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Assistive Technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is technology built to assist those who are deaf or suffer from hearing loss. Examples of such technology include hearing aids, video relay services, tactile devices, alerting devices and technology for supporting communication.
The deaf or hard of hearing community has a difficult time to communicate and perceive information as compared to hearing individuals. Thus, these individuals often rely on visual and tactile mediums for receiving and communicating information. The use of assistive technology and devices provides this community with various solutions to their problems by providing higher sound (for those who are hard of hearing), tactile feedback, visual cues and improved technology access. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing utilize a variety of assistive technologies that provide them with improved accessibility to information in numerous environments.Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing increasingly benefit from advances in captioning technologies, which provide real-time transcription of spoken language in educational, professional, and entertainment settings. Automatic speech recognition (ASR) software, a subset of artificial intelligence, is frequently used in developing these captioning tools. For instance, platforms such as YouTube and Zoom have integrated ASR-based systems to ensure greater accessibility. Research highlights the role of captioning in fostering inclusivity and reducing barriers for those with hearing loss. Studies published in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education emphasize its importance in enhancing comprehension and engagement. [1] [2] Most devices either provide amplified sound or alternate ways to access information through vision and/or vibration. These technologies can be grouped into three general categories: hearing technology, alerting devices, and communication support.
Hearing technology can broadly be defined as any device utilized for improving the level of sound available to a listener. Hearing technology can further be divided into two general subcategories of Assistive Listening Devices or Personal Amplification.
Assistive listening devices (ALD) can be utilized by individuals or large groups of people and can typically be accessed without the support of specific personnel. These devices are frequently used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in different situations. All Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) consist of a transmitter sending a person's voice or another audio source to a receiver, which subsequently distributes the sound uniformly in environments such as theaters, churches, or even directly to an individual.
With Frequency Modulation (FM) systems, the sound is transmitted on a specific frequency or channel similar to a radio. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has designated specific frequencies for these types of systems. There are now small receivers than can be connected directly to a person's hearing aids through Direct Audio Input (DAI). Any time an FM system is coupled to a hearing aid, special settings and connections are required from an audiologist. Occasionally, when multiple FM-based systems are employed within a single building, issues may arise concerning signal interference between different rooms and channels.
These systems utilize light waves to transmit sound from the transmitter to a special light sensitive receiver. The signal can be broadcast to a whole room through speakers or a person who wears an individual receiver. There must be a clear line of connection between the transmitter and receiver so that the light signal is not interrupted. The benefit of infrared systems is that they only work in the room where the transmitter and receiver are located resulting in significantly fewer issues with cross-over. These systems can be sensitive to external light sources or interfering objects.
Induction loop systems utilize electromagnetic energy to transmit the signal. These systems can cover a small area with a loop placed under a rug or may be permanently installed within the walls or ceiling of larger areas like theaters, auditoriums, or churches.
Personal amplification is chosen specific to the needs of an individual based on their level of hearing and requires the support of an audiologist to determine candidacy for different devices and appropriately fit and adjust the chosen device.
Hearing aids are electroacoustic devices which are designed to amplify sound for the wearer, usually with the aim of making speech more intelligible, and to correct impaired hearing as measured by audiometry.
Some technologies also worth noting are cochlear implants and bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHA), which serve a similar purpose to hearing aids.
Following are some technologies employed by deaf and hard of hearing individuals for communication purposes.
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD), previously known as teletype machine (TTY), allows the user to place phone calls using text through a regular phone line. Each TDD has a keyboard with a text screen. A user either needs to connect with another person that has a TDD or use a relay service that can convert the text into voice for the hearing listener receiving the call. With the improvements in technology for phones, pagers, text devices and computer services, the use of the TDD has declined. [3]
The Voice Carry Over Telephone (VCO) is used by those people who are unable to hear over the telephone but prefer to use their voice to communicate. VCO telephone calls must be made through a relay service. This connection allows the person with the hearing loss to speak to the other party and read their incoming message on the telephone's display screen. There is also a portable VCO device, which can be attached to cell phones, pay phones, or cordless phones.
Varying state to state, this service may be free to the consumer—paid for but the government. This was a provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The relay service companies pick a date that works for the consumer, sets up the telecommunication system, and teaches them how to use it. A third party employee translates the incoming speech in real time for the consumer to read the message.
