How to make your venue more accessible
If you run an in-person business, like a shop, restaurant or gym, we have some ways you can make your site accessible to people who are deaf or have hearing loss.
Room design
Loud environments can make it much harder for people with hearing loss to hear what’s being said to them.
You can help reduce noise by:
Accessible information
Deaf people may not be able to clearly hear audio instructions over loudspeakers.
You can make information more accessible by providing it in plain English on visible screens or displays.
Providing information in British Sign Language (BSL) improves accessibility for BSL users, either through videos on screens or digital resources.
Deaf awareness
You can increase your staff’s confidence in communicating with deaf people and people with hearing loss by giving them deaf awareness training. This will also help them understand the barriers that deaf people face.
You can give your staff basic BSL training sessions to help them communicate with people who use BSL as their first or preferred language.
Contact methods
It is important to have many contact methods so people can contact you about your service.
Text-based options, including email, instant messaging, or a video relay service like Relay UK, are more accessible for people with hearing loss.
Deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users may prefer to contact you in BSL through video relay services (VRS) or video remote interpreting (VRI).
Find out more about how you can make your venue accessible for deaf people and people with hearing loss here.