Hearing Loss in the Workplace: 2007 and Beyond - Part 2
Presented by Mary M. Clark and Dean Olson
This is part two of two parts.
Here's Part One
Workplace dynamics
In the old days people who thought they could hide their hearing loss
often didn't discuss it in the workplace. And that even happens today.
Mary talked about a co-worker with hearing loss who has yet to come out of
the closet. Mary realizes that she has hearing loss, but others at work
don't know what causes her sometimes-inappropriate behavior. This
situation recalls the old adage that untreated hearing loss is much more
obvious than hearing aids!
Today's workplace is characterized by:
- 'at will' employment - companies are much less loyal to employees
than the have been in the past. 'At will' employment means that you can be
fired at any time for any reason or for no reason.
- the proliferation of 'cube farms' - a cubicle is a much noisier
environment than an office, and people with hearing loss pay a price for
the noisy environment
- increasing demand for multitasking - people with hearing loss are
just as good at this as anyone else, as long as listening is not required
- perceived favoritism for accommodations - Mary was one of the first
people in her company to get a flat screen monitor. She got it because the
interference from the old CRT monitor made it impossible for her to use
the phone (and her telecoil) at her desk. But some people thought she was
being favored.
- increased use of electronic alarms - the issue isn't the alarms
themselves, but the fact that they're audio alarms and generally don't
have visual alerts. Forklifts, for example, beep when backing up, but have
no visual alert to warn people with hearing loss.
Technical solutions to some of the workplace dynamics issues include:
- important alarms must include a visual alert - this can also include
things like installing mirrors at corners in factories, so people who
can't hear a vehicle coming can see it
- office layout must maximize the ability to hear - modern office
equipment often gives very few if any layout options. Mary's sister got
stuck in a cubicle with her deaf ear facing the door, and people thought
she was stuck up, because she didn't acknowledge when she came to the
door. She had a doorbell installed with a flashing alert at her desk, and
the negative reputation melted away.
- only equipment that puts out minimum levels of electromagnetic
interference should be used. Particularly troublesome are CRT monitors and
some fluorescent lights. Flat screen monitors and low emission fluorescent
lighting are better options.
With regard to the topic of workplace dynamics, HLAA members are a
hundred times better prepared than most people with hearing loss.
They understand that education, training, and counseling must be
constant. People will forget what you have told them, and the only way to
keep the communications open is to remind them as necessary.
Also be sure to let people know that you can't hear the "over the cube"
conversations that everyone has. If it's important for you to be involved
in the discussion, or even to know about it, they have to actively get you
involved.
Humor is one of the best tools to defuse anxiety and tension, so use it
to put people at ease. Once people know that you're comfortable talking
about it, you'll quickly become the hearing loss resource, and they'll ask
you about their mother or Uncle Fred, who doesn't hear anything but
refuses to get a hearing aid. Keep some HLAA flyers at your desk to hand
out.
Training
Dean began the section on training by recalling training in the
twentieth century, which often included the following characteristics:
- classroom setting
- trainer moved around the room
- trainer may have sat at the front of the room, which made him
difficult to see and made it hard for him to project his voice
- trainer may have had a soft voice, and an amplification system may
not have been used
- background noise may have been significant
- trainer may have turned his back to write on the board
Current training methodologies include computer based training (CBT),
podcasts, and webinars.
- CBT is very cool unless there are components of it that rely on
sound. Particularly troublesome are uncaptioned videos, which are,
unfortunately, proliferating at an astounding rate.
- Podcasts are troublesome, because they are exclusively voice and
typically uncaptioned. Trainers could make transcripts available, but
that's uncommon.
- Webinars are web-based seminars that use teleconferencing software to
provide access over the web. They rely heavily on voice and are pretty
inaccessible unless the organizers provide captioning.
Mary noted that where you plug in your loop or headphones can make a
difference. She had been plugging her loop into the headphone jack, but
someone told her to try plugging it into the jack on one of her speakers.
It turns out that she got much better sound from plugging in there.
She went on to provide some advice regarding common training issues.
- Advocate for equal access for training by talking specifically about
what works best for you.
- Use the right vocabulary. "Equal access" is an important term.
- Let your boss know if you are unable to complete the training because
of inaccessibility.
- Coach those who provide the training about your needs
- Ask over and over again
- Be the advocate in your workplace
- Don't sit in a conference room with everyone else and struggle with
the speakerphone (unless it has a jack for your neckloop or is otherwise
accessible to you). Use your own equipment in your office if that works
better for you.
Work relationships
- There will be people who "get it" and those who still need to be
educated
- Unless you make it otherwise you will miss out on a lot of office
politics and networking. If these are important to you, be proactive and
find a way to stay in the loop. A buddy works wonders in these areas.
- Coping skills - Sam Trychin says, "Coping does not mean success or
mastery; it means doing the best that you can to deal with a problem."
Don't expect to act like a hearing person, because you're not a hearing
person.
It's important to know what to ask for, and what your rights are.
Remember that what works for another person may not work for you. Also,
your employer certainly doesn't know what you need.
Every employer is required to have an ADA Officer, so find out who that
is at your company. If they don't have one, remind them that it's required
by law, and continue to remind them until you get one.
Unsuitable jobs for HOH people
Dean listed the following types of jobs as probably being unsuitable
for HOH people
- jobs that require a high level of multitasking, especially if any of
the tasks involve listening
- jobs that require the use of multiple portable communications devices
- very fast-paced jobs
- jobs that require heavy telephone use. Even if you're pretty
comfortable on the phone, five hours of phone use is VERY different from
five minutes.
- Public safety official - police officers, firemen, lifeguards