Similar to Voice Carry Over Telephone (VCO), The Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service is used by Deaf or Hard of Hearing people can use the phone, but sometimes they cannot hear and don't understand voices on the phone. IP relay is accessible through the internet and allows the person to communicate by text. When a user calls someone, there is a third party person, called a communication assistant (CA), who will receive the user's call and the IP relay will go from the caller's computer to the other person's phone. The communication assistant will type to the deaf/hard of hearing person, who will in turn respond, and then the communication assistant will pass along the information to the person on the other end of the line. [4]
Video relay service (VRS) or video remote interpreting (VRI) is a type of video telecommunication service, which use communication devices such as webcams or videophones to provide sign-language and/or spoken language interpretation services. In many cases, getting an interpreter may take some time and they may not be immediately available. The VRI will provide an interpreter on the spot. The VRI has two parties, the deaf/hard of hearing person who is using the VRI, and the interpreter who is on the screen. The interpreter can be on a videophone, web camera, or computer screen. The interpreter will use the audio, while someone speaks and the person will interpret to the deaf person by sign language, and then if the deaf/hard of hearing wants to say something they will sign to the interpreter and the interpreter will use his/her voice to relay that message. [5]
Real-time text (RTT) is transmitting text which the reader can automatically read even before the sender finishes the sentence. The Deaf community uses this as one of the ways to communicate. RTT allows the other person (receiver) to read the message immediately, without waiting for the message to be written. The idea is similar to the idea which a hearing person talks on the phone. They will talk continuously without any pauses and interruptions. The Deaf community uses RTT to have a continuous conversation.
TDD devices, sometimes called TTY devices, are commonly used for RTT via a regular phone call. Text over IP (ToIP) is a type of RTT that uses IP networks natively.
Real time captioning provides a typewritten account of all verbal information presented within a lecture, meeting, discussion or presentation. All of these systems require the skills of a trained captioner and specialized software or equipment such as a computer. They typically vary based on the amount of information represented within the visual display of information ranging from summaries to word for word transcription.
Also called open captioning, or real-time stenography, or simply real-time captioning, Communication Access Real Time Captioning (CART) is the general name of the system that court reporters, closed captioners and voice writers, and others use to convert speech to text. A trained operator uses keyboard or stenography methods to transcribe spoken speech into written text. Speech to text software is used when voice writers provide CART.
C-Print is a speech-to-text (captioning) technology and service developed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology. The system is successfully being used to provide communication access to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in many programs around the country. In addition to educational environments, C-Print also can be used in business and community settings, and with individuals with other disabilities, such as those with a visual impairment or a learning disability.
Rather than having a captioner physically present, the user can listen in using a phone, cell phone, or computer microphone which allows the captioner to transmit the text back to the consumer using a modem, internet or some other data connection.
Video captions make video content more accessible to all audiences. The 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), passed in 2010, legally requires content delivered by broadband, digital and mobile technology to be accessible to those with disabilities. [6] [7] [8] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces compliance of the CVAA and clarifies the law when necessary.
Closed captioning (CC) is a form of subtitling, a process of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information, where the viewer is given the choice of whether the text is displayed. Closed captions are typically used as a transcription of the audio portion of a program as it occurs, sometimes including descriptions of non-speech elements. Other uses have included providing a textual alternative language translation of a presentation's primary audio language that is usually burned-in to the video and unselectable.
A telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) is a teleprinter, an electronic device for text communication over a telephone line, that is designed for use by persons with hearing or speech difficulties. Other names for the device include teletypewriter (TTY), textphone, and minicom.
Communication access realtime translation (CART), also called open captioning or realtime stenography or simply realtime captioning, is the general name of the system that stenographers and others use to convert speech to text. A trained operator writes the exact words spoken using a special phonetic keyboard, or stenography methods, relaying a reliable and accurate translation that is broadcast to the recipient on a screen, laptop, or other device. CART professionals have qualifications for added expertise (speed and accuracy) as compared to court reporters and other stenographers.
A telecommunications relay service, also known as TRS, relay service, or IP-relay, or Web-based relay service, is an operator service that allows people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or have a speech disorder to place calls to standard telephone users via a keyboard or assistive device. Originally, relay services were designed to be connected through a TDD, teletypewriter (TTY) or other assistive telephone device. Services gradually have expanded to include almost any real-time text capable technology such as a personal computer, laptop, mobile phone, PDA, and many other devices. The first TTY was invented by deaf scientist Robert Weitbrecht in 1964. The first relay service was established in 1974 by Converse Communications of Connecticut.
Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, especially within the culture, the word deaf is often written with a capital D and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. When used as a label for the audiological condition, it is written with a lower case d. Carl G. Croneberg was among the first to discuss analogies between Deaf and hearing cultures in his appendices C and D of the 1965 Dictionary of American Sign Language.
Videotelephony is the use of audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. Videophones are standalone devices for video calling. In the present day, devices like smartphones and computers are capable of video calling, reducing the demand for separate videophones. Videoconferencing implies group communication. Videoconferencing is used in telepresence, whose goal is to create the illusion that remote participants are in the same room.
A video relay service (VRS), also sometimes known as a video interpreting service (VIS), is a video telecommunication service that allows deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech-impaired (D-HOH-SI) individuals to communicate over video telephones and similar technologies with hearing people in real-time, via a sign language interpreter.
