other party or with an interpreter who then translates to the other party.
Videophone conversations can take place via the Internet with a web camera and computer or by using a webcam with a television. Computer-based calls are convenient for people who spend a lot of time at their desks. The advantages to a television hook-up are that you are not susceptible to computer viruses or crashes and most television screens are also larger than computer screens, making it easier to see a person signing or to read a person’s lips.
Ira Gerlis, one of my co-workers who is also deaf, relies heavily on sign language interpreters in his job. He says that his job is much easier now with a videophone. “I used to use relay service with my TDD but found that many of my hearing customers, such as medical professionals and employers, would lose patience when dealing with the TDD relay. Also, my hard of hearing customers often had difficulty hearing the communication assistant. All my customers preferred me to use an interpreter and speakerphone but I had to coordinate my schedule with staff interpreters. However, now that I have the videophone, my job is much easier. Video relay interpreters are available any time I call. There is also no time delay with video relay services because the interpreter, wearing a headset, voices to the customer while I am signing, then signs back to me while the customer is speaking. It also seems more like a real conversation since we do not have to say ‘go ahead’ each time it’s the other person’s turn to respond. Oddly, my hard of hearing customers seem to hear better through the video relay interpreters too. I think all D/HH people should take advantage of this wonderful technology, especially since there is no cost for them to get a videophone at this time (see “Trends,” p. 23). I believe this technology is not a fad, but is definitely here to stay.”
Another mainstream technology that has become especially popular among people with hearing loss is the use of instant messaging (IM) via computer or text pagers. Yahoo®, AOL® and MSN™, among others, offer IM as a free service. IM is particularly useful for D/HH employees who communicate frequently with hearing co-workers. Although you can only “speak” as quickly as you can type, IM is real-time conversation and widely used by the general public. Further, IM services automatically alert you of all your contacts that are online when you are and unlike other telecommunications, there are no long distance charges for talking to anyone from around the world. An advantage of IM over a TDD is the full-size keyboard and computer monitor compared to the small TDD keyboard and monitor.
One drawback to IM is that you can get “IMed” by different callers at the same time and carrying on multiple conversations simultaneously can be very challenging!
A more serious drawback is that messages sent through IM are not secure and so as with e-mails, one should avoid exchanging confidential information.
At home I use a multi-protocol instant messaging utility that enables me to compile all my IM “buddy lists” from the different services (Yahoo, AOL, and MSN) into one. Gaim and Odigo are a couple of the programs currently available that enable you to combine IM services.
Tommy Walker, Manager of Sprint Arkansas Relay Services, is deaf and uses IM frequently at work. “It’s a very useful tool among the managers at Sprint Relay. It’s really great for a simple question or request but not the best for a lengthy conversation. In that case we go to videophone and talk in sign language.”
Older Technology, New Applications
I work at a mental health center, an environment in which safety is occasionally a concern. For years we had a staff of only four and often I would be the one to answer phones and come out to greet visitors from my office down the hall. I was not able to see when someone entered so I had to listen for people entering. However, when I talk on the phone, I use the telecoil on my hearing aid. With that enabled, I can hearing nothing else around me. Occasionally, while using the phone or just after, I would be startled to look up and find a person standing at my office door unexpectedly.
I requested a workplace accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A strobe light that flashes and a bell that rings when someone enters the front door of our building was placed in the hall just outside of my office.
A perfect example of “universal design” that not only benefits a person with special needs but also my hearing co-workers, the alarm notifies us all of someone entering the front door. Now my hearing co-workers know when someone is entering our front door even if they are working in the noisy copy room. When needed, to prevent disturbing our customers undergoing psychological testing, the bell can be turned off and only the flasher used. Doorbell strobes and alarms have been around for many years and used mostly in residential settings. Less commonly considered for the workplace, they make an easy solution for a number of scenarios in which a D/HH person needs to multi-task as well as receive customers.
Whether by creating new applications from an oldie but goodie like the strobe alarm or developing exciting new technologies, undoubtedly, communication barriers historically faced by people with hearing disorders are fading fast. We now revel in the
technology available to us, but I believe we’ve seen only a glimpse of what is to come. n
Joyce Scott, M.Ed. has been the training specialist for Arkansas Rehabilitation Services for the past 15 years. She has given numerous presentations on a variety of deafness-related topics at local, state and national conferences. Prior to her current position, she was a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Deaf at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation for two years. She is very active in the Central Arkansas SHHH Chapter in Little Rock. She can be reached by email at jmscott@ars.state.ar.us.
