Understand the Unique Communication Abilities and Challenges of Deaf or Hard of Hearing Colleagues

Our deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) colleagues face communication and relationship challenges every day. And many of us aren’t aware. Or we simply haven’t considered their perspectives. Inclusion at work goes beyond the “isms” — racism, sexism and ageism.

Let’s look at the numbers and the case for inclusion. There are approximately 37 million DHH people living in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Roughly half of them (18.5 million) are 65 or older. The rest struggle with employment. Of those aged 18 to 44 within this DHH group, only 58% are in the labor force (compared to 82% of the hearing population), according to the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. In the 45- to 64-year-old range, the number falls to 46% employed.

Why should we care?

Because these are intelligent, employable individuals with a disability we can accommodate. We have tools to help them function at peak. And with a little understanding of their unique communication abilities and challenges, we can make them feel welcome and included.

Learn more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace, when you register now for this live, virtual course.

To be a better communicator with your DHH colleagues, consider these things:

1. Understand the limitations of lipreading and don’t assume every DHH individual can lipread. Lipreading is difficult, according to research from New Mexico State University. Even with 12 to 15 years of speech therapy, a good lipreader only “hears” 3 or 4 words in a sentence of 10 words. That’s partly because only about 30 percent of the sounds in the English language are visible from a person’s face/lips and many of those look similar, (e.g., “cat”- “fat”; “mama”- “papa”; or “no new taxes”- “go to Texas”). That means the lipreader is guessing at what is being said using visual and contextual clues. Additionally, with today’s intermittent use of face masks, in some situations lipreading is not an option.
2. Similarly, don’t assume every DHH individual uses American Sign Language. Of the millions of DHH people in the U.S., fewer than 500,000 (about 1%) use sign language. Because hearing loss is a spectrum, people use a variety of devices for auditory cues or amplification. When this doesn’t work or is otherwise unappealing, sign language may be the primary mode of communication, according to accessibility.com. Every person is unique.
3. Speak clearly, face your DHH colleague and make sure there’s adequate lighting. Give your DHH colleagues the maximum opportunity to read lips (if they do) by talking at a natural pace, normal volume and without using exaggerated lip movements. Also, don’t put your hands in front of your mouth if you talk with your hands.
4. Overlook a blunter communication style. “A person with early hearing loss born to hearing parents may have strained communication with parents. As a result, the person with hearing loss may not learn the accepted forms of social behavior, especially the rules of turn-taking and managing conversational interaction,” according to the same NMSU study. It’s easy to misinterpret this blunt style as rudeness.
5. Don’t assume understanding and be aware that asking you to repeat things can cause embarrassment. It is common among DHH people to pretend to understand what a hearing person is saying by nodding or smiling. There are many reasonable explanations why this happens, but the point is that because it happens, hearing colleagues may mistakenly assume a deaf person is a skilled lipreader who received the message as intended. Without drawing attention, be sure to confirm that a DHH person received the intended information.
6. Note writing is effective but frustrating to everyone. Writing notes to communicate is effective but slow for both the DHH person and the hearing person. Consider the communication preferences of the person with whom you’re speaking before passing notes.
7. Phone conversations are particularly troublesome. While DHH people can communicate by telephone using amplifiers, teletypewriters or apps that transcribe, without the visual information of face-to-face dialog, they will likely struggle to pick up on emotions in phone calls. Video conferencing is often a better choice.
8. Many DHH individuals feel isolated or excluded. Being deaf or hard of hearing impairs someone’s ability to take part in discussions. This is particularly troubling in groups larger than two, where several hearing people are talking and do not make eye contact or reduce their speech tempo. It is difficult to be more than a passive listener if you are struggling to follow along. Background noise can also hurt. That means lunchrooms or company parties can be particularly isolating spaces.
9. Companies can offer additional communication support. Many services and assistive technologies exist to support people who are deaf or hard of hearing. From live captioning to interpreters, from notetakers to transcribers, consider if these tools might help everyone join the conversation.

Hearing loss affects millions. It can be isolating, embarrassing and put these individuals at a distinct disadvantage in the workplace as they miss out on information and relationships.  If you’re working with someone who’s deaf or hard of hearing, be cognizant of whether you’re communicating in a way that helps this individual feel intelligent and included.