In the March 2022 Newsletter
  CODA and Hearing Loss

Why Accessibility Matters

CODA won the best picture Oscar in 2022. The acronym CODA means ‘child of deaf adult’. This touching movie raises awareness of the challenges faced by people with hearing disabilities, as well as CODA family members. The question we need to ask is, what are we doing to support people with hearing loss and improve their accessibility?

A Story

My good friend Anita, who was always sharp, developed early Alzheimer’s disease after antibiotics she took to overcome a serious infection impacted her hearing. The loss of hearing, in her case and in many others, hurt her cognitive functions. She had to stop working, which greatly impacted her quality of life.

What Is Hearing Loss?

A disability is defined as a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual or group. There are many types of disabilities that can hamper or reduce a person’s ability to carry out their day-to-day activities, including mobility / physical, spinal cord, head, vision, cognitive / learning, psychological, invisible, and hearing.

Hearing disabilities include people who are completely or partially deaf. The term ‘hearing impaired’ refers to people with a less-than-severe hearing loss. Hearing disabilities are a serious problem in society. For example, “48 million Americans (14% of the population) have some degree of hearing loss, deafness, or communication disorder,” according to HLAA and NIDCD. Furthermore, according to HHF, “hearing loss in the U.S. has doubled in the past 30 years and it’s the third most prevalent health condition in older adults.”

Why Should You Care?

	NEGATIVE IMPACT. Hearing loss has been shown to negatively impact nearly every dimension of the human experience, including physical health, emotional and mental health, perceptions of mental acuity, social skills, family relationships, and self esteem, as well as work and school performance.
	FINANCIAL IMPACT. Those with unaided hearing loss earned on average $20,000 less annually than those who used hearing aids or cochlear implants.
	IT’S THE LAW. U.S laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), require that accommodations be made to improve accessibility to those with hearing and other disabilities. Accessibility is defined as “the quality of being able to be reached or entered, easily understood or appreciated.” ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services.

Practical Pointers for Coping with Hearing Loss

	GET EDUCATED. Learn about hearing loss and other disabilities and what you can do to accommodate the situation.
	SEEK MEDICAL HELP and get tested. People with hearing loss wait an average of 7 years before seeking help.
	COPE AND SUPPORT. The Mayo Clinic offers tips to help you communicate more easily despite your hearing loss. For example, tell your friends and family that you have some hearing loss. Position yourself to hear by facing the person you’re talking to. Turn off background noise. For example, noise from a television may interfere with conversation. See the complete list.
	TURN ON CAPTIONS. During virtual meetings and while watching TV, turn on captioning so audio is represented in text format. In this way, people can leverage visual as well as audible information sources.
	TAKE ACTION. Government and businesses must consider the Americans with Disabilities Act. They should offer technological solutions that can help people accommodate with hearing loss.
	USE ‘VOICE WITH VISUALS’ COMMUNICATIONS. Stimulate more of the senses. According to Dr. John Medina, author of Brainrules, when you see and hear information you are 600% more likely to understand. That’s one reason why Radish Systems, the tech venture I co-founded, offers ChoiceView® as a way to transform voice-only transactions into multi-modal ‘voice with visuals’ communications for both automated and live interactions. Learn more.

Summary

What are you doing to help yourself and support people with hearing loss to improve their accessibility? Get educated, seek medical care, learn coping strategies, turn on captions, and take action. Businesses, healthcare organizations, and government agencies can transform voice-only communications with their customers and patients to ‘voice with visuals’ interactions using a solution like ChoiceView from Radish Systems.

Theresa M. Szczurek, Ph.D.
C-Level Global Executive, Corporate Director, and Colorado CIO of the Year

Pass it on. Feel free to share this newsletter, using my name and copyright declaration, with your colleagues.