Technologies for People Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing … · Technologies for People Who are Deaf or Hard of ... hearing individuals will benefit to some ... Who are Deaf or Hard

Technologies for People Who are

Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Cultural

Environments

Jonathan O'Dell

Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Disclaimer: MCDHH does not

endorse any particular products,

services, manufacturers or

vendors. Images shown are

purely for illustrative purposes.

What is MCDHH?

• MCDHH is a state agency under the Executive Office

of Health and Human Services

• Our mission is to help promote communication access

and inclusivity for all Deaf, hard of hearing and late

deafened individuals throughout the Commonwealth.

• We provide no-cost workplace evaluations and offer

non-binding recommendations to employers; we also

provide a free referral service for ASL interpreters and

CART providers

Consider Communication Modalities

Culturally Deaf

Hard of Hearing

Late Deafened

Deaf Blind

What does culturally Deaf mean?

• A person who is culturally Deaf has been brought up in an environment where American Sign Language is the dominant and preferred mode of communication.

• ASL is a 'real' language like any other, not just a form of visually translating English.

• Like any other ESL population, Deaf ASL users will derive minimal benefit from textual English solutions.

• ASL interpreters are a must to accommodate Deaf patrons.

Stage interpreters

• Fluency in ASL requires years of education and practice.

• At a minimum, MCDHH requires interpreters either to have a State Screening approval, which is considered entry level , or RID certification - called the NIC - to be on contract with us.

• Stage interpreting is a specialized skill set. Not all ASL interpreters are willing to do stage interpreting.

What does Hard of hearing mean?

• Post-lingual onset of hearing loss. Many hard of

hearing individuals will benefit to some extent from

hearing aids, but these never restore hearing fully.

• Hearing aids alone are often not sufficient in theatrical

settings, due to the complex acoustics of a

performance environment.

• Assistive listening systems can provide much better

signal to noise ratios, both when used with or without

hearing aids.

Hearing aids come in many shapes and sizes and have

many features. Perhaps the most important one is the

T-switch, also known as Telecoil. This feature allows

integration with many assistive listening technologies.

Telecoil

and Audio

Induction

Loop

Many hearing aid manufacturers offer custom connectivity

options. Shown above is the Phonak Compilot (l) and the

Phonak remote mic (r). The Compilot receives sound

wirelessly from the remote mic via Bluetooth and sends it to

compatible Phonak hearing aids.

Hardwired Amplification Systems

Wireless Amplification Systems

FM systems

Infrared Listening

Systems

The importance of the right accessory

What does late deafened mean?

A late deafened person is someone who has lost ALL

of their hearing postlingually, often as an older adult.

Amplification will not be sufficient for comprehension,

because often it is the result of nerve damage . Some

late deafened individuals choose cochlear implants.

Late deafened people benefit hugely from open and

closed captions, subtitles, or any other effective

textual content .

Cochlear Implants

• Cochlear Implants are tools for individuals who, even with

hearing aids, do not benefit from sound amplification.

Implanted electrodes stimulate the auditory nerve to

replicate function of damaged nerve cells.

CART

Communication Access Realtime Translation

Remote CART

At the Movies

At

The

Theater

[email protected]

Questions ? Feedback ? Comments?

The Wheelock Family Theater has extensive ASL

and open captioning experience.

Contact access coordinator Kristin Johnson at

[email protected]