National Deaf People Week

Maybe you’re one of the 13% of the adult population in the US affected by hearing loss (the percentage is much higher among men) - Quick Statistics About Hearing, Balance, & Dizziness, Declining Prevalence of Hearing Loss in US Adults Aged 20 to 69 Years. Or perhaps you live or work with someone who is. 

If so, this week- and this post - is for you. 

But what’s sound and hearing got to do with light and sight? 

The nerves and networks that link your eyes and ears to your brain are intimately linked. Approximately four out of ten deaf children have some problem with eyesight and that connection continues into older age - Association Between Vision and Hearing Impairments and Their Combined Effects on Quality of Life.  If you suffer from tinnitus, you’re more likely to suffer from dry eye syndrome too thanks to extreme sensitivity in those connections known as  neuropathic hyperesthesia - Association of Dry Eye Diseases and Auditory Sensitivity. 

Your hearing has a circadian cycle too: noise, along with light, is a critical ‘zeitgeber’ or time keeper - you’re around twice as sensitive to a sound at night, just as you’re much more sensitive to a blast of light after sunset.  Sleep is essential to recovery from damage to the delicate structure of the ear - you’re at increased risk of trauma from loud noises at night too - Time to listen: circadian impact on auditory research.

And yet people living with hearing loss are at far greater risk of insomnia (70% in one study) - Characterization of sleep among deaf individuals. 

Lighting can’t heal your ears, but it can improve comfort and communication, reducing the stress and isolation that many people with hearing loss often feel.

Here are three suggestions summarised from the Deaf Strategies charity website, supplemented by guidance from Buro Happold and the National Development Team for Inclusion - Getting good environmental conditions for listening and lipreading, Technical Note: Sensory Friendly LED Lighting for Healthcare Environments. 

1. Bright and diffuse lighting falling evenly on the speakers’ face.

Make sure the speaker is opposite the window or light source so their face, especially eyes and mouth are clear and sharp.

Keep checking and offer to more light as the conditions change, especially in the afternoon as the sun goes down.

2. Offer choice- position and location

Invite guests or colleagues to arrive early, choose their preferred seat and encourage them to switch places or even move to another space if the conditions aren’t right

If you’re standing in a group, a distance of 2-4 meters seems to be preferred- that way your guest can see your whole face and body language- but everyone is different, so just ask.

3. Cut out flicker, echoes and other distractions

Make sure the lights are steady - a flickering candle may be romantic but it makes it harder to see your face.

Avoid anything that distracts or blocks the speaker’s face. For example, in a restaurant, move the candle, bottles or flowers out of the way.

Choose spaces with soft furnishings because they reduce echoes, making it easier to hear speech more clearly, although some prefer an echo as it can help with orientation.

It’s not a ‘nice to have’ : Here in the UK, organisations have a duty to provide reasonable accommodations under the Equality Act 2010. In Europe, your rights are covered by a number of laws, a great summary is here - European Disability Forum, Your Rights in the European Union.

In America, it's the Americans with Disability Act - The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities from discrimination.

Bottom line: these simple steps to make sure everyone can thrive don’t need to be expensive. A Job Accommodation Network  survey of over 700 employers - Money Mondays: The (Low and No) Cost of Reasonable Accommodations, found that 59% of accommodations cost nothing and 75% of those were judged to be very effective.

It might just pay off too. In a national survey (A national survey of consumer attitudes towards companies that hire people with disabilities, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation 24, 3-9),

• 92% of Americans view companies who hire people with disabilities favourably
• 87% prefer to give their business to someone who employs people with disabilities, too.

Maybe it’s time for us to listen up -