Challenges faced by hearing-impaired people

Living with an invisible disability like deafness means facing several challenges.  Deafness is an invisible and heterogeneous disability, and most people with deafness in the world, do not use Sign Language, because to speak this language it is essential to communicate with signalled deaf people and not so much to communicate with spoken deaf people. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) rectified information collected up to 2019 on the number of deaf people in Brazil and confirmed the importance of updating the parameters and modifying the research questions.   The differential of the new research for the universe of hearing impairment was to investigate the use of hearing technologies and knowledge of Sign Language. This is fundamental for guiding public policies, as it is quite common to use the 2010 IBGE Census data to claim that Brazil has 10 million speakers of Libra, which is the Brazilian Sign Language. However, until 2019, the survey did not provide information on how hearing-impaired people communicate. The 2019 National Health Survey (PNS) was more precise about the particularities of people with disabilities. The PNS revealed that about 1.3 percent of the Brazilian working-age population is hearing impaired. However, this rate is lower when considering only the employed and unemployed population (578,000 and 60,000 people, respectively).  Regarding the use of assistive listening devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, the research revealed that only 0.8 percent of the population over two years of age use these devices. However, the survey data showed that, among the elderly, the percentage of people using resources for better hearing is 3.1 percent.    This information is crucial for guiding public policies to meet the needs of the hearing-impaired population. However, it should be noted that, so far, public policies have provided little help to the hearing impaired who, to maintain their quality of life in society, need surgeries and/or hearing aids.   Several people face bureaucracy in Brazil’s public health care, the Unified Health System (SUS), throughout a process that can take years. The Institute has released a survey that revealed: 10.7 million people have some degree of hearing loss.; 2.3 million have severe or profound hearing loss – 54 percent of men and 46 percent of women. Research data should guide changes in the system to ensure that the needs of individuals with disabilities are met more effectively and fairly. Deafness, being an invisible disability, is often not understood by society due to the lack of general knowledge about this condition.   I am currently studying Institutional Communication and when analyzing data on the legislation for the hiring of people with disabilities, it becomes evident that the selection process for these individuals is in transition and still has a lot of progress to make in Brazil.  Although some companies have already implemented a comprehensive and dedicated directory to meet the recruitment needs of PWD, most do not have such a structure in place. Moreover, on the frontline of hiring employees with disabilities, the lack of knowledge and understanding is alarming.    Often, those responsible for recruitment and management do not even know how to differentiate between an act of empowerment and an act of need for equity, nor do they understand the importance of inclusion and equal opportunities. The discrimination faced by deaf people, although invisible at first glance, is widespread and severe.  Social isolation is one of the critical points when it comes to hearing-impaired people. No one can keep an off-frequency radio on all day in their ear.

Excess noise creates discomfort and causes deaf people to seek out individual conversations and less noisy places, which can lead them to be seen as antisocial by those who do not understand their needs.    Room acoustics can also be a problem, so the hearing-impaired employee will try to sit in a corner of the room where the acoustics will retain sound. In some places, even the sound of air-conditioning motors, and computer fans can make understanding difficult.  In situations like this and many others, this type of person lives in social isolation. That is why equity policies must be created and adopted by everyone, to guarantee their rights and quality of life. Libras, or Brazilian Sign Language, is an example of a language that is used for communication between hearing-impaired people in Brazil. Many people believe that Libras is universal, but this is not true.    There are several Sign Languages around the world, each with its variations and regionalisms. Libras has been a recognized language by law in Brazil since 2002. Thanks to the struggle of activists and educators of the deaf cause, Libras were recognized as the language of Brazil. Libras has its origins in French Sign Language (LSF) and was created together with the National Institute for the Education of the Deaf (INES).   It is important to note that Libras has regionalisms and variations, as well as in Portuguese.    Sign languages are extremely important for deaf people, as they enable them to communicate efficiently and inclusively. Unfortunately, many people have difficulties with written languages, which makes sign languages a viable alternative for communication.    In addition, sign languages are also used by people with other disabilities such as autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Hand Talk App is a free app that works as a pocket translator for sign languages, both for pounds and ASL (American Sign Language). With the help of the virtual translators, Hugo and Maya, the app performs instant translations from English to ASL and Portuguese to Pounds.

Source:  Telefónica

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