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• What is deafness?                                 
• General information
• Impact on Employability Skills and Attributes
• Areas where ‘reasonable adjustments’ may be required
• General advice
• Resources/references

What is deafness?

People with hearing impairments are frequently described as ‘hard of hearing’ but the term ‘deaf’  has become accepted as an umbrella term that covers a wide range of hearing loss that includes not only the volume of residual hearing, but also the frequency of sound that the person can hear.  Someone with a high frequency sound loss will be better able to hear men’s voices and consonants, whilst someone with a low frequency sound loss will be better able to hear women’s voices and vowel sounds. Very few people experience absolute silence.

Deafness may be caused for a number of reasons. Some people are born deaf due to a hereditary condition while some have congenital problems such as those associated with rubella. Others may become deaf as a result of injury, illness or exposure to excessive noise.


General information

Deaf people depend on their sight for communication; for example, for speech reading, lip reading, British Sign Language (BSL) or the form of English using BSL vocabulary called Sign Supported English (SSE).  Many deaf people may use a hearing aid in addition to other forms of communication. Digital hearing aids use a complex sound processing system. Each aid is programmed specifically for the individual, depending on their type and pattern of hearing loss, and therefore some frequencies of sound may be amplified more than others. They have a number of different features, such as providing less amplification of loud sounds than quiet sounds and reducing steady states of background noise automatically; however, unlike using spectacles that correct vision to within the normal range, hearing aids do not automatically ‘correct’  hearing. It is the brain that interprets the sound as speech, so even if the hearing aid provides the ear with the ‘missing’ sounds, if the person has a permanent (sensorineural) hearing loss, they still may have difficulty with speech discrimination. This, of course, varies between individuals and may depend on how long they have had a hearing loss and how successfully their rehabilitation is after they have had their hearing aid fitted.

Generally people who are deaf or hard of hearing will have developed their own effective coping strategies and are likely to be an expert in their own requirements; therefore, when preparing to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to a course or the working environment, it is vital that these are discussed with the individual concerned.


Range of deafness

The range of deafness can be roughly broken down into four main areas.

1. Mild deafness
People with mild deafness may have difficulty understanding speech especially in noisy situations. They may or may not wear hearing aids and may not be able to hear sounds like leaves rustling or people whispering.

2. Moderate deafness
People with moderate deafness will probably wear a hearing aid. Without a hearing aid, they will most likely have difficulty understanding speech even in normal conditions. They may be able to use a voice telephone which has an amplifier and/or an inductive coupler if they wear hearing aids.

3. Severe deafness
People with severe deafness will probably wear hearing aids but may find it difficult to understand speech even with their aids. They will rely more on lip-reading and some may use sign language. They may find it difficult to use a telephone even with powerful amplification and may therefore use a text phone or videophone. They probably won’t be able to hear sounds such as lorries.

4. Profound deafness
People with profound deafness may find hearing aids of very little or no benefit and will rely heavily on lip reading. They will probably use sign language and text phones or videophones. They may not be able to hear sounds like a pneumatic drill or aircraft as anyone else. Deaf people are very straightforward and uninhibited in the way they communicate with each other and with hearing people.  They read the person’s body language before the words so most of the time they know the real meaning even when the words don't quite correspond.

It is important to note a major difference between people who became deaf before learning to speak (prelingually deaf), and those who became deaf later in life when speech and language has already developed. Prelingually deaf people usually find it harder than others to acquire spoken and written language since this is generally learnt through hearing the spoken word. As adults, their spoken language skills may not be as well developed as other people's and they may prefer to use sign language.

Some deaf students may not have a clear voice. Their voice may be monotonal and lack expression, and the person may feel very embarrassed or lack confidence because of this. The intelligibility of speech, however, does not equate in any way with the individual's proficiency in the language or their intelligence.

Communication choices

When considering the communication needs and choices of deaf people, these can be broken down into two broad categories.

• Some deaf people may use English as their first language and use hearing aids and lip reading and/or some sign language to receive information. They are likely to use their own voice to reply. In formal situations such as meetings and training they may need to use a lip-speaker or note-taker. If the onset of deafness has occurred later in the person’s life, after the acquisition of spoken or written language, then they would most likely fall in to this category. If a deaf person communicates in this way it can be easy to forget that they are deaf and to assume they can follow everything being said. This is not necessarily the case and care should be taken to ensure successful communication. Click here for more detailed information about ‘Working With Deaf Students In The Teaching Environment’ 

• Some deaf people may use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first language. In this case, access to taught sessions will normally be through the use of an interpreter. BSL is a language in its own right, separate and distinct from English in structure, grammar and vocabulary. People who use BSL may not use their voice when communicating. In formal situations, such as meetings and training sessions, they may use an interpreter (a language service professional [LSP]), whereas in normal every day situations they may rely on lip-reading and/or written notes.

Impact on Employability Skills and Attributes

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may experience difficulties with the following abilities:

• Hearing
  
• Speech
  

Although most people depend on the above abilities in the following employability skills, this does not mean that people who are deaf/hard of hearing cannot possess these skills; rather, they may need reasonable adjustments to practice to enable them to develop or evidence the skills. 

