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By Max Chartrand, Ph.D.
As a fellow traveler with hearing issues, I can identify
with Paula Bonillas' interest in accessibility for hearing-impaired
persons who travel abroad ("Lessons from the Land
of Smiles," Summer 2003). On my CI-equipped treks
in foreign spots, I personally find lots of talk but
little action in accommodating hearing needs.
In the U.S., we enjoy protection of access under a
plethora of ADA regulations. Billions of dollars are
expended in infrastructure to help deaf and hard-of-hearing
people enjoy quality of life and opportunities nearly
on par with normal hearing counterparts. But there's
less than 1 percent utilization!
Part of the problem is that few of those needing assistive
listening and alerting systems and other accommodations
know they exist. If you are aren't aware of what's available,
here's a start: Designated proportions of public phones
are hearing aid compatible and have amplified receivers;
TV sets 13 inches or larger come with closed caption
decoders; Hotels must provide alerting and assistive
listening systems upon request; Cinemas, theaters and
public assembly facilities furnish hearing-impaired
patrons with assistive listening devices (ALDs) upon
request; Thousands of churches, although exempt from
ADA, offer ALDs; America's TTY/Telephone Relay system
is the most extensive and accessible in the world. And
the list goes on.
But my real concern is that among those of us who know
not only that all these aids and accommodations exist
but also that we need them to improve our listening
experience, we're just not making the effort to utilize
them. Make no mistake, it is still an effort as they
are often not right "at our fingertips" but
we're taking the easy way out. My great fear is that
we may one day find ourselves back in the desolate days
of pre-ADA.
Access and accommodation abroad? A laudable goal. A
rallying cry here in the U.S.: Use it or lose it!
Max Chartrand, Ph.D., director of research for DigiCare
Hearing Research & Rehabilitation, www.digicare.org,
is a member of Hearing Health's advisory committee.
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