Hearing Loss in the Workplace: Strategies for Accessibility and Inclusivity

Many workplaces overlook hearing loss. But hearing loss is a common occupation hazard. It impacts employees, employers, and entire organizations alike. Making the workplace friendlier to persons with hearing loss benefits everyone.

The workplace can be as welcoming for people with hearing loss as it is for others, though. All it needs is some strategies for accessibility and inclusivity. Learn all about how to create the appropriate environment for the hard of hearing.

Excessive Noises in the Workplace

The workplace is rampant with various loud noises that can cause hearing loss. Occupational noise-induced hearing loss (or ONIHL) is surprisingly common. And it happens anywhere in the world.

Construction. Manufacturing. Mining. These are just some of the industries where the employees are vulnerable. They are exposed daily to high levels of noise for long hours. Workers in other industries may also suffer from NIHL. For example, workers at a club or venue playing loud music or workers at a super busy restaurant can also be exposed to high noise levels.

Even employees in a regular office whose workplace is located next to a construction building or a road with busy traffic can suffer from NIHL. All the excessive noise coming from external environments will influence a person’s hearing health.

And that excess causes irreparable damage to the inner ear. The hearing impairment caused can range from mild to total deafness. This, in turn, will affect a worker’s performance on the job. Their communication ability, for example, is hindered. So hearing loss will have a major impact on job performance and productivity. It may also reduce safety and lead to social isolation.

Strategies to Address Hearing Loss in the Workplace

To address hearing loss in the workplace, employers and employees must be on the same page. For the employers, they need to realize their responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. For the employees, they must make a conscious effort to collaborate harmoniously with hearing impaired or deaf coworkers.

Learning to foster good communication with their colleagues with hearing loss or impairment will create a more robust and productive working environment.

Here are some strategies that the whole organization can adopt. 

Employers’ strategies

• Educate the organization. Giving the employees a chance to learn about hearing loss and its consequences will raise awareness and foster inclusion. It also has the added benefit of growing empathy and understanding among employees.
• Hold communication training for all employees. These training sessions will offer ways to build effective communication techniques between employees. Provide tips on how to clearly communicate with minimum background sound and in an inclusive environment.
• Provide assistive technologies. There are tools that aid people with hearing loss to regain accessibility. For example, using hearing loops or requesting sign language interpreters during meetings or speech-to-text apps to ease communication is beneficial for those with hearing loss.
• Offer flexible working arrangements. While this may not always be possible, employers can always strategically arrange for people with hearing loss to work in a different setting (at home remotely) or specific hours (when the office is not too busy).
• Implement preventative measures. If possible, employees must take steps to reduce noise in the workplace. Soundproofing noisy equipment or using quieter machines may help. And before more of their employees suffer from NIHL, employers should provide earplugs or earmuffs as part of the PPE.

Strategies for employees with hearing loss

• Be open about communication. Employees with hearing loss would do well to talk to their coworkers and managers about their condition. It will convey their specific needs and preferred methods. Think of it as setting the stage for an efficient collaboration.
• Ask for accommodations (within reason). Employees with hearing loss have rights and may request reasonable accommodations from their employers. For instance, they may request video captioning and the use of assistive listening devices.
• Make technology work to enhance the hearing. Working with technology is a good strategy for workers with hearing loss. Hearing aids now have Bluetooth connections. There are a wide range of smartphone apps to help communication. Other assistive devices are becoming increasingly common as well.

All employees’ strategies

• Encourage face-to-face meetings. All employees must get used to face-to-face communication. When employees meet in person and can look one another in the eyes, they will send and receive visual cues. Whether lip reading, facial expressions, or body language, these cues can help with understanding conversational contexts better.
• Practice active listening. Active listening techniques involve nodding, repeating messages, and giving verbal responses. It enhances a person’s understanding of a situation and signals engagement to colleagues. It’s good practice all around to perform these techniques, but it will definitely help those with hearing loss communicate better.
• Communicate in writing. Deaf people or people with hearing loss may be more comfortable ‘talking’ through writing. They may prefer to use email or instant messages to discuss something. Not only does this provide a written record of a discussion at work, it also ensures clarity.
• Choose or create optimal spaces. Employees who must discuss something with their coworkers with hearing loss should choose an optimal space for meetings. For example, choosing a space with good acoustics and little to no background noise is ideal.

The Importance of Acknowledging Hearing Loss in the Workplace

When hearing loss is addressed in the workplace, the benefits are many. The employees’ productivity increases and workplace safety is enhanced. Employers prioritizing hearing health demonstrate their commitment to creating an inclusive workplace environment where workers can thrive.

One other strategy an employee with hearing problems can enact is get themselves checked. A hearing evaluation at Hearing Associates of Las Vegas will ensure you have no problems at work. Make an appointment today to maintain your hearing health.