Click below for further information about reasonable adjustments that may be made for each of the employability skills/attributes shown:

• Hearing and Oral Communication
  
• Hearing and Teamwork

• Speech and Oral Communication
• Speech and Teamwork
  

NB: The experience and characteristics of different impairments/conditions are highly variable between individuals. For this reason it is really important that you never make assumptions about what a person can or cannot do. Though someone may have significant difficulties, they may also have devised sophisticated means of compensating for these, so talk to the person concerned and make judgements only on an individual basis.

Areas where ‘reasonable adjustments may be required

General knowledge - Hearing students may absorb general knowledge through reading newspapers, listening to the TV or radio and holding discussions with others. This incidental information often helps to form the opinions and develop the skills necessary for Higher Education; yet Deaf students can be denied access to this wealth of general knowledge and life experience. The knock-on effect is often reflected in deaf student's written work which may be judged as lacking in depth, containing immature and sometimes uninformed opinions and exhibiting problems with sequencing and overall structure. 

Unfamiliar words - Words which have not been specifically introduced to the student cannot be lip-read. Consequently, deaf students often have to research not only the technical jargon relating to the subject, but also language that is commonplace for their hearing peers. They may have restricted vocabulary shown by the acceptance of particular words as having a fixed meaning relating only to previous experience. These difficulties may mean that students have to spend an exceptional amount of time on reading and preparing assignments, often with the support of an individual language/learning support tutor.

Communication - Difficulties with effective communication can make group work problematic for students with hearing impairments. Where students rely on lipreading, it is important that they see the start of the communication. If students miss the start or any part of the message then the message may be lost and the student will be less likely to contribute for fear of repeating what has already been discussed.

Written work - Immature written work due to limited vocabulary and general knowledge; incorrect verb endings and spelling mistakes in written work; syntactical errors e.g. incorrect word order, words missed out or extra words included etc..They take longer to plan and produce written work than the average student.

Reading - Difficulty extracting meaning from text, including lecture notes, assignments and reference materials; in addition, misinterpretation of information, especially where there is some ambiguity. Deaf students take longer to read, understand and absorb information; they rely heavily on dictionaries, references and tutors to check their understanding.

Group work/discussion – Deaf students are likely to have difficulty producing the discussion elements of an assignment, particularly where they depend on abstract thinking rather than practical observation.  They may be reluctant to participate as they frequently have low self confidence regarding their academic work.

More explicitly, difficulties may include:

• immature  written work due to limited vocabulary and general knowledge;
• difficulty extracting meaning from text, including lecture notes, assignments and
• reference materials;
• restricted vocabulary shown by the acceptance of particular words as having a fixed meaning relating only to previous experience;
• difficulty absorbing and using new technical terminology;
• difficulty using everyday words in specific technical contexts;
• misinterpretation of information, especially where there is some ambiguity;
• incorrect verb endings and spelling mistakes in written work;
• syntactical errors e.g. incorrect word order, words missed out or extra words
• included etc;
• difficulty producing discussion elements of an assignment, particularly where they depend on abstract thinking rather than practical observation;
• take longer to read, understand and absorb information;
• rely heavily on dictionaries, references and tutors to check their understanding;
• take longer to plan and produce written work than the average student;
• have low self confidence regarding their academic.

General advice

When marking the work of deaf students, allowances should be made for poor grammar, spelling or syntax and the work marked for content.

The language of examination papers/assignment briefs may need to be modified. For further information about language modification see Sheffield Hallam University’s Guidelines for working with deaf students in the teaching environment (p11).

Around one in seven people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing. The majority of these have some residual useful hearing so a loop system or equipment such as amplified telephones or amplified stethoscopes may be the only additional equipment that is needed in the workplace.


Resources/references:

Access for All : Deaf or Hearing Impaired Learners (LSIS Excellence Gateway, 2010)

British Deaf Association (BDA): The largest UK Deaf organisation, run by Deaf people for Deaf people

Creating a deaf friendly workplace

Duty to provide BSL/English interpreter under the DDA 1995

Royal National Institute for Deaf People: RNID is the largest charity in the UK tackling hearing loss and making hearing matter. We do this with the help of our members, by campaigning and lobbying, raising awareness of deafness and hearing loss, providing services and through social, medical and technical research

Sensory Access in Higher Education: Guidance Report 2009 (PDF, file size: 1.3MB)

Start Head: Deaf Students in Higher Education - How inclusive are you? Information for applications, students and staff,

What is deafness? Open University

The Don’t Panic pack Recruiting and developing deaf and hard of hearing employees ,RNID
 
Guidelines for working with deaf students in the teaching environment : Disabled Student Support, Sheffield Hallam

Watch words - deaf awareness for teachers: Techdis

Working with deaf students on work placement – Brief guidelines for employers, Sheffield Hallam University,

Working with deaf students on Professional/Clinical Placement – Brief guidelines for placement providers, Sheffield Hallam University