People who are deaf or hard of hearing can have a hearing loss ranging from very mild through to profound or complete. The majority of people have mild hearing loss and communicate verbally. People with complete hearing loss (deaf) may communicate in Auslan.
Auslan
Auslan (Australian Sign Language) is the language used by the Deaf community of Australia. Auslan is the uniquely visual spatial language that conveys meaning through the use of hand shapes and movements, facial expressions and body orientation. Auslan has its own syntax, grammar and semantics and is not based on English.
Symptoms and characteristics
Interference in the ability to communicate can adversely affect a person’s interaction with co-workers, family, friends and the general public, and can be a source of social isolation.
Workplace solutions and adjustments
In the workplace there are various factors that would assist people with profound hearing loss. Primarily it is essential to firstly determine with the person themselves how they prefer to communicate. This may include lip reading, Auslan, written instructions or a combination of methods. Some changes to work tasks and the environment which may assist include:
- modifying workstation set up to ensure people with profound hearing loss are able to work facing colleagues or entry ways which allows for the use of visual cues to compensate for loss of hearing and avoid being ‘crept up on’
- look directly at the person when communicating to enable them to use a range of cues or other senses to overcome hearing loss, such as monitoring facial expressions, body language or lip reading
- provide important information in formats other than audio such as videos with captions, email, task whiteboard, written job cards or handouts
- consider the use of specialised equipment such as telephone typewriters (TTY), instant messaging or email for communication rather than phone use, text messaging on mobile phones with vibrate alerts rather than voice calls, webcams for those that use sign language to communicate, visual fire or alert systems
- Video Relay Service (VRS), which is a video telecommunication service that allows deaf, hard of hearing and people with a speech impairment to communicate over video telephones and similar technologies with hearing people via a sign language interpreter, this can be accessed via a mobile phone—all that is required is internet access and a phone that uses windows operating system
- National Relay Service (NRS), similar to VRS, uses interpreters to act as a relay between you and the person you are calling, the relay officer types responses out so that you can read them—this is also accessible via a mobile phone.
The Employment Assistance Fund provides financial assistance for work-related modifications, equipment and services to help people with disability to get employment and perform their work as independently and productively as possible. To determine eligibility, please refer to the full guidelines:
There are other solutions and adjustments related to persons with complete hearing loss:
References
MDA Internet 1991-2010, MD Guidelines, Reed Group, Colorado, viewed 15 September 2011, www.mdainternet.com.
Better Health Channel 2010, Auslan is a sign language, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 15 September 2011, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Auslan_is_a_sign_language?open.
Deaf Society NSW (no date specified), National Relay Service, Deaf Society NSW, Parramatta, viewed 15 September 2011, http://www.deafsocietynsw.org.au/information/nrs.html.