Types of Disabilities: Auditory Disabilities

Question 1

Auditory disabilities

Answer 1

Hearing impairment, hearing loss, and deafness.

Question 2

Hearing impairment or hearing loss

Answer 2

Diminished hearing and may have difficulty understanding speech and distinguishing foreground noise from background noise.

Question 3

AAC

Answer 3

Augmentative and alternative communication, such as sign language or communication boards.

Question 4

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Answer 4

Difficulty with processing sounds or speech, not because of any measurable hearing loss, but instead there are challenges with interpreting, organizing, or analyzing what one hears.

Question 5

Causes of Auditory Disabilities

Answer 5

Some causes may include: genetics, premature birth, infections/illnesses, ear trauma, exposure to loud noises, and aging.

Question 6

deaf

Answer 6

The condition of deafness, the partial or total hearing loss a person experiences from a medical perspective.

Question 7

Deaf

Answer 7

Deaf Culture or Deaf Community. Focuses on the beliefs, cultural norms, values, and experiences shared between a group or groups of people who are deaf. “Deaf” capitalized is used to reference a member of the Deaf Community. Those who identify with Deaf Culture view deafness using the social identity or cultural affiliation model of disability.

Question 8

Audio-only content

Answer 8

Provide a transcript of the audio, which should include all of the narration, dialogue, and other important sounds such as applause, crashes, music, etc.

Question 9

Video content with audio

Answer 9

Provide synchronized video captions plus a transcript.

Question 10

ICT Challenge: The audio portion of videos cannot be heard.

Answer 10

Solutions:
1. Provide synchronized captions with videos.
2. Provide sign language interpretation.

Question 11

ICT Challenge: Audio content cannot be heard.

Answer 11

Solutions:
1. Provide a transcript.
2. Provide sign language interpretation.
3. Provide CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) or STTR (Speech to Text Reporter). Ensure captions for videos, live online meetings, and live presentations are accurate and usable.

Question 12

General Challenge: Speeches and talks cannot be hard by deaf people in the room.

Answer 12

Solutions:
1. Provide sign language interpretation
2. Provide live captions on a monitor during the speech
3. Provide assistive listening systems and devices in meeting rooms and auditoriums.

Question 13

Architecture and Built Environment Challenge: Doorbells, alarms, and other sounds may not be heard.

Answer 13

Solutions:
1. Provide alternative visual alerts, such as lights that flash, pulse, dim, turn on, or turn off.
2. Provide haptic alerts/feedback.