Auditory impairment
What is an auditory impairment? And how do you take this into account on the Internet? We tell you all about it on this page.
In short
An auditory impairment involves problems with hearing. This does not necessarily mean that a person does not hear anything at all. But, not every auditory impairment is the same!
Deaf or hard of hearing?
Some people can still hear some of the sound; others are completely deaf. The degree of hearing loss is measured in decibels (dB), which is a unit for the strength of sound. It can be divided into several categories:
| Type | Decibel |
|---|---|
| Normal hearing | Loss of 0-20 decibels |
| Mild hearing loss | Loss of 20-40 decibels |
| Mild hearing loss | Loss of 40-60 decibels |
| Severe hearing loss | Loss of 60-90 decibels |
| Very severe hearing loss/deafness | Verlies van meer dan 90 decibel |
Causes and figures
There are several causes of hearing loss. It can be congenital, or it can occur later in life, such as hearing damage from too loud noise. Other possible causes are medications, old age or, for example, an ear infection or meningitis. Sometimes the cause is also unknown.
In the Netherlands, around 1.5 million people are deaf or hard of hearing (this includes all degrees of hearing loss, including mild hearing loss). As people get older, the percentage that is hard of hearing increases. Hearing loss is also a problem among young people.
Type of hearing problems
Deafblind
People with deafblindness do not hear well and, in the process, do not see well. This can be congenital or occur later in life.
In Usher's syndrome, people become deafblind at a young age. If you offer a text alternative to information from sound, it can be converted to Braille. People who are deaf-blind can then read the text via a braille display
Tinnitus
With tinnitus, people may temporarily or permanently hear a beep or noise (or other sound).
This is also known as tinnitus. It can be caused by hearing damage, but also, for example, by an ear infection. This can make it difficult to hear other sounds properly, in addition, it can also cause psychological problems.
Temporarily limited
Auditory problems are not always chronic. It can also be due to a temporary ear infection or cold that a person cannot hear well.
The impairment may also be due to the environment. On a crowded train with a lot of noise, it can be difficult to hear audio from a video. Then subtitles can also be a solution.
Speech and text comprehension
Auditory impairments do not only affect the perception of sound.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing may also have difficulty with speech. If you have features on your site or app that rely on speech, you can offer an alternative. For example, provide a chat feature where someone can enter text instead of speaking in.
For some people who are deaf, sign language is their native language. Dutch is then actually a second language. So for videos you can offer sign language in addition to subtitles. For people who communicate primarily in sign language, it can sometimes be difficult to understand texts. You can take this into account by writing clear texts.
Physical solutions
For people with moderate hearing loss, a hearing aid can help, for example, to understand others. If there is severe hearing loss, it may still be difficult to understand others even with a hearing aid. With very severe hearing loss and deafness, it may not be possible to hear sounds even with a hearing aid. Sometimes a cochlear implant (CI) can help then. This is a device that can transmit signals to the auditory nerve so that deaf and profoundly hard of hearing people can hear again.
Digitally accessible solutions
You can take hearing impairments into account online by ensuring that information from sound is also conveyed in a different way.
Offer a transcribed text to podcasts, for example.
Write good subtitles for videos. Also describe important sounds in the video!
Offer sign language if necessary.
Make your videos accessible!
Wondering how to make a video fully digitally accessible from start to finish? Then follow our training course: “Accessible Videos”. After this training, you'll know exactly:
For those for whom digitally accessible videos are important.
What the benefits of a digitally accessible video are.
How to properly prepare your video for digital accessibility
How to produce, edit and publish an accessible video.
Other questions?
We'd love to help you get started with making your products accessible. Leave your details and we'll get right back to you.
