Workplace Conceal or Reveal Your Hearing Loss at Work? Katherine Bouton Progress in the Produce Aisle. Andrew Flavahan

Tips for Working Hearing Loss with a Conceal or Reveal Your Hearing Loss at Work? By Katherine Bouton The workplace poses a variety of issues for people with hearing loss at different stages of their lives and according to the severity of the loss.

One of the biggest challenges is applying for a job. If you have a hearing aid and/or a cochlear implant—or, for that matter, if you have any kind of hidden disability—and if you need accommodations, at what point do you bring that subject up?

Writing Your Résumé Almost all experts recommend that you not disclose your hearing loss on a résumé, just as you would not include your birthdate, religion, or marital status. People have preconceptions and prejudices about hearing loss, as they do about most disabilities. There’s a good chance you wouldn’t get past the résumé stage.

That’s the only hard and fast rule. If you have mild to moderate hearing loss, your hearing aids are probably virtually invisible. If your hearing is good with the devices, there is no reason whatsoever to disclose the hearing loss. Unless it affects job performance, it’s nobody’s business.

If your hearing loss is more severe, you’re faced with the difficult decision about when to disclose, how much to say about it, and at what point to ask for accommodations.

For an in-person job interview, you may find yourself seated near a door to a noisy hall or next to a noisy air conditioner. Ask to move your chair, referring to the noise, or if the interviewer is framed by bright light, say you’d like to move so it’s not in your eyes.

What if you find yourself in an interview with one of those impossible to understand people (mustache, mumbles, thin lips)? While most experts advise not disclosing a hearing loss during the interview, my view is that at this point, it’s probably better to acknowledge a degree of hearing loss so you can pull out your assistive listening device, whether it’s an FM system, a remote mic, or a Phonak Roger transmitter. Simply put it on the desk and explain what it is—and continue the interview.

Telephone Tips The telephone is often difficult for people with hearing loss. Does your hearing aid have a telecoil (T-coil)? Is your office telephone T-coil–compatible? It has to be, per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). You may need to flip the switch on your hearing aid to the telecoil program, but some hearing aids switch automatically to telecoil mode when they are in proximity to the receiver. Several companies make good landline–based captioned phones, and with proof of hearing loss, the Federal Communications Commission provides for a captioned phone for free (see fcc.gov/accessibility).

Phone headsets can also be T-coil–compatible. I found, as someone who had minimally disclosed her hearing loss, that the headset was much more effective than the handheld phone. It was also much easier on my neck—no cricks from balancing a phone receiver on my shoulder all day.

Cell phones pose different issues. Pay attention when you buy a cell phone to be sure its Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC) rating is high. The smartphone may be one of the best things that’s ever happened for people with hearing loss. Reading texts and email is easier than navigating voice calls.

Almost all experts recommend that you not disclose your hearing loss on a résumé, just as you would not include your birthdate, religion, or marital status.

Smartphones also allow captioned calls, in addition to text. Stenographers provide the captions when you use InnoCaption, combined with its patented technology, and I’ve found it very accurate. You can also use a smartphone app to create live captions for in-person conversations. Examples are Otter.ai, an Apple iPhone app, and Google Live Transcribe, for Android phones.

How to Manage Meetings Most people with hearing loss have learned by experience how to handle meetings, but it can still be tricky. Arrive early to get a seat where you can see those speaking. Ask for an agenda before the meeting, and if someone is taking notes, ask to see the notes afterward.

If you have disclosed your hearing loss and have an FM system, a remote mic, or a Roger assistive listening device, put the transmitter on the table and set it to pick up sound from every direction. If the room is small enough and the acoustics are good, and if people speak clearly enough and one at a time, this should work. Some people use two or more transmitters for meetings, one at each end of a conference table.

Large meetings can be a challenge. If your presence is essential, ask for CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), which benefits others as well, including those for whom English is a second language. A CART transcript is saved on the operator’s computer and can be used later

Phone headsets can also be T-coil-compatible. I found, as someone who had minimally disclosed her hearing loss, that the headset was much more effective than the handheld phone. It was also much easier on my neck—no cricks from balancing a phone receiver on my shoulder all day.

as the basis for meeting minutes; it is also confidential. The cost of CART services varies, but in most areas it is under $200 an hour. That may seem like a lot in a small company, but unless the company can come up with another solution or show that the cost is prohibitive, it’s a violation of the ADA to require an employee to attend a meeting without CART support.

