Imagine not being able to hear when someone calls, when a doorbell rings, or when an alarm clock rings to alert people to wake up. These are just simple things to hearing individuals but a great challenge to the deaf and the hearing impaired in their everyday life. Over the years, the deaf, or rather people with impaired hearing problems have faced serious communication problems. Since being deaf is a disability, there are tasks that these people will have a difficult doing because of their hearing problem. However, with different technologies that can help the deaf hear, life has been made easier. Technology has been used to change the life of the deaf in the society by giving them a chance to communicate to the rest of the world without any difficulties. With millions of deaf people across the globe, the advancement in technology has had a large impact on their lives.
With the increasing dependency on technology, there have been several technological advancements to help the deaf people to communicate, interact with the people around them, and even help them hear when people talk to them. Developing technology has helped the deaf to participate fully in the society, business, and education in addition to allowing them more opportunities for professional development. They can now use video apps and software, cochlear implants and hearing aids implants as well as smart gloves to communicate to the world.
While many deaf people still believe the current technology for the deaf is not up to date for their needs and quality of life, a good number of them find the current technology critical for to their connection to the world. Meinzen-Derr et al. note that the deaf currently assistive technology to help them in hearing (808) For instance, they use the Video Relay Service technology to communicate with the people around them. This is a form of technology that video interprets the telecommunication service. With this technology, when a deaf person is trying to communicate, there is an interpreter located in a remote location who facilitates the communication between a hearing person and a deaf person while they are contacting each other. A good example is when a deaf person needs to buy something from the store he does not need to find a hearing person to do it for him/her. With the Video Relay Service technology, the deaf person can still order for whatever goods he/she needs and an interpreter in a remote location facilitates the communication.
In addition to the Video Relay Service technology, the invention of information technology has made life easier for several deaf people around the world. Through various forms of technology such as smartphones and computers, the deaf are able to communicate without any problems (Lifeprint.com). For instance, currently, the deaf now use Skype and FaceTime to communicate with family and friends across the globe. With the use Skype and FaceTime, a deaf person is able to sign face to face with another person from any part of the world. FaceTime is a video calling app that most deaf people use while communicating because they can use the sign language or lip-read while the other person is communication (Leib 2). Skype is also a video app that is commonly used by the deaf because they can sign chat and lip read during a conversation. Therefore, with technology, the deaf can communicate through signs and lip-read when they video call thus making communication easier for them.
Moreover, there are smart gloves, which help the deaf to better communicate with their family and friends across the world. Students from the University of Washington (Pryor and Azodi) invented smart gloves, which are capable to translate the American Sign Language into speech. According to Preece, “The sensors in the gloves will allow a deaf or hard of hearing person to transmit hand and wrist movements made through ASL via Bluetooth to a computer program created by student” and the speech is translated in real time (ITpro). The deaf people have always communicated via signs but with the smart gloves, the deaf are able to communicate better with the rest of the world without having to use the sign language which most hearing people do not understand. Moreover, there is the Motion Savvy UNI software, which has been developed by students from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. The UNI software is able to translate the American Sign Language into speech and later speech into text thus making communication easier for the deaf. Therefore, technology had helped the deaf to communicate easily.
There are other valuable technologies available that help to keep the deaf in their homes safe and sound even when home alone. According to Life print, with modern technology, the deaf can enjoy convenience in their homes without the need to have a hearing person around to run their day-to-day activities (Lifeprint.com). For example, with the advancement in technologies, the doorbells and fire alarms are now designed to alert the people with a hearing loss that there is someone at the door or even there is an emergency like a fire. Most fire alarms are designed to make noise and this is convenient for people who do not have a hearing problem. However, today, with technology, in houses where there is a deaf person, the fire alarms are not designed to make noise but they come with flashlights to alert a deaf person that there is an emergency like fire and that he/she has to get out of the house. The same applies to doorbells whereby instead of making a certain noise, the doorbells are designed with a specific sensor that is always placed under a bed or on a chair where a deaf person sits and whenever the sensor vibrates, a deaf person is alerted that there is someone at the door (Lifeprint.com). Therefore, the growing technology has had a significant positive impact on the lives of the deaf people in society.
With technology, the deaf people have had a great experience in the way they communicate and interact with people. For instance, today, the deaf can have cochlear implants and hearing aids implants, something that was impossible before the advancement in technology because initially, they had to carry them along everywhere they went thus inconveniencing them because they used to be too big and expensive (Maiorana-Basas and Pagliaro 400). Nevertheless, today, the deaf can have implants of the hearing aids and cochlear implants thus making their hearing easier. Technology offers great support to people with hearing loss because, with implants and other electronic hearing devices, the deaf can attend school, go to a restaurant and order food because they can communicate effectively just like the people who do not have a hearing problem.
Today, there are a number of technologies that are of great use to people with hearing problems. People with hearing problems can now communicate effectively with people all over the world thanks to the advancement in technology. However, despite there being numerous advances in technology that have helped the deaf to interact and communicate with the people around them, a lot needs to be done to update technology that supports the deaf people. Since we live in a digital era, the deaf also need to be up-to-date with technological advancement (Maiorana-Basas and Pagliaro 408). There is still a lot that needs to be done to ensure that the deaf people are covered in all areas of their life both at home, at bus stops, in schools, at the airport, and even at work. It is with no doubt that technology has had a great impact on the lives of the deaf people all over the world to connect, learn, interact, educate, and even inspire other people. It has significantly changed how they communicate thus benefiting in many amazing ways. Technology is enhancing every day and so will the deaf communication.
In conclusion, we live in an increasingly technological advancement era where people depend on technology for everything and the deaf are not excluded. Today, with the use of technology, the deaf can now learn, interact, communicate, and even work without communication barriers. Technology has had a massive effect on how the deaf communicate with each other and the hearing people. Technology had made communication easier and the deaf do not have to depend only on the sign language to communicate. Technological advancement has had a great impact on how the deaf communicate with the rest of the world.
Works Cited
Leib Andrew. Five Technologies Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Use to Communicate. Western University of Health Sciences, 1-4. https://www.westernu.edu/mediafiles/cdihp/Five-Technologies-Deaf-Communication.pdf
Lifeprint. American Sign Language: Technology and the DEAF. Lifeprint.com. https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/technology-and-the-deaf-03.htm Accessed 26 November 2018.
Maiorana-Basas, Michella, and Pagliaro Claudia M. "Technology Use Among Adults Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing: A National Survey." Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 19.3 (2014): 400-410.
Meinzen-Derr, Jareen, et al. "Technology-Assisted Language Intervention For Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard-Of-Hearing; A Pilot Study Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication For Enhancing Language Development." Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology 12.8 (2017): 808-815.
Preece Caroline. How Technology is Helping the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. ITPRO. 29 Apr. 2016. https://www.itpro.co.uk/strategy/26445/how-technology-is-helping-the-deaf-and hard-of-hearing
Accessed 26 November 2018.
