Hearing Loss Help  

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

Dear Readers: Scott Haynes at the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA needs our help. If you have a hearing loss, please set aside about 15 minutes to take his workplace survey to help identify the needs of people with hearing loss. This survey primarily asks you questions about the accommodations you need when communicating in groups of various sizes in the workplace. Please go on-line and complete this survey ASAP as Scott needs this information soon.

Scott writes: “Our research center is currently investigating the accessibility of common workplace meetings for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The aim of Georgia Tech’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Workplace Accommodations (Work RERC) is to further the understanding of employment barriers faced by people with disabilities. Our goal is to facilitate equitable access to employment, enhanced employment outcomes, and increased participation in the workplace for people with disabilities.

In a study, recently completed by the Work RERC, a potential workplace barrier was identified for people with hearing loss. We need more information. We would like you to take a 15 minute survey that asks about how you share ideas and information with your co-workers in different group settings. The survey has been approved by Georgia Tech’s Institutional Review Board.”

You are eligible to take this survey if you are deaf or hard of hearing. Click here for more information and to take this survey.

To begin the survey scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the “Next” button. (You can click on the “Assent Form” link and fill it out and send it in if you so choose, but it is not required.)

If you have any questions, please email Scott Haynes.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gave disabled people the right to bring their service animals with them into public places and on public transportation.

Unfortunately, this soon became abused as it didn’t take long before people were defining various animals as their service animal—so there were “service” pigs, monkeys, birds, snakes, horses, etc. as well as dogs accompanying their “masters” into public places, and no one could do anything about it.

Now the government has issued new regulations defining exactly what a service animal is.

Part 36 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities (as amended by the final rule published on September 15, 2010) Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510; 42 U.S.C. 12186(b).

Subpart A – General § 36.101 Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to implement title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12181), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and requires places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with the accessibility standards established by this part.

Under Section 36-104 (Definitions) it reads:

Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal’s presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

There is now only one exception to the rule that only dogs have the right to accompany their masters into public places. That exception is given to miniature horses (even though they are not recognized as service animals. Here is the pertinent part of the regulations.

Section 36.302 (c) (9) reads:

(9) Miniature horses.

(i) A public accommodation shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse by an individual with a disability if the miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability.

(ii) Assessment factors. In determining whether reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures can be made to allow a miniature horse into a specific facility, a public accommodation shall consider –

(A) The type, size, and weight of the miniature horse and whether the facility can accommodate these features;

(B) Whether the handler has sufficient control of the miniature horse;

(C) Whether the miniature horse is housebroken; and

(D) Whether the miniature horse’s presence in a specific facility compromises legitimate safety requirements that are necessary for safe operation.

(iii) Other requirements. Sections 36.302(c)(3) through (c)(8), which apply to service animals, shall also apply to miniature horses.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. with Linda Grasmick

Getting a job is typically more difficult when you have a hearing loss. Linda, herself hard of hearing, has some important words of wisdom for people with hearing loss when applying for a new job. She explains:

You don’t want to approach your prospective employer with an attitude of “this is what I need because I have a hearing loss. Are you willing to give me these things/accommodations if I take this job?”

[Yes the American's With Disabilities (ADA) law requires employers of a given size to accommodate your needs, but shoving that down their throats at the beginning of an interview is NOT the way to make a good impression that results in them offering you a job!]

Rather, approach your prospective employer from the opposite perspective with an attitude of, “This is why I will be a great employee for you. These are the special skills and knowledge that I will bring to your company. This is what I can do for your business.” Then, somewhere near the end of the interview you say something like, “This is why granting my hearing loss accommodation requests will be so worthwhile for you.”

Always consider the situation from the employer’s point of view. Answer the question, “Why should they grant you your requests?” Answer it for them. If you don’t answer it, they might not see it for themselves. Practice explaining those reasons prior to the interview.

With so many qualified people out of work right now and competing for every available job, anybody wanting a job needs to be flexible, and be able to meet the employer’s needs. Anyone who wants special treatment needs to be able to show why they are worth that special treatment. Your best chance lies in identifying your strengths as a employee and “selling” the idea that your experience, knowledge and character are valuable assets that they don’t want to lose.

