Hearing impairment

A hearing impairment is a decrease in one's ability to hear (i.e. perceive auditory information). While some cases of hearing loss are reversible with medical treatment, many lead to a permanent disability (often called deafness).

Adaptations to hearing impairment

Many hearing impaired individuals use certain assistive devices in their daily lives. Individuals can communicate by telephone using telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD) This device looks like a typewriter or word processor and transmits typed text over the telephone. Other names in common use are textphone and minicom. In 2004, mobile textphone devices came onto the market for the first time allowing simultaneous two way text communication. In the U.S., the UK, the Netherlands and many other western countries there are telephone relay services so that a hearing impaired person can communicate with a hearing person via a human translator. Wireless, internet and mobile phone/SMS text messaging are beginning to take over the role of the TDD. Other assistive devices include those that use flashing lights to signal events such as a ringing telephone, a doorbell, or a fire alarm. Video conferencing is also a new technology that permits signed conversations as well as permitting an ASL-English interpreter to voice and sign conversations between a hearing impaired and hearing person, negating the need to use a TTY or computer keyboard.

Related Topics:
Telecommunications devices for the deaf - Typewriter - Word processor - Wireless - Mobile phone - SMS - Text messaging - Video conferencing - ASL - TTY - Computer keyboard

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