Whatever you thought of the outcome on Election Night, it was not hearing friendly. The networks, CNN, and even PBS were a visual and aural assault. Screens filled with live action, banners running every which way, maps flipping like shuffled cards, not to mention hyperactive correspondents and panelists talking at warp speed. Captions had a … Continue reading Captions and Election Night.
Captions for hearing loss
“Captions are the Wheelchair Ramp for the Deaf”
A year or so ago at a meeting on the challenge of global hearing loss, one of my fellow presenters, Catharine McMahon, head of the Department of Linguistics at MacQuarie University in Sydney Australia, said something that has stuck with me: "The challenge of disability should become society’s challenge. Change the environment, not the Individual: … Continue reading “Captions are the Wheelchair Ramp for the Deaf”
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Zoom Fatigue for People with Hearing Loss
Zoom fatigue is real, as an article in National Geographic lays out very clearly: "'Zoom Fatigue' may be with us for years. Here's how we'll cope." But let me just say that the author of this article has no idea what Zoom fatigue is like for people with hearing loss. We don't just endure those … Continue reading Zoom Fatigue for People with Hearing Loss
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Stigma: Why It’s So Hard to Talk About Hearing Loss
This week the World Health Organization asked me to speak at the launch of their global Report on Hearing. The audience, from all over the world via Zoom, were primarily hearing professionals and public health experts whose work is about hearing loss but who don’t have it themselves. I was asked to speak about my … Continue reading Stigma: Why It’s So Hard to Talk About Hearing Loss
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Communicating in the Age of Covid: An Unexpected Benefit
There aren’t many bright spots when it comes to Covid 19. The death toll is enormous, the financial impact is potentially catastrophic, the fear of what lies ahead can be overwhelming. Still, for many with hearing loss, this period offers an insight into what it’s like to have equal access to spoken communication. Many of … Continue reading Communicating in the Age of Covid: An Unexpected Benefit
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The Talkies
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’ve actually seen – and heard – many of this year’s Oscar-nominated movies. Including the ones in English. What made this possible? The oft-deplored trend to streaming video. When the Oscar nominations came out earlier this week, the news media focused on the showdown … Continue reading The Talkies
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Moviegoer’s Lament
Last week, the Washington Post ran an article about a movement to make open-captioned movie screenings more widely available to the deaf and hard of hearing. Open captions in movies generally run across the bottom of the screen, the same as subtitles you see in a foreign movie. The Post's article, by Michael O'Sullivan, discussed a … Continue reading Moviegoer’s Lament
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Captions: Better and Better!
I don’t like to write about apps and products that I don’t use myself, because the first-person experience is very important when dealing with hearing devices. But when I find one I like, I want to share it. In the past few months, I’ve been using a transcription app called Otter.ai. Otter has been around since … Continue reading Captions: Better and Better!
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Captions Wherever You Go
It’s rare that a new app or product comes on the hearing device market that seems revolutionary. But Google has come out with a voice to text app that is potentially game-changing for those of us with severe hearing loss. Although I have an excellent hearing aid and a state of the art cochlear implant, … Continue reading Captions Wherever You Go
Katherine Bouton: Smart Hearing 