It’s hard to know what to say at job interviews. Put the odds in your favor right at the beginning. Put a smile on your face, hold out your hand, and say something like, “Hi. I’m Jim. I’m very excited about this job possibility. It’s the type of work I want to do, and I think I have the skills to do it very well. I’d like the chance to show you what a good employee I can be for you.”

If you’re not doing that sort of thing when you interview for a job, then you are unlikely to be taken seriously. When you apply for a job, you are asking the employer to give you some of their money. You need to “sell” yourself by giving them reasons to spend their hard-earned money on you.

You do not need to beat around the bush and/or play games. Just tell them in a straightforward way what your skills are, and why you would be a better employee for them to hire than most other people. Be prepared to answer questions about your skills and about your performance on previous jobs.

It’s also great if you can show them some evidence of your skills—such as past performance reviews that have been positive, letters of recommendation, certificates of accomplishments, etc. You can’t expect a stranger to automatically know why they should hire you. You have to both tell them and show them.

Save all this “evidence” of your accomplishments in a special folder. Include things like performance reviews, letters to your personnel file that are positive, certificates of educational programs attended, examples of your best work, etc. Save those things throughout your career, then you will have them handy when you want to show evidence of your good work. Sometimes, you can organize those materials neatly in a folder. That’s called a “portfolio”.

I always keep my resume current and have a box where I keep all of my career-related materials and examples of my important projects. I keep that collection of materials up-to-date even though I have had the same employer for 12 years. I never know when I might need it.

Prepare for the interview by identifying your strengths. Next, practice how you would talk about those strengths with others. Identify what evidence you would talk about or show that would illustrate those strengths to a potential employer. If you discover that you don’t have evidence, or that your skills need a little work, then work on developing those skills and evidence to show.

Avoid emphasizing your weaknesses in an interview. You want to focus on all your positive qualities and skills—not on your problems and weak areas. At the same time, you need to be prepared to talk about your weaknesses if the interviewer asks. A common question would be something like, “What would you say is your greatest weakness on the job?” The trick is to discuss your weaknesses (learning needs) in ways that still make you look attractive to an employer.

When discussing your weaknesses, be honest, but present your weak areas as challenges that do not hurt your ability to do the job well. Yes, like everyone else you have learning needs (weak areas) and challenges in your life. Just remember, the employer is looking to hire people who can be successful. You want the employer to respect you and consider you an attractive employee who will contribute to the company’s financial health. Therefore, present any weaknesses as areas that you are in the process of mastering so they should pose no problems for your performance on the job.

When you follow the principles that Linda has laid out here, you are well on your way to a successful interview, and hopefully you will walk out with a job offer that will make all the time and effort you put into the interview worthwhile.

Thanks for you insight Linda. You’ve helped a lot of hard of hearing job seekers today.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

Many hard of hearing people lack successful role models and mentors, so they buy into the hearing world’s belief that hard of hearing people can’t do many jobs, and are thus relegated to low paying menial jobs.

The truth is, hard of hearing people can do many, many jobs with proper accommodation. In actual fact, the sky’s the limit for hard of hearing people, just like it is for hearing people. What you can do depends more on your talents, skills, training, education, drive, ability to get along with people, etc. far more than it does on your level of hearing.

For example, there are hard of hearing doctors, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, lawyers, accountants, machinists, race car drivers, baseball players, businessmen, scientists, technicians and audiologists.

Therefore, don’t let the hearing world try to tell you that you can’t do any of these things. You need to follow your dream and do what you have set your heart on. That’s what I have done in my life. You can do it too.

Karen Putz (who now has a profound hearing loss) has put up a website of successful role models for deaf and hard of hearing people of all ages. The various stories highlight different successful hard of hearing and deaf people in the workforce. As you read them, you will be encouraged that since they have succeeded in the working world, you can follow your dreams too! You can read these inspiring stories here.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A hard of hearing man explained:

I have a Bachelor of Commerce degree and want to work as an accountant. However, no one will hire me as an accountant because of my hearing loss. What jobs are good for hard of hearing people to do? What do I need to do to get hired?

