subject: The Challenges Facing The Hearing Impaired Employee [print this page] There is an increasing number of working Americans who are experiencing hearing loss because of noise. About 22 million Americans are suffering from loss of hearing. According to the National Institute on Aging, in the next 25 years around 28% of working Americans will have lost a portion of their hearing.
Cases of hearing loss in the workplace continue to increase because of different reasons. The environment is noisy, says the director of career counseling and job placement services at the New York League for the hard of hearing. People retire and live at an older age. Moreover, the noise contributing to the problem is pervasive in the workplace.
There are air conditioners, telephones ringing, people talking, typewriters and photocopying machines. While these don't go over the limit, they are over the level of communication. An 85 decibel limit is set by federal law in workplaces. Hearing impaired employees and their employers are aided by organizations all over to help cope with the disability.
Because hearing impaired people cannot do certain things, they can be accommodated easily by their employers. Ways of doing this include using amplified phones or putting desks in quieter workstations. Another idea is to assign the job of taking calls to someone else. The employer should know about these. When your supervisors don't provide support, it may mean that they are unaware of support they can provide for you.
She tells the employee to verbalize whatever arrangements should be done in the office to meet his needs. An employee who might have need for a special gadget can show model numbers and costs of this gadget to the supervisor for approval and action. A request can be made by an employee to be moved to a quieter work area if the need arises.
A person who is hearing impaired may find his impairment to be a nuisance in looking for a job. Uncertainties are among the first obstacles encountered. The beginner would be worried that he would face rejection because of his impairment. Calling for an interview appointment is another tricky situation that needs to be addressed by the applicant. During the job search, the applicant must also know when to mention the impairment.
Fears of the established employee include losing the job and getting demoted. The person may choose not to talk in meetings because he is hiding his impairment. People could get the wrong idea about him, however.
Both on the job and in a job search, the best approach is to be open. While she advises against putting this information on a resume or covering letter since it's personal, she says the hearing impaired person should bring it up during the interview.
The supervisor is unable to inquire about it, but the candidate can help clear the air by talking about it. Educating employers about the impact of impairment is a service that is offered by organizations like the League of self help for the hard of hearing. Impaired employees are given workshops by the League while the employers are taught how to deal with their employees.
