Accommodating Persons with Hearing Impairments

Accommodations for persons with hearing impairments may include providing the following devices: - Telephone handset amplifiers; - Telephones with compatible hearing aides; - Telecommunication devices for deaf persons (TDDs); and - Lights that flash to indicate break, lunch, and quitting times. According to the Department of Labor, installing amplifiers for the telephone receiver and high-frequency or visual telephone ringers are some of the simplest and most inexpensive ways in which an employer may accommodate hard-of-hearing employees. For those with more severe hearing impairments, Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (or TDDs) may be installed. These devices are connected to ordinary telephones and allow hearing impaired persons to communicate with other TDD users through a keyboard and an on-line electronic display screen.