First, my advice is to do what you love doing in spite of your hearing loss. And if that is accounting, then go after such jobs.

You ask an excellent question, “What do I need to do to get hired since I have a hearing loss.

First, put the hearing loss issue aside for the moment. In order to get a job, you need to be the best applicant. That’s it. You get the job because you are the most qualified and have the best “fit” for the position in the company.

Therefore, although you are hard of hearing, you need to do what every other prospective employee does—get the best training, etc. you can, then apply for positions for which you are best fitted.

Second, doing the above may not be enough because your prospective boss may have reservations about hiring you since you have a hearing loss. He’s thinking of the problems your hearing loss may cause and the extra dollars it will cost him to accommodate your needs. In his mind this is a black mark against hiring you.

Therefore, what you need to do is be proactive and demonstrate to him that your hearing loss isn’t an issue because you have already worked out solutions to potential problems. Effectively, you have erased the black mark before it was even made. Now you can compete on a level playing field.

Breaking this down further, when it comes right down to it, you don’t need good hearing in order to put numbers on a piece of paper or computer—you just need training and brains, but you do need “hearing” to be an effective cog in the corporate “machine”. Therefore, think about all the places where you need “hearing”—and then think of ways you can communicate in spite of your poor hearing. Maybe it’s using amplified phones, or using email instead of phoning. If you can’t hear the boss—maybe have him email or IM you instead. In meetings know what assistive devices will help you, that kind of thing.

When a potential employer sees that you have answers already worked out to all the potential problems, and that it won’t cost him an arm and a leg, then he is going to be more inclined to give you the job (if you are the best qualified) as he sees that you are a go getter—you have already planned out how to succeed. (He figures if you are that proactive in one area, you will do the same for him with the job and that counts for some more “brownie points”.)

Employers want to know up front what it is going to “cost” them to hire you. If you show them that the benefits of hiring you outweigh the “costs”, then they are going to be happy to hire you. However, if they see your hearing loss as a “cost” with no compensating benefits, you don’t get the job.

Even little things such as “I’m not easily distracted from my work because I don’t hear all the distracting sounds and people talking around me so I’ll be more productive than hearing people.” or, “I won’t be wasting time standing around the water cooler talking with other employees since I can’t hear them. I’ll be busy working for you instead.” are benefits to the employer.

When an employer sees that your communications plan actually works (because you have successfully demonstrated that in the interview), your hearing loss ceases to be an issue. You are now well on your way to landing your dream position.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. 

A lady wrote:

You have been the greatest help in the past and I come to you once again with a question. With your help, I am currently using the Bluetooth MaxIT neckloop with great success on my cell phone. I also own a personal Williams Sound Hearing Helper [FM system] given to me when I retired. It’s great for personal conversations in the car and of course in some group settings.

Here’s my question. I am currently looking for part time work, but most require juggling telephone calls on business phones. If their phones are not Bluetooth compatible (in which I would hope the MaxIT could be used), what adaptations can be made so I can hear with both hearing aid t-coils?

You have several options available to you. Here are four solutions—two use your MaxIT Bluetooth neckloop, and two use a standard neckloop (and both of your t-coils of course).

Solution 1: There is the odd Bluetooth land line phone. An example is the Uniden ELBT595 phone. If I understand the spec sheets correctly, you can simply use your MaxIT with it. This phone is about $165.00. If you are interested, use PriceGrabber (see Solution 2 below for the details on how to use PriceGrabber) to find places that sell it. There may be other makes around too. I’ve never tried any so know nothing about them. This could be a good solution if this phone is compatible with the phones where you work—but it is obviously not a multi-line business phone.

If you want to use the physical phone already at your place of work, then solutions 2 or 3 could work for you.

Solution 2: You can also use your MaxIT Bluetooth neckloop—since that works so well with your hearing aids already (and cell phone)—with the phone at your place of work.

