Hearing Impairment does not necessarily mean total deafness. The Royal National Institute for the Deaf estimates there are around 9 million hearing impaired people in the UK. Some have had little or no hearing since birth, others lose their hearing as the result of an accident, and others as the result of a medical condition.
Some people with partial hearing are able to use a hearing aid to hear what is going on around them. Others use lip-reading to understand what people are saying. Others (usually, but not always profoundly deaf people) use sign language. Often a combination of these methods is used, and the RNID provides some useful advice in its 'Deaf and Hard of Hearing People' leaflet, available from their website.
The implications of hearing impairment will vary from individual, from making sure a room has good acoustics, to providing a Sign Language interpreter for meetings. Any potential employee should explain the implications of their specific level of hearing impairment. The RNID website has some good examples of the kinds of adjustments you may need to make. In many cases, the Access to Work scheme will provide funding to cover additional costs.
The RNID “Don't Panic” pack, produced for employers, is an easy-to-follow guide to recruiting and developing deaf and hard of hearing staff. It can be downloaded from the Resources Section.
ETSS offers advice and guidance to deaf and hard of hearing people who are:
ETSS also offers support to employers and training providers to raise their awareness of the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people. Examples of support offered:
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