There are many things a person with hearing loss can do to advocate for themselves and make it easier to navigate the world around them. The main one is seeking treatment in the form of hearing aids or other assistive listening devices.
However, even with these tools, there may be areas where you need additional accommodations to hear your best. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees certain rights for people with hearing loss, and knowing what they are can be helpful in managing your condition.
What The ADA Says About Hearing Loss 
Signed into law in 1990, the ADA was designed to prohibit discrimination against those with disabilities from various areas of life “including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government’ programs and services.”
When it comes to people with a communication disability like hearing loss, the ADA “requires that title II entities (State and local governments) and title III entities (businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities.”
How The ADA Can Help You
Though not an exhaustive list for people with hearing loss, here are several key ways the ADA and accompanying anti-discrimination laws work to help you in various aspects of life:
In the workplace: Your workplace is required to provide you with reasonable accommodations to help you do your job. An accommodation is considered reasonable as long as it does not place undue hardship on the business and significantly affect its ability to operate. When it comes to employees with hearing loss, this may mean providing a sign language interpreter for conferences or big meetings, assistive listening technology like captioned phones and computer software, as well as emergency alert systems that use vibrations or strobe lights to be more noticeable to those with hearing impairments.
Communicating online: Advancements in technology mean we communicate differently now than when the ADA was passed over 30 years ago. This has raised certain questions, like whether websites and apps that don’t have a physical location are considered a place of public accommodation. While no federal guidelines exist to definitively answer that question yet, many websites have added closed captioning and other features to make them more accessible. Multiple states have also adopted laws that require better web accessibility.
Using telephones. Before the ADA, the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act already required that all telephones, including cellphones, be compatible with hearing aids. In 2010, the Communications and Video Accessibility Act required that text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging and video call services be accessible to people with disabilities. You can take comfort in the fact that the next time you are shopping for a new phone at Boise Towne Square, whatever one you choose will have accessibility features that work with your hearing aids.
To learn more or to find options to treat your hearing loss, call Southwest Idaho ENT today.