Within the field of human–computer interaction, accessibility of video games is considered a sub-field of computer accessibility, which studies how software and computers can be made accessible to users with various types of impairments. It can also include tabletop RPGs, board games, and related products.
Text over IP is a means of providing a real-time text (RTT) service that operates over IP-based networks. It complements Voice over IP (VoIP) and Video over IP.
Video remote interpreting (VRI) is a videotelecommunication service that uses devices such as web cameras or videophones to provide sign language or spoken language interpreting services. This is done through a remote or offsite interpreter, in order to communicate with persons with whom there is a communication barrier. It is similar to a slightly different technology called video relay service, where the parties are each located in different places. VRI is a type of telecommunications relay service (TRS) that is not regulated by the FCC.
Telephone interpreting connects human interpreters via telephone to individuals who wish to speak to each other but do not share a common language. The telephone interpreter converts the spoken language from one language to another, enabling listeners and speakers to understand each other. Interpretation over the telephone most often takes place in consecutive mode, which means that the interpreter waits until the speaker finishes an utterance before rendering the interpretation into the other language. As the use of the telephonic modality is increasing it is allowing users to access an interpreter immediately, regardless of time and location.
Next Generation 911 refers to an initiative aimed at updating the 911 service infrastructure in the United States and Canada to improve public emergency communications services in a growing wireless mobile society. In addition to calling 911 from a phone, it intends to enable the public to transmit text, images, video and data to the 911 center. The initiative also envisions additional types of emergency communications and data transfer. This NG911 infrastructure is intended to replace the current services over time. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) first identified the need for NG911 in 2000, and started development actions in 2003, and is nearing full definition and standards for NG911. Since 2006, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in the United States and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Canada have been leading their respective initiatives, which include research and development projects aimed at advancing NG911. On January 24, 2013, the CRTC announced the first step toward a Canadian implementation of NG911 and, in March 2016, began a consultation with the public to discuss what services should be offered, who will play a role in offering these services and how these services should be paid for. Several US states have implemented versions of NG911, as of October 2013.
An organic minute is defined as the natural state of which telecommunications relay calls are processed between caller and called parties through Communications Assistant that are in conversation mode; that is, no incentives to encourage unnecessary relay minutes.
Real-time text (RTT) is text transmitted instantly as it is typed or created. Recipients can immediately read the message while it is being written, without waiting.
Total conversation is an ITU standard of simultaneous video, voice and text service in telecommunications. Total conversation allows people in two or more locations to: (a) see each other, (b) hear each other, and (c) conduct a text interaction with each other, or choose to communicate with any combination of those three modes and to do so in real-time.
Accessibility apps are mobile apps that increase the accessibility of a device or technology for individuals with disabilities. Applications, also known as, application software, are programs that are designed for end users to be able to perform specific tasks. There are many different types of apps, some examples include, word processors, web browsers, media players, console games, photo editors, accounting applications and flight simulators. Accessibility generally refers to the design of products and environments to be usable by people with disabilities. Accessibility apps can also include making a current version of software or hardware more accessible by adding features. Accessibility apps aim to reduce barriers to technological goods and services, making them more usable for various groups within society. A basic example is that a person who experiences vision impairments is able to access technology through enabling voice recognition and text-to-speech software.
The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) is a United States accessibility law. Signed on October 8, 2010, by then-president Barack Obama, the bill amended the Communications Act of 1934 to include updated requirements for ensuring the accessibility of "modern" telecommunications to people with disabilities.
Treatment depends on the specific cause if known as well as the extent, type, and configuration of the hearing loss. Most hearing loss results from age and noise, is progressive, and irreversible. There are currently no approved or recommended treatments to restore hearing; it is commonly managed through using hearing aids. A few specific types of hearing loss are amenable to surgical treatment. In other cases, treatment involves addressing underlying pathologies, but any hearing loss incurred may be permanent.
Japanese Sign Language (JSL), also known as Nihon Shuwa, is the unofficial but most predominantly used sign language used by nearly 57,000 native signers as their primary language. It is a convergent, Deaf community sign language developed in the late 19th century.
The Canadian Association of the Deaf estimates that there are over 350,000 Deaf Canadians, but there is not an exact number since there has never been a formal census on Deaf Canadians. There are approximately 1.2 million Indigenous people and over 750 reserves in Canada. There are various intersections of deaf and Indigenous culture, including valuing community, rooting their identity in their culture and its associated group instead of their individuality, having their identities oversimplified, being underrepresented in research and data collection, and experiencing health inequities due to their identities. There is limited research on Deaf Indigenous people, but the Saskatchewan Human Rights Association argues that issues faced by Deaf people are exacerbated when that person is also Indigenous.
