5 Ways to Accommodate Hearing Loss In Your Company

Maintaining effective communication within your company can be challenging, particularly for your employees who suffer from hearing loss. It is recommended that you ensure a comfortable working experience, limiting any possible miscommunication and frustrations.?

The good news is that doing so will benefit everyone, even beyond the employees with hearing loss. Implementing these techniques will allow your entire business to communicate more clearly and effectively. Here are 5 ways to accommodate those with hearing loss in your company.

5 Accommodations

While there will be numerous methods to accommodate those who suffer from hearing loss, these 5 ways are the simplest to implement.?

Text-based communications

All company communications should be done through text-based methods, such as email, or text messaging platforms such as Teams, Slack, etc. Those with hearing loss may easily miss any audio communication unless these are transcribed. Another benefit is that text-based communication serves as a paper trail that can always be referenced as needed.

Emergency office notifications and alerts should also be made through text messages, as well as using other visual methods such as flashing lights. Any audio alerts should be accompanied by an assigned colleague who further notifies those who have hearing loss to make sure they are aware of the emergency alert.?

Closed captioning

Where applicable, it is helpful to have closed captioning included in media or assets where a lot of speaking is involved. If your company utilizes training videos, add closed captions to them to ensure that everyone understands the material better.?

The added benefit is that closed captions can also help other employees absorb the material better and not be overwhelmed by information overload. New employees are likely to find it easier to follow training material.

Company awareness

Reduce the stigma around hearing loss by encouraging your employees to openly address their hearing loss. Help them share what their preferred communication methods are so that their colleagues can understand better Not only does this work to reduce the stigma of hearing loss in the workplace, but it also reduces possible frustrations among colleagues.?

Those with hearing loss may not be eager to discuss this with the company at large so it is important to come to a compromise between the company and the employee. Ask your employee for guidance on how to create an inclusive environment for them, and communicate that with the larger team for the most effective communication possible.?

Meetings

Meetings are very challenging for people with hearing loss and will likely be the place where the most accommodations need to be made. Here are some considerations for your team:

• Choose a meeting space with as little noise as possible,?
• Incorporate visual aids and,
• Ensure a direct line of sight to the main speaker for employees with hearing loss.?
• Establish general etiquette rules, like not talking over each other (particularly the speaker)
• Normalize using the hand emoji during conference calls
• Provide closed captions in meetings where possible
• Remind employees to check during the conversation to ensure that everyone is tracking - a simple way to do this would be to ask generally if there are any questions.

Workspace setup

It can be very helpful to create a comfortable workspace so that your employee can perform everyday tasks with ease. We would also recommend creating spaces like phone booths or small breakaway rooms where phone calls can be taken with little background noise to contend with. In addition, using services such as text phones or video relay calling is incredibly helpful. Feel free to openly discuss with your employee what their needs are, and see how you can reasonably accommodate them.?

Wrapping up

Unfortunately, many workplaces do not offer inclusive environments for those with hearing loss. These 5 tactics will go a long way to accommodate your employees with hearing loss so that they can feel comfortable and empowered to succeed in their position and do the best job possible, to produce a supportive, productive work environment for your business.?