"When we think about people who are deaf, we often assume stereotypes, such as "disabled" older adults with hearing aids. However, this perception is far from the truth and often leads to poor decisions and broken products. Let's look at when and how deafness emerges, and how to design better experiences for people with hearing loss. Deafness Is A Spectrum Deafness spans a broad continuum, from minor to profound hearing loss."
"Mild hearing loss, 26-40 dBSoft sounds are hard to hear, including whispering, which is around 40 dB in volume. It's more difficult to hear soft speech sounds spoken at a normal volume. At 40dB hearing loss, a person may miss 50% of meeting discussions. Moderate hearing loss, 41-55 dBA person may hear almost no speech when another person is talking at normal volume. At a 50dB hearing loss, a person may not pick up to 80% of speech."
466 million people experience hearing loss worldwide, and deafness exists on a broad spectrum from slight to profound impairment. Hearing loss can be congenital, age-related, caused by disease, accidents, or noise exposure. Sound loudness is measured in decibels (dB), and different dB ranges correspond to functional impacts on speech comprehension and everyday sounds. Even mild losses can cause missed speech in meetings; severe losses eliminate normal speech perception and leave only very loud noises audible. UX should provide captions, transcripts, visual and haptic alerts, volume controls, clear visual hierarchy, and avoid relying on sound-only cues in interfaces.
Read at Smashing Magazine
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