Assisting People Who Are Deaf or Hard Of Hearing

“Twenty four million people have hearing impairments. This is 1 out of every 10 people nationally” (SHHH and the Hearing Journal). Of these, 19 million have some residual hearing that enables them to benefit from the use of assistive listening systems. According to 1997 US Census data, the number of individuals who use a hearing aid is 4 million, and 1.7 million of these individuals report difficulty hearing what is said in a normal conversation and 2.3 million do not. Approximately two million people are deaf.

Hearing loss ranges from mild to profound. One person may be able to hear everything but very high-pitched sounds while another may hear only the roar of a jet engine and another hears nothing. A hard of hearing person may have difficulty developing his or her speech depending on the degree of hearing loss and when it occurred. The range of hearing loss included the person who has age-related mild hearing loss to the person who is congenitally (born) deaf.

Terminology

Hard of Hearing: Used to describe people who have usable residual hearing or who use hearing aids to amplify sounds.

Deaf: Used to describe people who have little or no usable residual hearing.

Remember These Basic Tips:

• Get the person’s attention tactfully. Wave your hand, gently tap their shoulder, or flash the lights.
• Be a lively speaker. Use facial expressions that match your tone of voice, and use gestures, body language and pantomime to communicate.
• Look directly at the person while speaking. Even a slight turn of the head can obscure the deaf person’s vision. Other distracting factors affecting communication include moustaches obscuring the lips, smoking, pencil chewing and putting hands in front of face.
• Some people who are deaf or hard of hearing will read lips, but it is generally believed that approximately 30% of what is spoken can easily be read and understood.
• Don’t be embarrassed about communicating via pencil and paper. Getting the message across is more important that the medium used.
• Try to re-phrase a thought rather than repeating the same words. Sometimes a group of lip movements is difficult to speech read. If the person doesn’t understand you, try to re-state the sentence.
• A brief outline or script printout will aid the person in following a lecture, play, or movie. This can be provided in advance or accompanied by special lighting.
• Be flexible with language. If the person does not understand you, rephrase your statement using simpler words. Do not keep repeating the same phrase over and over. Try writing it down.
• Speak clearly and slowly, but don’t exaggerate or shout. This does not help the person to hear. Keep your sentences short.
• If a sign language interpreter is involved, speak directly to the person who is deaf — not the interpreter.
• Be sure only one person is speaking at a time in a group situation. When the speaker changes, indicate so with a visual cue.
• Don’t assume that a person wearing a hearing aid can hear you. Sometimes hearing aids are used to increase general sounds like traffic alarms, etc.

When conducting a tour that includes people who are deaf or are hard of hearing:

• Avoid distractions such as patterned clothing. Position yourself in front of a solid background. This will make it easier for the person who is deaf to see you (and the object you are displaying) and read your lips, if that is their method of communicating.
• For patrons who are deaf, position yourself so that the object being discussed is between you and the interpreter and within the line of sight of the patron. Face the light source rather than the patron facing the light source. Never stand with your back to an illuminated display case. The glare from the case will make it more difficult to be seen.
• Try to facilitate lip reading when delivering your tour information by maintaining eye contact and not turning your back to the patron.
• Always repeat questions from the audience for the benefit of everyone on the tour and the sign language interpreter.
• Map out the tour route ahead of time and give this information to the patron and the sign language interpreter before the tour begins.
• Remember the patron may be using an interpreter to communicate or may rely on you to communicate with them through writing.
• Define technical terms and abstract concepts using simple language. Avoid vague terms and use concrete language when describing items on your tour. Use participatory activities and pantomime to clarify and demonstrate these concepts. Avoid using idioms and jargon such as “this and that”.
• Keep your hands and hair away from your mouth. Be aware if you are a full-mustached or bearded man that you may be difficult or impossible to lip read. Be sure to make supplementary printed materials available.

Useful Services

Assistive Listening Devices (ALD): The job of an ALD is to make the sound louder and give volume control to the individual. Most ALD’s block out the ambient noises that come from the audience and just amplify the sounds coming from the exhibit, speaker, etc.

Sign Interpreted Performances: Generally, interpreters translate the docent tour from spoken English to American Sign Language. However, there are other forms of visual/manual communication that also may be used (i.e., Signed English, cued speech, etc.) Arrangements for the interpreter are made well in advance so that the interpreters are able to attend a tour or get a script to clarify details and rehearse the interpretation. One or more tours may be interpreted. Ideally the interpreters are located in the same visual field as the docent and the painting/item being discussed, with lighting on them at all times.

Captioning:

Museums may provide different methods of captioning. The following are the most
commonly used:

• Real Time Captioning or CART: Captioning for live performance, lectures, presentations, and events is sometimes called CART or Computer-Aided Real-Time reporting. Technology changes rapidly, but current CART uses technology developed for the courtroom. Real-time reporters, often trained as court stenographers, type what is said on a stenographic keyboard which employs a kind of shorthand. Computer software instantly translates the shorthand into full English words and sentences and a video monitor, projection screen, or LED sign displays the text almost simultaneously. Ideally, captioned performances are scripted before hand and well rehearsed.
• Real Window Captioning: The LED display is mounted on the wall at the back of auditorium. The words are scrolled and written backwards so that the patron can hold up a small piece of clear or slightly smoked Plexiglas (usually provided by the theatre) that reflects the captions. In this way, the audience member has more control in the placement of the captions in relation to the performers.
• Open Captions: Open captioning is always visible. The dialogue and sounds appear at the bottom of the screen as written text or is scrolled on an LED sign that is suspended above the stage or placed on the stage at the front edge. Some theatres may also place the LED sign in other locations on or near the stage so it and the performers are in the same visual field. It is often available on videotape, DVD, movies, theatre performances, conferences or meetings, distance learning, CD-ROM or other audio content on a computer. Open captioning does not require a special device from the viewer.
• Closed Captions: Closed captioning allows the display of captions to be either on or off. It is the preferred method for television broadcasts, videotapes, and DVD’s. Closed captioning is often available on a SAP channel. Many institutions may have instructions next to a display like “Press the button to view this video with captioning”. The dialogue and sounds appear at the bottom of the screen as written text.
  

Telephone Communications:

• Telephone Typewriter (TTY): This device is a text-based telephone used for communication between deaf, hard of hearing, speech impaired, and/or hearing persons. Ideally, it is placed near public pay phones and is clearly marked.
• Relay Services: If there is no TTY available, then patrons may ask for your assistance calling a Relay Service at 711. This service enables individuals with and without TTY’s to communicate via an operator or Communications Assistant (CA). The CA voices the typed conversation to the person without a TTY and types the voiced conversation to the TTY user. You may serve as a liaison between the patron and Communications Assistant, reading the written messages and responses given to you by the patron into the telephone for the CA to relay.
• Volume Controlled Telephone: These telephones have handsets with amplified sound and/or adjustable volume controls.

Questions You Should Ask About Your Museum

• Does the museum offer sign interpreted or captioned performances or exhibits? What performances or exhibits, dates and times, will be interpreted or captioned?
• What types of captioning is provided (i.e. Rear Window, closed, open, real time, etc)?
• Are Assistive Listening Devices (ALD) available?
• How, when, and where does the patron get an ALD?
• Is a Telephone Typewriter (TTY) available and where is it located?