How about teleconferencing? If the speakers are

Progress in the Produce Aisle By Andrew Flavahan

Our new employee, Bill, was arranging a display of russet potatoes when a customer the entire produce department was weary of began to approach him. My heart sank, as I knew Bill is deaf and unable to read lips, and that this customer had in the past brought many of my coworkers to tears over a variety of issues. In our section we all keep an eye on one another and help when needed, especially when Bill started.

This customer had earned quite a reputation over the years I’d worked in the supermarket. Although it was a busy Sunday afternoon, I tuned out the cacophony around me—dozens of conversations, the squeaky wheels of poorly maintained shopping carts, and the corporate-approved, uplifting music blasting over the intercom—to watch what would happen.

“Excuse me?” she said, bending toward Bill and trying to get his attention.

“Excuse me?!” she repeated. Getting no response, she widened her eyes and focused her gaze, and several other customers turned around to see what was going on.

“Oh boy,” I thought to myself, as I began to walk over to help resolve the situation.

using Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting, or a similar program, you have the advantage of being able to be able to see multiple speakers and to watch their lips. These programs generally have good audio systems. If it’s purely an audio conference, try to call in from a captioned phone or ask for CART. Video conferencing also allows those who communicate in ASL to sign.

Ted Hart is the Microsoft researcher who helped adapt Skype Translator for use by people who are deaf and hard of hearing. He is deaf himself. At home he uses sign with his hearing wife, but to speak to her by phone involved multiple steps and a third party. So he developed Skype Translator, which allows you to read someone’s words as text.

Technology such as video conferencing and voice-totext were not developed as tools for the deaf and hard of hearing, but they have proved to be invaluable. And because they are not solely aimed at those with hearing loss and benefit the wider community, they are bound to continue improving to help us all communicate better.

This is adapted from Katherine Bouton’s book, “Smart Hearing.” Katherine Bouton is the president of the New York City Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and a member of the national Board of Trustees of HLAA. For more, see katherinebouton.com.

workplace ›› Shorthand Advice » When needed, inform supervisors and colleagues of your hearing loss and remind them if they seem to forget. The solution may be full disclosure. » Use a captioned telephone if your hearing loss is severe. » While smartphone technology is constantly improving, a telecoil in your hearing aid can be essential for using the phone and other assistive devices effectively. » If you regularly encounter customers or other people on the job, install a portable hearing loop. » Ask a single speaker you need to hear to wear the transmitter from your assistive listening device system. » Do everything you can to keep your job. Ask for the accommodations you are entitled to under the ADA. Keep a record of requests that are denied or ignored. Speak up about incidents of unintentional discrimination. If you belong to a union, keep the union rep informed.

Share your story: How have you handled a hearing loss in the workplace? Tell us at editor@hhf.org.

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But then Bill turned, beaming with a smile from ear to ear, and he handed her his notepad.

“What? What is this for? Hello? I need some help with the bananas!” She did not understand.

Bill continued to smile, pointing to his ears and then to the sign-language insignia he wore on his shirt, without saying a word. Her mouth dropped, her eyes grew even wider, and her face turned as red as the beefsteak tomatoes I was standing next to. She threw her handbag onto the table Bill was working on, pulled out a pen, and quickly scribbled something down before handing it to Bill.

He nodded his head in an understanding way as he read his notepad, then turned to her and gave her a reassuring smile before taking his own pen and writing down a reply. She eagerly took it when he handed it to her, and seemed to let out a long sigh as if she had just been relieved of a great burden.

I was amazed. As Bill and the customer continued to pass the notepad back and forth, laughing and joking with each other, I turned to one of my coworkers who was also watching all of this happen with a relieved smile on her face. This was not what we had expected.

This same customer had once yelled profusely because we were out of stock of a certain brand of apple, and had also once casually implied that one of my coworkers was “a bit dull.” But here she was, having a pleasant notepad conversation in the middle of our department as if she were catching up with a friend.

Ever since then, she has been kind, patient, and far more understanding every time she has come into the produce section. We were all worried that Bill would be mistreated, but he ended up showing us, as well as the customer, that it is wrong to jump to conclusions about another person. We are all on this planet together, and it falls on each of us to have compassion for one another.

Andrew Flavahan lives in Pennsylvania and works in the produce department of a grocery chain.