Could you repeat that please?

Are you and your business as accessible as you could be to people with hearing difficulties?  As one of the more hidden disabilities it is often difficult to spot a person with a hearing impairment and confusion can reign until the person points out that they have difficulty hearing.  It is also probably one of the easiest disabilities to make adaptations for; quite often simply training your staff to speak slowly and clearly at all times can make the world of difference to a lip reader. 

According to the RNID, 9 million people in England are deaf or hard of hearing.  However, not everyone who suffers hearing loss is registered as having a disability.  According to the NHS in 2006 there were only 164,000 people actually registered deaf or hard of hearing.  30-40% of people over 65 have some kind of hearing loss and by 2025 more than a third of the UK's population will be over 55 so this issue will become more and more prevalent as our population continues to age.

A recent South West Visitor Economy Accessibility Stakeholder group meeting was attended by Enid Radford, a volunteer from the RNID.  Enid provided examples of some first hand experiences of the day to day issues she and others with hearing impairments like her face when travelling or on holiday in the South West. 

Enid reported that she would love to travel and holiday more, however, the fear of burning in her bed at night keeps her at home!  Unless she is travelling with a friend who has no hearing impairment Enid is worried that should there be a fire in the hotel she would not be woken.  Her fear is grounded in experience, where upon advising staff at a hotel of her hearing difficulties they advised that she should not worry that they would alert her if there was a fire in the night by slipping a note under her door!  It is fears such as this which prevent 50% of the disabled population from travelling each year. 

Although not all establishments can afford the expense of flashing fire alarms or vibrating fire alarms to go under the pillow of a guest, there are other things you can do:

• Ensure your staff are trained to check with guests whether they would need assistance in case of a fire.
• Incorporate evacuation techniques for guests with hearing impairments during fire alarm tests.
• Have a pen and paper handy on reception so that staff can write down instructions for guests if they are having trouble giving verbal fire instructions on check in.

These simple steps will ensure your staff are able to offer positive and reassuring assistance to these guests. 30-40% of people over 65 have some kind of hearing loss and by 2025 more than a third of the UK's population will be over 55 so this issue will become more and more prevalent as our population continues to age.

If you would like to know more about vibrating fire alarms or any other form of assistive equipment please contact the RNID Customer Service Team on 01733 361199 or visit here and request a copy of their Solutions Catalogue which contains details of a wide range of equipment.   

If you would be interested in hearing more from RNID or would like to arrange a talk or demonstration of equipment please contact Karen Squire who is the RNID Regional Outreach Support Officer on Karen.Squire@rnid.org.uk.  

In addition, you can download the free to use Accessing New Business workbooks on the SWT website and run through the simple training exercises contain within them.  For more top tips and practical solutions on becoming more accessible look at VisitEngland's Easy Does It guide.  

Date added: Monday 14th February 2011
Latest updated: Thursday 8th March 2012