In order to do this, you need to convert the land line phone on your desk into a bluetooth phone. You can do this with a bluetooth “hub”. I’d recommend getting the Jabra model A7010 Bluetooth Hub. (Prices range from about $77.00 to $120.00 plus shipping).

Here is how you set it up. First, unplug the handset cord from the phone base, and plug the hub into the base instead. Next, plug the handset cord into the hub. That’s all there is to it. Now your phone is back into its original configuration and you can use it normally—but you can now also use it with your MaxIT Bluetooth neckloop. (One nice thing about using this Bluetooth hub is that it will work on almost any phone, whether home or business, analog or digital, as long as it is a phone with the dialing buttons in the base and not in the handset.)

To use the Bluetooth hub with your MaxIT Bluetooth neckloop, you first need to “pair” the MaxIT with the Bluetooth Hub, just like you paired it with your cell phone (and it’s just as easy). Once you have them paired, when the phone rings, you just pick up the handset and lay it on your desk. The Bluetooth will activate and you will hear via your MaxIT and t-coils in your hearing aids. When you are finished, just hang up the handset. That’s all there is to it. Neat, huh?

You can get the Jabra A7010 Bluetooth hub at various stores. I like to use PriceGrabber as it tells you where it is available on-line and who has the best price. To find this item, go to PriceGrabber and in the big green “Shop For” box, type in “Jabra A7010″ and click on “Find It”. PriceGrabber will then list the various places you can get it and their prices. The one with the best overall price (including shipping) has “Your Best Price” in red above the price. As of this writing, prices range from $76.84 to $120.00 plus shipping. You may find other on-line sources that are even cheaper—just be careful that you only deal with reputable outfits. (Check out the “user ratings” to get a feel for how that company treats its customers.)

Solution 3: A third method is to use your land line phone combined with a PockeTalker, or your Williams Sound Hearing Helper receiver if you have the PFM350 system. This system uses the Model R31 receiver, which has two volume controls and an external microphone jack. It is really both a PockeTalker and an FM receiver combined in one case. (This solution won’t work if you have the PFM300 system which uses the R32 receiver and only has one volume control and no external mic jack.)

For this method, the equipment you’ll need is a PockeTalker or R31 receiver, a standard neckloop or Music Links and a Mini-recorder control which you can get from Radio Shack (part number 43-1237, $17.99).

To set things up, unplug the handset cord from your phone base, and plug the Mini-recorder control into the base instead. Next plug the handset cord into the Mini-recorder control. This gives your phone its original functionality. Now to soup it up, you plug the 1/8″ plug from the Mini-recorder control into the microphone jack on your PockeTalker or R31 receiver. (Make sure the switch on the Mini-recorder control is set to “REC”, not “PLAY”.) Finally, plug the neckloop (or Music Links) into the earphone jack and you are all set. (To use the Music Links, you’ll require a stereo to mono adapter from Radio Shack—Part No. 274-368 $2.99.)

When the phone rings (assuming you already have the neckloop or Music Links in place), you just turn the PockeTalker or R31 receiver on, switch your hearing aids to t-coil mode, pick up the handset and speak into it as you normally would. (Note, you don’t have to hold the receiver up to your ear as you will hear via your t-coils, not via the phone receiver, but you do have to hold the mouthpiece up to your mouth so the person on the other end can hear you talking.)

Solution 4: Some phones have 1/8″ jacks on the phone base so you can plug in a standard neckloop or Music Links (with adapter) and hear that way. This is a very simple solution if you have such a phone. Unfortunately, these phones tend to be special amplified phones for hard of hearing people and not the phones used by businesses.

One of the nice things about using Solutions 2 or 3 is that it doesn’t matter what kind of a phone you have—whether it is single-line or multi-line, whether it is a digital or analog phone or whether the phone is hooked up to a PBX or not. Also, it is very easy to move your equipment from phone to phone if someday you change positions or get another job.

 by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
 

Some researchers have apparently discovered that hard of hearing people call in sick more often than employees with normal hearing. Here’s the salient parts of the story.

The extra energy expended on overcoming hearing problems takes its toll on hearing-impaired employees. This may explain why hearing-impaired employees are likely to take more sick-days than their colleagues with normal hearing.

