Hearing
Tools and techniques to help you test for hearing impairments
Hearing impairments affect how people perceive and interact with digital content.
Common conditions include:
- partial hearing loss (reduced hearing ability)
- deafness (unable to hear)
- difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments
- tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears)
- ear infection
Challenges for people with hearing impairments
Hearing impairments can make it difficult to:
- understand audio-only content
- use the phone
- understand complex language (British Sign Language users)
- understand low-quality, quiet audio
- notice audio-only notifications
Testing tools to identify barriers
Run automated tests
Automated tools can help identify common accessibility issues quickly. While they can't catch everything, they're a good starting point for testing.
You could install and use:
Run manual tests
After automated tests, you should do manual tests. They can identify more accessibility problems and let you see how your product or website works for people with different hearing impairments.
You could check:
- videos use captions or provide transcripts
- notifications have a visual alternative
- audio quality is clear
- volume controls are available
- content is written in plain language
Test with personas
You could use HMRC's accessibility personas. They're a good starting point to understand user needs of people with disabilities.
Saleem
Deaf user
Saleem is fluent in British Sign Language (BSL). He uses captions and clear content to navigate websites. He needs:
- plain language and clear, structured content
- videos with accurate captions
- communication using BSL if possible