In this technology-heavy era, there are new gadgets and gizmos popping up on the market left right and centre. Many of these tech devices are being made with the Deaf community in mind. With access to outstanding technology and science, more and more organisations can create devices that break communication barriers and improve the lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people which is in the millions.
To many, the only Deaf gadgets they may be able to think of are hearing aids and vibrating alarm clocks, but the world of Deaf tech and gadgets has massively expanded beyond that. There are hundreds of other gadgets that can help make your business more accessible for Deaf / Hard of Hearing customers or employees. Here, we pick out some of our favourites.
Five essential gadgets to make your businesses more accessible for Deaf people
With more than 11 million people in the UK having some form of hearing loss, it’s essential for businesses of all sizes to accommodate staff and customers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
Most business premises are noisy, busy environments, which can make it difficult for Deaf people to communicate or understand what’s being said.
The 2010 Equality Act places several legal obligations on businesses to ensure they have the right accessibility measures in place. While this helps make the lives of Deaf people significantly easier, it also communicates to your wider customer base that you take accessibility and inclusion seriously and your business is a safe and welcoming space for all.
Technology plays a huge part in this. There are many gadgets available that can help you make your workplace more accessible for Deaf people, including:
Smoke alarm systems
As a business, you have a duty of care for your employees and customers. When it comes to safety risks, you need to ensure you have all the right precautions in place that are accessible for anyone and everyone and this includes smoke alarm systems. If you have members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in your business, it’s crucial that they have the same access to health and safety measures as a hearing person would. There are many companies that supply alarms that don’t just rely on loud sounds to alert you, but vibrating pads, pagers and flashing lights too. You can’t leave the health, safety and wellbeing of your staff and customers to chance. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Xrai Glass
Xrai Glass a new business founded in 2022 whose innovation and passion is to help the Deaf community has not gone unnoticed. They’ve created smart glasses, powered by AI, that convert audio into visual captions, all in real time.
Celebrities such as Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri and motivational speaker Justin Osmond have already become advocates for the product, with Tasha even becoming a brand ambassador. These glasses can change the way meetings and conversations are formatted, giving much more freedom and ease to Deaf employees.
Light Bell
Designed by Ian Bok, the Light Bell was created to inform people with hearing loss when someone is at the door or arrives for an appointment. Instead of a standard doorbell ringer, the Light Bell (that can be installed in any lamp or fixture) uses a Bluetooth and light signal as a notification of arrival. This is a great gadget for businesses which take appointments or walk-ins & have Deaf employees in the venue.
RogerVoice
RogerVoice is a free app that captions your phone calls instantly, making communication much easier, especially if last minute calls need to be arranged. For millions of Deaf employees across the globe, apps like this mean communication between hearing and Deaf people can be done with fewer barriers and issues.
Sign-io
Sign-io is a glove that connects via Bluetooth to capture sign language gestures and movements before translating them into speech through a mobile app. These gloves give just a glimpse into the accessibility businesses could be achieving in the future with communication translations from both sign language into speech, and speech into sign language.
The Deaf community has too often been overlooked in the world of tech and innovation, but now more than ever we’re beginning to see gadgets and software created to enhance the lives not only of hearing people, but of Deaf people too. The use of artificial intelligence, the pure scope and access to technology we now have can only open the doors to improved communication and lives for people with invisible disabilities.
We’re embracing this direction of travel here at Sign Solutions and would encourage more organisations to make use of these new technologies which would make them accessible & inclusive to all.