Hearing problems can wear on a hearing-impaired individual’s mental health. A Dutch survey among people in the workplace found that hearing-impaired employees were five times more likely than their co-workers with normal hearing to experience stress so severe that they must take sick-days.

More than 75% of the hearing-impaired respondents had called in sick during the preceding year, as compared to 55% of their colleagues with normal hearing. One in four of the hearing-impaired respondents cited stress and burn-out as the reasons for calling in sick, as compared to just 7% of those with normal hearing. (As reported in “Intl. J. Audiol. 2006;45(9):503-512, via http://www.hearingreview.com/insider/2007-08-30_02.asp.)

What the study apparently overlooked was whether the people in this study had appropriate accommodations made to compensate for their hearing losses, or whether they were just left to fend for themselves as best they could.

One such employee explained,

I totally agree that it takes much more energy at work for hard of hearing people to cope. It certainly did for me. It was a very stressful situation and got worse as the years went by. I would go home at night simply exhausted.

Treating hard of hearing employees like that is a sure recipe for burn-out and resulting absenteeism. However, it does not have to be this way. An employee at another company explained,

 I am fortunate that I am infrequently sick and use less sick leave than most of my colleagues, but I agree that it takes plenty of extra energy to hear well at work.

What is the difference? Look at the above figures again. 25% of hard of hearing people as opposed to just 7% of hearing people cited stress and burn-out as the culprit. There is no need for this disparity if employers would make adequate and proper accommodations for the special communications needs of their hard of hearing employees.

In my experience, when communication needs are properly accommodated, then stress and absenteeism in hard of hearing people are no different than in people with normal hearing.

Therefore, employers, if your hard of hearing people are absent more than “normal,” that is an indictment against your company failing to meet the specific communication needs of your hard of hearing employees.

Often some simple changes are all that you need to implement. It could be as simple as moving a hard of hearing employee to a quiet corner of the office, or providing an amplified telephone, or using email rather than talking to them face to face or on the phone when giving instructions and orders so they know they have “heard” everything correctly.

To find out what changes will meet their needs, ask your hard of hearing employees what specific changes would help them the most. Your reward will be happy, healthy, productive and loyal hard of hearing employees. Isn’t that worth it?
 

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

As a general rule, employers today obviously still think of hard of hearing and deaf employees as “deaf and dumb” and thus pass over us when handing out promotions.

Here are the results of a recent Deaf Professionals Network survey. Approximately 141 people took part in this survey. 52% of of those responding knew that they had been passed over for promotions. Of these, 45% knew that they had been passed over for promotion more than once!

A mere 15% said that they were judged solely on their merits, whether they got the promotion or not, while 8% said they actually got the promotion they wanted. (If employers were being fair to us, this combined 23% figure should have been 100%!) Only 11% were not sure, but thought they were passed over, while the final 14% had no idea whether they were unfairly passed over or not.

Thus it appears that if these figures are representative of the hard of hearing and deaf work force, 3 out of every 4 employers are still unfairly discriminating against us based solely on our lack of hearing without considering our many talents, skills and abilities. This needs to change!

The good news is that 1 out of 4 employers are treating us fairly. That is all we ask.

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A study by the Better Hearing Institute reveals the shocking fact that working Americans who ignore their hearing losses are losing more than $100 billion in lost earnings each year.

The average income lost ranges from $1,000 per year for those with uncorrected mild hearing losses to a whopping $12,000 annually for those with uncorrected profound hearing losses.

The good news is that on the average, this income loss can be cut in half by simply getting and wearing hearing aids.

Some more good news. Getting and wearing hearing aids as soon as you realize you are losing some of your hearing helps reduce your chances of losing more income in the future.

This should be a powerful incentive for the 3 out of 4 Americans that do not bother to wear hearing aids to help correct their hearing losses. Forget about vanity. Wearing hearing aids may be necessary for your very economic survival! This is one thing you can do to help yourself–so do it now–or don’t complain how hearing loss is holding you back from getting the promotions you think you deserve.