One of the most interesting parts of my role in New York’s hearing-loss community is interacting with the larger disability community. Through committees like the MTA’s Advisory Committee for Transit Accessibility (ACTA), I see first-hand the obstacles that people with other disabilities face.

When The New York Times asked me to write about how New York City museums serve people with disabilities, I accepted with enthusiasm. I knew about accommodations for people with hearing loss, but I had no idea how much else was offered. New Yorkers have a huge range of disabilities, visible and invisible, and many are addressed by our cultural institutions.

The article is online now and appears in print in the Sunday April 30th paper. It’s called  Making Art Accessible for All, although more accurately it would be “Trying to Make Art Accessible to All.” It’s a challenge.

On Sunday March 12, I joined a group of people who were blind or had low vision for an afternoon of activities designed especially for them, which would set the scene for looking at the larger issues. I worked for The Times for most of my journalism career, both writing and editing. In 2009 I took a buyout shortly after I got a cochlear implant, because I couldn’t hear well enough with my new cochlear implant to function fully in that noisy and competitive workplace.

When the Times asked me to write this article, almost 14 years later, I felt confident about going back out into the reporting world. I hear well with my hearing aid and cochlear implant, and I was eager to meet new people and try out new situations.

The reporting went well, thanks to technology. The Innocaption app on my smart phone allowed me to do telephone interviews. Google Meet interviews were captioned. A couple of in-person interviews were made easier by the Otter app. Innocaption and Otter also provided me with a transcript to review later. Text to voice technology allowed the blind to read my emails. It was exciting to see how far technology has taken us.

Ironically, there was one situation where my disability tripped me up, and that was at MoMA’s afternoon event for the blind. The museum was packed with happy chattering people and the noise bounced off the walls and ceiling and floors – and even off some of the art. Otter was as overwhelmed as I was by the ambient noise, and I ended up hearing very little. I could have asked for a CART transcriber to accompany me, but I didn’t think of it. It’s always the things we don’t think of that are the problem.

Luckily I was able to follow up with phone calls and emails and all was well. But for a brief period that afternoon, I was reminded that my hearing loss is a disability. Sometimes I forget because life has gotten so much easier thanks to technology and accessibility.

A note about the photo: Francesca Rosenberg is now MoMA’s Director of Access Programs and Initiatives, and oversees all of MoMA’s wonderful accessibility programs. This photo was taken in 1995.

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For more about living with hearing loss, you can also read my books: